2nd Ahoghill Company Section visited Rathlin Island this weekend, as a group of boys spent the day exploring the landscape and watching the local wildlife.
After arriving in Ballycastle, we caught the 9:30am ferry and made the 6 mile crossing to Rathlin. The journey lasted around 45 minutes, and the clear weather allowed us to stand out on deck and enjoy the sea air.
Once we had disembarked in Rathlin harbour, we started the 4 mile walk towards the West Light Seabird Centre. Getting a little bored with following the tarmac road, we put our navigation skills to good use and headed off across the terrain.
We arrived at the small visitor’s center overlooking the lighthouse, and leader Jonathan shared a short Bible talk with the boys. After this we ate our packed lunches, and made our way down the to the viewing platform beside the lighthouse; where we had great views of the puffins and other seabirds nesting in the cliff-face.
With the bird watching over we started to make our way back to the harbour on foot, later deciding to catch the visitors bus as it drove passed us on the road. The bus route took us past the harbour before turning back on itself, and we got off about a mile south of the harbour at Mill Bay.
We were fortunate to stumble across a group of seals resting on the shore as we made our way down the beach. At this point the boys were free to explore the bay or, for those who had brought rods, do a bit of fishing. Before leaving the bay, leader Thomas shared another short Bible talk with the boys.
As we made our way back to the harbour, we called in Rathlin’s only chip shop, Emma’s Chips Ahoy, for something to eat. After dinner, we continued towards the harbour stopping in at the Island Treasures gift shop for a quick look. With the ferry set to arrive at 5:30pm, the boys, as well as a few of the leaders, passed the remaining time in the recently refurbished play park.
The ferry arrived and we boarded once again for the short journey back to Ballycastle. All in all, it was a great day out with plenty of reminders of the wonderful creation that surrounds us here in Northern Ireland.
