The Antrim Coast
is one of the most popular and scenic drives
in the whole of Ireland.
Homesteads are pristine.
A short drive through this idyllic farm country
makes it clear, tidiness is a Scots-Irish forte.
Visitors explore desolate trails...
...evocative castle ruins
and dramatic beaches.
The Antrim Coast is a popular vacation getaway from Belfast.
A road trip here comes with fine surprises,
like show-off-your-horse day at the local riding club.
Build a little slack into your itinerary
so you can actually stop and check out the action.
Antrim towns like Bushmills are Scots-Irish
and decorated strictly Protestant.
And this town is home to a famous whiskey.
Bushmills claims to be the world's oldest distillery.
They've been at it since the 13th century.
Guests are welcome, and tours finish here,
in the tasting room.
Irish whiskey-makers brag that their whiskey
is triple distilled
and therefore smoother than Scotch whiskey.
Those taking the distillery tour learn this emphatically
during the tasting.
Four volunteers per tour get to taste-test
eight different whiskeys.
As you'll come to the Scotch and Irish,
the Scotch, as I've told you before,
it is only double distilled,
where the Irish is triple distilled.
Congratulations, fully qualified Irish whiskey taster!
Thank you.
There we are.
Thank you.
The leading attraction along the coast
is the Giant's Causeway,
a four-mile-long stretch of shoreline
famous for its bizarre rock columns.
The shore is covered with hexagonal pillars
that stick up at various heights.
It's as if earth is offering god his choice
of 37,000 six-sided cigarettes.
This was a big stop for 19th-century tourists.
Early guides gave nicknames to the peculiar formation,
like the pipe organ...
...and the wishing chair.
Geologists claim that Giant's Causeway
was formed by volcanic eruptions 60 million years ago.
As the lava surface cooled, it contracted
and cracked into hexagonal shapes.
And as the layer of hardened but alligatored rock settled,
it broke into its many stair steps.
Rick: So the scientists say this is a geological formation.
Aye, but nobody here actually believes that, Rick.
We believe that this was built by giants 2,000 years ago:
The great Finn McCool, a local champion,
against the Scottish pretender, Bennan Donner,
who lived over here in the Mull of Kintyre.
So the Scots guy decides to build a causeway
across the ocean here, 12 miles, instead of coming by boat.
He comes across on his causeway.
He plunders and pillages a little bit here.
Our champion, Finn McCool, was a little bit nervous
because of the fact that the Celts fought
champion to champion, not necessarily army to army.
So his wife decides to build a cradle
that's about seven feet long.
She dresses him up like a little baby
and puts him in the wee cradle.
This is Ulster's hardest man.
The Scots guy comes across, gets into the castle,
grabs his wife and says, I'm gonna kill your husband.
And she said to him, shh, if you don't be quiet,
you're gonna wake my wee baby.
And if you wake my baby,
then his father's going to be very, very angry.
And the Scottish guy looks around,
sees that the baby's actually seven foot long
and is terrified.
And he thinks, oh my god, if the baby is seven foot long,
then the father's gonna be absolutely massive.
So instead of waiting around to meet the Irish father,
he runs the whole way back to Scotland
and gets the soldiers to pull up the causeway
and dump it in the ocean behind him.
And the proof of that story is what we're standing on
right now today.
Giants or geology, you decide.
Either way, the giant's causeway is well worth a stop.
[ Irish music ]
A few miles further up the coast
is a bridge you can cross.
For a great little hike,
a powerful dose of Ulster nature
and a few butterflies in your stomach,
follow the trail
to the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge.
For 200 years, fishermen have strung a skinny bridge
across a chasm between the mainland and a tiny island.
Sacred heart!
There should be a bar over here!
Rick: Eh, I'm still kind of queasy.
[ Laughs ]
This is the rope bridge of any kid's dreams.
Rick: So the bridge was actually built by fishermen?
Stephen: Yeah.
Well, you see, this time of year,
crowds of big, fat salmon
are going around the coast here
to get back to spawn in the rivers.
So two centuries ago, the fishermen realized
this was the best place to catch them,
so their nets are here just off the island.
So to get to the island, the rope bridge was built.
[ Bird cries ]
Incredible perch.
Yeah, the birds love it.
It's great -- one great big bird sanctuary
up here pretty much.
I meet bird watchers from all over the world,
who come over here to see what's going on,
look at the birds,
look at the gulls, the gannets, the razorbills.
Biggest puffin sanctuary in Europe
is behind us here on Rathlin Island.