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Northern Irish Explorer
  • John Bickerstaff

Northern Irish Explorer

A short but fine adventure by John Read more
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  • Trip start
    July 24, 2025
    John BickerstaffNorthern Irish ExplorerJohn Bickerstaff

    Flagging badly.

    July 24 in Northern Ireland ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    The deal that existed, at least in my head was do an extra couple of hours work during the week, take an early dart on Thursday & make an afternoon flight. The Boss's narkiness & the possibility of not making targets meant a little concern. Went in super early - bikes done & scarpered. As it happened, had plenty of time to the point where we were too early for the car park entry time. The nation's favourite airport was suitably relaxed as was I when the backpack hit the scales - the longer it was carried the heavier it felt. Found a quiet spot & settled down to watch the Tour. Just knew that it was going to kick off just as boarding commenced. Juggling between boarding passes & the live coverage was interesting. Quick up & down 30 mins flight. Said goodbye to the sun as we descended to the greenness of Northern Ireland. Rattly bus into town & a short hike to the hostel. YHA card got a little discount which was a bonus. Quick bite to eat & the early start caught up - sleep beckons.Read more

  • John BickerstaffNorthern Irish ExplorerJohn Bickerstaff

    Titanic, Belfast

    July 25 in Northern Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    The primary focus for Belfast was taking in the Titanic Museum. To that end early tickets had been booked - quieter (in theory) and cheaper. Nice walk through town. Stopped off at the 'Big Fish' and Seamus the Seal. On - off light drizzle and breeze meant waterproof & fleece juggling. No such worries inside the museum - very warm & surprisingly busy for just after 9. Very impressive coverage of the entire story. Why Belfast? The shipbuilding process. The individual stories. The sinking. The rediscovery. All done with respect & very interactive. Particularly liked the immersive ride through the shipyard and the virtual tour of the ship. Very well thought through - the movie photo op on the bow at the end was a bit cheesy though. Quick cake stop and then off to explore the shipyard area along the river - the Samson & Goliath cranes dominating their industrial surroundings. The ticket included entry to the SS Nomadic, the last remaining White Star Liner. Essentially it was used in Cherbourg to ferry passengers out to the anchored liner in the bay. Interesting - liked the way they used projections of actors explaining key features. You could tell this was used as the school trip base - dressing up opps - we didn't - surprise surprise.Read more

  • John BickerstaffNorthern Irish ExplorerJohn Bickerstaff

    A bit of culture.

    July 25 in Northern Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    A little investigation led Liz to discover the presence of C S Lewis square - a park / plaza with sculptures from his Narnia books. Apparently he lived in the East of Belfast at some point. The closest we'd get to this would be after the Titanic Museum so a shortish hike through an industrial estate, past the Harland and Wolff shipyard & then through some distinctly nationalist estates. We'd just missed the marching season but the flag happy remnants were still prevalent. On arrival, the square looked like it had been cordoned off for a festival - was this going to be a wild goose chase. Yes the Eastside Arts Festival was being set up but you could still access the park & the visitor centre. Walked back to town - lots of political murals & while these may have been historic the excessive flags were not. Suspect there is still residual tension even though the peace seems to be lasting. By now my phone was dying - forgot charging cable so headed back to the Dome shopping centre. Sorted a cable or more accurately get done for a cable & headed up the Dome for a panoramic view of the city.Read more

  • John BickerstaffNorthern Irish ExplorerJohn Bickerstaff

    Tall tales

    July 26 in Northern Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Not the best night's sleep - every boy racer in Belfast seemed to be out & about. Oh for some double glazing in a quiet suburb. Breakfast & back out to the airport to pick up the car. Apparently had a worried look boarding the bus - just my resting frown face. Just can't help being miserable. Amazingly no hard sell & all defects were accepted. Tried to connect phone for Satnav purposes. Wasn't having it. Various balancing options weren't cutting it so pulled in on the shores of Lough Neagh. Turns out I hadn't turned on the head unit. So glad that hadn't been the car hire guys telling me that. Onwards to the Causeway - decided to just focus on that for the day & if there's time review other options. Queueing for the car park didn't bode well, nor did the looming grey clouds. Lunched first - some lava hot Cornish pasties. Braved the crowds armed with our audio guide - some great gags and plenty giant yarns. Liz was in her element. At one point she was invited to make up stories about the surroundings. I just enjoyed the existing ones - Giants pretending to be babies rather than fighting, wild grannies & the existence of size 97 boots. The causeway itself was wild - lots of clambering, some wild waves & far too many people. A little walk & a little more rain thinned the hoardes. Also got some great views of the coast & a different perspective of the causeway.Read more

  • John BickerstaffNorthern Irish ExplorerJohn Bickerstaff

    Shower dodging.

    July 27 in Northern Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Penny saving dash to the local Tesco for breakfast supplies. Dodgy forecast meant a city based day in Derry / Londonderry depending on your political / religious affiliation. Aside from walking the city walls, there were a number of undercover options to avoid the forecasted downpours. Dumped the car in a free car park or so it seemed - doubted this when someone chose to pay. Pondered but the next couple of people didn't so chanced it. Had a wander along the river to the peace bridge. Crossed it & I'm sure there's something on the other side but nothing to interest us so straight back. First shower so dashed into the guildhall - paid for by London apparently. Very grand. Some interesting exhibitions & a Nobel Peace Prize on display. Dryness so off to walk the wall. Lots of canons & roofed lookout posts - guards not happy with all the rain. Hmmm. Also a bit of culture - Murals dedicated to the Derry Girls & The Undertones. Mooched through town to take in the murals of the Bogside area of town - the epicentre of the troubles and Bloody Sunday. Took in the very interesting Free Derry Museum. The parallels between the way the British Government handled Bloody Sunday & Hillsborough is uncanny. Sombre place.Read more

  • John BickerstaffNorthern Irish ExplorerJohn Bickerstaff

    Laughing in the face of danger.

    July 28 in Northern Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    What fate did the weather gods bestow on the final plans of the trip. Wetness called into question the wisdom of clambering over a rope bridge strung across a chasm. Fortunately & admittedly this feeling may be open to dispute, it was looking dry. Since the flight home was a late one there was a fair bit of time to kill or make the most of - the rope bridge was to be the first. Booked online which signs around the causeway & the rope bridge suggested was advised at least. Proved to be unnecessary but probably saved a few bob. National trust property so toilets & cafe were present - all bases covered. Nice downhill walk - stunning coastline - weather not so stunning but it was dry. The bridge was pretty much as sold, with a hint of heavy duty chain. Still it was high up and potentially bouncy if the wind or someone hideously immature chooses to make it so. The fact that it was one way, people were queueing & it was politely suggested that you don't stop for photos made messing around a non-starter. The fact that most people subtly ignored the photo edict didn't help patience. Was a fun little crossing and the island was also very little. The fact the fishermen lived on here & transported fish across such a rockery bridge was quite a thing. Return queue ended up quite substantial as 1 family didn't go with subtlety - stopping, starting, posing. Not hp. Popped into the cafe but the crowds discouraged. The National Trust has done well enough. Headed to Ballycastle, secure in the knowledge of finally knowing what Bally means. Lunch looking over the beach & the possibility of things brightening up. Someone's an optimist. Walked along the beach to a wrecked bridge warning of danger & that it was closed. Didn't help that someone had just climbed over the barrier so laughing in the face of danger is easier when your 2nd.Read more

  • John BickerstaffNorthern Irish ExplorerJohn Bickerstaff

    Fly frenzy.

    July 28 in Northern Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    Still had 5 hours before the car had to be dropped off & only 1 - 2 of those hours would be driving. Belfast airport is actually far closer to Antrim. Antrim is on the shores of Lough Neagh - the largest lake in the British Isles so it would be rude not to have a little explore - post drive walk to perk up the navigator. By now things were actually brightening up, unfortunately it seemed to have woken up great clouds of midges. Battled through those and tried to ignore some horrendous fashion disasters until the lakeside walk turned to a woodland walk. Headed back to try and find the MV Joyce a restored WW2 torpedo recovery vessel and enjoy a cookie. Decided against hitting the airport too early so headed to Belfast Castle - the grounds were on Cave Hill which supposedly offered great views of the city. Got to give it a go. Quick dash down the motorway & head to the highest car park. Spent a little time in the castle grounds enjoying the sun & being amused by a toddler's wonder at everything but particularly steps. Decided to try for higher ground and could pick out the Titanic museum - in fairness the huge neighbouring cranes helped to locate it. The main lookout however beat us - or time. Either way back to dump the car and head home.Read more

    Trip end
    July 28, 2025
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