We have been visiting Northern Ireland since 1995, going on holiday there every year, plus other visits as well, and now our daughter is at university there – even more reason to go across the Irish Sea! The children were very young when we first went, and most of our holiday was spent on the beach, although we did go exploring as well. As they got older our trips became longer, and one year, having seen a picture on an Ulster calendar my husband had bought me, of a mystical place called Dark Hedges we went in search of it. At that time it wasn’t particularly well known outside the province and we got lost several times, even though we knew roughly where it was.
We eventually found it, and it was every bit as amazing as the picture on the calendar, and walked up and down the road with the beech trees, some over 300 years old, wove their branches together above us. It really was a magic place, and it was a cool and rather miserable day, which made it creepy in a thrilling sort of way. We took many, many pictures,until the children became fed up and we went to find an ice cream.
The next time we visited, getting lost again, there were other people there,a wedding party. What a wonderful setting for photos of your special day! The most recent time we visited, we took our Australian friends to see it, and although now there are massive sign posts, we still got confused and had to stop and ask some friendly locals how to get there. On this occasion there were cars parked all along, and coaches and tourist from may different countries including the USA and Japan, because of course, it is world-famous as a setting for the TV series ‘Game of Thrones’.
If you do visit Northern Ireland, be sure to go and see this avenue of ancient trees, which originally led to the splendid Georgian mansion, Gracehill. The Gracehill estate is now a golf course and hotel complex, but the elegant house is as splendid as ever, and the beech trees as mysterious and magnificent. If you are lucky (or maybe unlucky) you may catch sight of the ghost of the grey lady…
Lois Elsden 
That looks so amazing! Ireland has always been on my bucket list!
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It is amazing… we know this northern corner best but the whole island has some wonderful spectacles!
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There is a similar road in Michigan across the border from us that runs from Cross Village to Harbor Springs. The trees on either side intertwine and form sort of a tunnel and it’s beautiful and it goes for miles like that.I used to bicycle the route years ago and there was a great Mom and Pop bar at the end of the run where they had cold beer and garagekis.
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Sounds lovely! It is very popular with tourists? … or with film makers?
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I think they hold car rallies and bicycle races there now as well as the garageki cookoff.
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The what cookoff?
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Don’t you remember when I asked you about eating perogies and you said yes and then asked you about garagekis.
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I have had several glasses of wine…. um…. I remember the perogies…
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When you asked what garagekis were I said they were keys for the garage. It’s a joke Polish people pull. I guess you have to be there but I found it funny.
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Oh good grief! Yes I do remember it now!!
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