Coastal Challenge Success

Thank you to our Team

We would like to extend a big thank you to all those who joined Colloide on our Coastal Challenge in aid of Air Ambulance NI. It was a great day out! We are pleased to announce that we raised over £1100. 

 

What our participants said

“It was really nice to meet a great bunch of people. Great event and I am glad I went. Pencil me in for the same next year.”

“The scenery was amazing!”

 

Recapping our Journey

Our adventure started at Ballintoy Harbour, it was a cool and windy start to the day but the sun was making an appearance. The sea was rough which worried our leader (in case the tide was still in).

We weren’t long warming up as we navigated our way over rocks, pebbles and seaweed, which made the rocks very slippy underfoot to bring us to the beautiful Whitepark Beach. Making our way to Whitepark beach was ‘rocky’ as we had to climb/crawl over the rocks to get to the pathway.

The “dander” we anticipated turned out to be a mix of hills, steps, more hills and more steps. If there were steps down, you were guaranteed there would be steps back up to the top of the cliff. The course took in the most scenic in Ireland taking in rugged coastlines of cliffs and beaches.

The chat continued and the miles passed quickly. On route, we passed birds, sheep and horses, all oblivious to our tired feet and legs. Our first stop was about 4 miles in, for a quick toilet stop, snack and water break, with “Mrs Doyle” aka Darren at the ready with tea and coffee, not forgetting the lovely treats Rosemary had brought along.

We continued on enjoying the lovely sunny weather and climbed more steps and stony paths along the cliff edges, with the sea breeze helping us along.

Runners and walkers, not to mention those out for the extreme challenges met and passed us along the way. I am sure our “well done and keep going” chants are what pulled them through the tough trails.

We reached the famous Giants Causeway and sat on the grass for our picnic and we were delighted to discover that we had already covered 9 miles. The packed lunches and little treats were just what was needed to fuel us for the last stretch of our challenge.  “Mrs Doyle” was on hand with the teas and coffees again attending to the tired walkers.

Fed and watered we headed on toward Portballintrae, where runners continued to pass us on the narrow trails. It wasn’t long before we reached the train tracks, and the lovely wooden pathway beside the Golf Course taking us into Portballintrae.

The last leg of our journey to was from Portballintrea to Dunluce Castle, where we took to the paths and made our way to our final destination and pick-up point.

Everyone was elated to have completed the challenge and although very tough, there was the question “Is this going to be an annual event?”

The day was finished with a well-earned celebration drink at the Royal Court hotel.