We stayed in the seaside town of Portrush for three days and it was a great base for touring the sites along the coast. We went looking for a place to eat for our first night and went to Harry's Shack which is right on the beach in Portstewart. The place was completely full but they said we could sit out on the veranda where there were heaters. We had the fish and chips and it was the BEST fish and chips we had ever eaten
Our first day dawned gray and dreary and we made sure our waterproofs were in the car before we set off for the day. It was a good thing we packed them because there was a downpour as we reached our first stop at Downhill Desmesne and Mussenden Temple. We parked at the Lion's Gate as there is no parking fee there. It's just a slightly longer walk than parking at the Bishop's Gate. We set off on a wooded path and eventually the rain turned to a sprinkle and then we came out into a clearing where we could see the temple and the ruins of the house not too far way.
The Downhill house was a large country manor house and the ruins were fun to explore. The Mussenden Temple is a Grecian-style building built near the cliff that overlooks the ocean. It was built as a library and had an ingenious fireplace setup below the building for keeping the library and all its books warm and dry in the damp weather. Today the temple is very close to the edge of the cliff, so much so that people are no longer allowed to walk behind it. When it was originally built, the temple was far enough away from the cliff edge that a horse and carriage could be driven behind it quite easily. The winds and weather have eroded the hillside now and there are discussions about how to save the temple from crashing down the cliff one day.
We ended our visit at the Bishop Gate and as I was waiting for Mike to get something to drink, I mentioned to a gentleman standing nearby that I liked his dog. We had noticed the dog earlier as it had unusual coloring. Its head was black while its body was brown. The man gave me the leash to hold and I petted the dog while he told me it was a Bavarian Mountain Scent Hound and told me a little about the breed. He said he was at the demesne one day and a man asked if he could walk the dog. The owner handed over the leash and "Rosie" set off with a complete stranger. My thought at this moment was "you're a very trusting guy". It all worked out though and it turned out the stranger was on vacation and just missed his own dogs. When we told Rosie's owner we were staying in Portrush (next town over from Portstewart), he said "have you gone to Harry's for fish and chips? they're the best anywhere!" We told him we had and completely agreed they were the best.
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