Dunluce Castle, Bushmill’s Distillery and the Dark Hedges

A quick photo op was given of Dunluce Castle. The castle is in disrepair, but even from a distance it looked very large. Numerous shots were made during the filming of Game of Thrones . . . we are going to have to watch that show!

In 1608, a distillery was founded in the town of Bushmill to make whiskey. They use three ingredients - malted barley, water, and yeast. Now how did they even know how to make malted barley in 1608, but someone did! During the time of Prohibition, whisky was outlawed in the US, but it was still made both in the US and imported. In order to distinguish between whisky made in Scotland and whiskey made in Ireland, an e was added to the word. The distillery has a nice guided tour, but we were not included in it. They also have a nice gift shop and tasting room. We did purchase some vanilla whiskey fudge, and I must say, the whiskey added a nice flavor to the fudge.

Our final stop was the Dark Hedges, another Game of Thrones place. The owner of a mansion planted 150 beech trees to emphasize the road going to his house. Over the years, they have lost 70 of them, but they are still very impressive. I cannot imagine driving down the lane when they were all leafed out!