What’s that rule again? Oh yeah, never cry in front of a girl. But there was, or at least I thought at the time, a very good reason.

We had decided to take a day trip. Portstewart was suggested and agreed to. The train left Botanic Station at close to 1pm, arriving at around 2:30pm. Trains are awesome.

Very hungry when we arrived we searched for a good 20 minutes, maybe more, for a bar/restaurant to get something decent to eat. Eventually we found Wetherspoons across the bridge at the top of a hill. After a satisfying lunch and pint, we decided there was nothing to do in this ghost town – so we headed to Portrush.

Sundays, it has been discovered, are not the day to go on day trips. Almost everything is closed. People did seem to be milling about the town centre, unbeknownst where they were going or where they had purchased the variety of goods in their plastic bags. While we wandered lost and around in circles find a pub like two desperate alcoholics on a huge hangover in search of the greatest cure, more alcohol.

Eventually a kind shop assistant pointed us in the right direction. We after walking in one final oversized circle, we found our food haven of sweet nourishment.

The next bus to Portrush didn’t take long in arriving. Of course as [terrible] tour guide, I hoped there would be something of interest in this town, more so at least than the last. Unfortunately, this is where the incident happened. I had been curious about the lack of people, it is normally busy, bustling even. Just around the corner was Barry’s Amusements, it will be fun from here on, I thought to myself.

I was wrong. Barry’s was closed. I was suddenly very sad. A tear I’m certain. My childhood. Gone.

I first set foot on the sandy sand of the the Porstewart Strand at not even a year old, and have visited at least once a year since since. Then around 1994 my Granny bought a house on a hill overlooking the beach, the costs and upkeep is contributed by the whole extended family, with each family marking on the calendar when they would be staying throughout the year. I always made sure to be there for my birthday in July.

Portstewart is a fairly quiet town with play-parks, scenery, small shops along the promenade and of course the beautiful beach with its high sand dunes. Portrush, on the other hand is filled with lots of amusement arcades. Naturally I wanted to go there as much as possible. Barry’s Amusements, the biggest in amusement arcade in Northern Ireland, is where I really wanted go. The bumper cars, 2p slot machines, ghost train – which scared the crap out of me when I was young, and other ways to spend a small amount of money and as many hours as possible is I had my way.

The roller coaster, on the other hand, I was never too fond of the look of. Eventually I built up the courage to go on it. It was awesome. Then a few years later they changed it and put a loop in it. I won’t go on it now.

So last Sunday when I saw it was closed and looked very derelict inside I was overcome. I would never be able to do any of those things again.

It was only when I got home that I found out Barry’s isn’t closed forever, it just isn’t open from October through to March. What a relief!

We enjoyed the sunset and headed towards the top of a big hill, but I couldn’t find it so we headed back.

After a long walk we caught the bus to Portstewart, thankfully they are only 10-15mins apart. By this time it was 6pm and we had to get back to Coleraine for the train at 8pm, but Portstewart is small and there ain’t much to see especially in the dark. That beautiful beach couldn’t be seen, but I wasn’t lying about it’s awesomeness.

Tagged: Daytrippin, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Photography | 2 comments »