Foggy Carlingford.
The next day we got up and headed towards Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland, I've always wanted to go there based solely on the fact that it is one of my favorite Irish songs. There was a thick fog that morning that made Carlingford appear mystical. We weren't in the car for more than 30 minutes when we found a sign for the Slieve Foye Woods and decided to make a stop and check it out. The woods were beautiful! We found a path and I decided I wanted to see where it went to, Kerry and Leann decided to stay at the lower portion of the trail. It was so quiet and peaceful there; the heather was still blooming and at the very top you could look down on a fogged in Carlingford.
We stopped in a little town to lok for a chemist so I could buy some hair products since my convertor had blown up the night before and to get directions to Carrickfergus.
Slieve Foye Woods.
It later became obvious that not one of us was paying attention because we all seemed to hear different directions and therefore ended up driving 30 miles out of our way. Oh well, that's vacation. We crossed into Northern Ireland without even having to stop and arrived at Carrickfergus and checked into the hotel. We all could've wept for joy at this point we when we realized that the hotel had a lift. I have since learned to look for places that have ground floor rooms and lifts. It's either that or learn to pack appropriately and that's not ever going to happen, lol.
We decided to go and check out Carrickfergus Castle. The castle is massive and sits on a crag overlooking the harbor. It was begun in 1180 and has changed hands many times.
Slieve Foye.
William III stayed at the castle before the Battle of the Boyne. The castle has many interesting aspects including a double door system which enabled a solider to open the smaller door without opening the main keep door. It also has a murder hole; or a hole cut into the ceiling above the entrance so it an enemy breached the door to the castle boiling oil was then poured on them from above. It also had a killer spiral staircase and my personal favorite the poop shoot. That's not the technical name of it of course but what I liked to call it. They're these amazing shoots that are built right out of the side of the castle where kitchen waste and..... well poop could be thrown out. There is acutally a life size model of King John sitting on the royal toilet inside the castle. Now that's not something you see everyday!
