Dunluce Castle

In Northern Ireland there is a place called Dunluce Castle. It is the remains of a stone castle situated on a cliff. It's a lovely place. As we arrived the sun was setting and it made incredible views of the sea to the North or Northern Ireland.

The amazing thing about Northern Ireland was the beauty everywhere we went. The way the wind whipped up the long grasses made them look like waves.  The views from the cliff edges were unbeatable.

Dunluce Castle was first built by an Earl in the 13th century. The castle has passed through various hands, Irish and Scottish, and eventually was abandoned. The story behind the abandonment is that the kitchen fell into the sea and the mistress of the castle refused to live there. At the East side of the ruins there is still what appears to be a kitchen with two ovens, but a lot of scholars debate about this, ovens could be used for things other than kitchens, like blacksmith work, or glass making.

I'm not a historian, nor am I a professional archaeologist, but I did major in anthropology and that room looks like a kitchen to me. It even has a small room attached to the side of it which would be perfect for housing a chef or kitchen staff, even though it looks like a little jail cell. It's too far away from the stables for it to be useful as a blacksmith/farrier making horseshoes or Armour, because it would all have to be moved to the stables as storage, but I'm not an expert, so I'll leave that up to them.

It was wonderful to walk around the grounds and picture a bustling little community around it. The views were amazing and it's proximity to the sea would have made it an excellent trading post with Scotland and Scandinavian countries. It would also be a useful outpost to warn the inland of incoming attacks from Viking raids.


Whatever it was used for and whoever lived there, it's beauty has not been abandoned by time and disuse. It's truly a magnificent place to visit.

Here's where we went and a lot more pictures:
https://discovernorthernireland.com/Dunluce-Castle-Medieval-Irish-Castle-on-the-Antrim-Coast-Bushmills-P2819/