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    • U.K. - Iceland - Israel
      Day 30

      Derry Drive, Belfast Boat, Go2Glasgow

      May 26, 2023 in Northern Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

      Pretty much just a day of transport and transiting, our goal was to get to Glasgow.

      This entailed a 1.5hr direct drive from Londonderry to Belfast, boarding our slightly delayed ferry back to Cairnryan and then making the 2 hour drive to Glasgow.
      We bid farewell to ‘the land of 40 shades of green’ under blue skies and mild temperatures without having experienced a drop of rain.
      Unfortunately, we couldn’t quite wrangle our way into first class on the very full ferry - business class was the best we could manage this time.

      Having suffered the deprivations of the business class experience onboard, the drive from Cairnryan to Glasgow was quite enjoyable along a fairly scenic coastal route for the first part.

      Some few years ago, we had employed a lovely young Scottish dental assistant by the name of Zoe who had worked for us for 2 years before returning to Scotland with her partner Sean. I had lost contact with Zoe, but with the help of Steph Leckey, we were able to make contact a few days ago and arranged to meet them at their apartment in Glasgow for dinner this evening.

      After driving directly to our rented apartment - of course located on the top floor (again) with no lift - we settled in then headed off to the Southside of Glasgow - about a 12 minute drive away.

      It was delightful to see Zoe and Sean again after not having seen them for such a long time. Sean was cooking up an amazing dinner, Zoe showed us around their apartment which they are part way through renovating (including their roof top space) and we had an excellent meal with lots of conversation stretching late into the evening. They plan to be visiting Sydney in late November for a friend’s wedding in the Blue Mountains and we have made arrangements for them to come and stay with us for a few days either side of that date.      Read more

    • U.K. - Iceland - Israel
      3
      Day 28

      A bad hair day on the Antrim Coast

      May 24, 2023 in Northern Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

      We bid farewell to Belfast’s peak hour traffic this morning and wound our way up to ‘Napoleon’s nose’, which is on the most prominent hill that overlooks Belfast. The morning started a little bleak, but the strenuous climb from the carpark (an hour round trip) got the blood pumping as there was quite a bit of vertical distance to gain in order to reach the summit.
      In addition to being a bit hazy it was quite cold and windy on top, but it was good to see Belfast from this perspective and with the help of our binoculars, pick out some of the landmarks we had visited during the last 24 hours.

      Next we started heading north along the Antrim coastline and stopped in at Carrickfergus Castle for a brief inspection. This region is quite historic and many battles have been fought nearby.

      We continued our journey northward to the curiously named ‘Gobbins’ area. This is quite a spectacular part of the coastline with numerous coves, caves and headlands. After calling in to the information centre to make sure we found the intended path (attractions are quite poorly signposted here), we again undertook a fairly challenging walk along the cliff top path, enjoying the views both north and south. Again, there was quite a vertical component to the 45 minute round trip.

      From The Gobbins, we tracked inland somewhat for our next feature to tackle - Slemish mountain. I had seen good reviews on Trip Advisor about the views from the top which is why I put it on the itinerary. As it turns out, Slemish mountain is on the itinerary for many Catholics for an annual pilgrimage on St. Patricks Day, as this is where he spent 6 years of his life.
      This extinct volcanic ‘plug’ turned out to be a very steep climb and scramble but yielded the promised views in every direction from the summit. Yet again, the round trip was about an hour up and down a very rough, ill-defined path (which we lost a couple of times).

      I promised Loss that this was our last climb for the day, but I was a little premature in making that promise, as yet another climb was required when we reached Torr Head. By now the day was clearing with bursts of sunshine and after a shorter, sharper climb we were able to clearly see Scotland - the famed Mull of Kintyre across the water, as well as dramatic Irish coastline in front of us. Torr Head and the Mull of Kintyre are the points at which Ireland and Scotland are in closest proximity.

      We had intended to do the entire Torr Head coastal scenic drive, but this was cut short by virtue of roadworks that had closed a section of the road. Nevertheless the section we were able to cover was stunning.

      Enroute to Ballycastle we were held up for about 15 minutes due to a truck that had gone into a roadside ditch and the tow trucks had blocked the road completely. Traffic was backing up in both directions and we weren’t sure whether to turn around and try to find a different route, but eventually the Towtruck driver came over to assure me it was about to clear. Once he heard our Australian accents, then all he wanted to do was talk about Australia. Now the traffic was flowing again, but we were not moving because he wouldn’t stop chatting! Eventually we extricated ourselves from his questions and we continued on our way.
      We had one more item of interest to see before calling it a day - the so called ‘Dark Hedges’ but decided we should check in to our B&B first as it was now around 5.30pm.
      When arriving at the designated house, the host had no booking for us in her system even though my Booking.com reservation all looked to be in order. This was our first real glitch and as I was mentally assessing our options, our ‘host’ (who couldn’t host us) made a phone call to a friend of hers a couple of streets away who DID have a B&B room available.

      Once we got that all sorted, we thought we should organise some dinner arrangements. At our host’s suggestion, we headed down to the ANZAC Bar and restaurant (which even had a little boomerang as part of its logo😅). Of course I had to ask the maître d about the reason for the name. Apparently the founder of the establishment was an Irishman who had fought with the ANZACS at Gallipoli in WW1.

      The meal was substantial and excellent, so fortified with this we headed off for our last bit of sightseeing which was about a 15 minute drive up the hill from Ballycastle. The so called ‘Dark Hedges is an avenue of Beech trees planted in the the 1700’s by a family who wanted a dramatic approach to their Georgian mansion. They are indeed an impressive sight with their branches hanging right out across the road in a very unusual way.
      It is one of the most popular natural-feature tourist attractions in Northern Ireland and as a result during ‘normal’ tourist hours, you must park in a very large carpark and walk some distance to the avenue of trees. However, as it was now 7.30pm and all the ‘normal’ tourists had disappeared long ago, we were able to just slowly drive up and down the road unimpeded, taking the required photos without having to get out of the car at all.

      We got back to our accommodation at around 8pm - exactly 12 hours after we started out this morning. Although the 14km distance walked was not our longest, I think our 115 floors climbed today could be our most so far.      Read more

    • U.K. - Iceland - Israel
      Day 27

      Belfast ‘troubles’ averted

      May 23, 2023 in Northern Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

      It was an early start this morning, with the alarm sounding at 5.30am- although as often happens (or it does to me at least) when you know you have a deadline to meet, I woke just a couple of minutes before it sounded thinking ‘Is it time to get up?’

      We got to the ferry check-in with a few minutes to spare and eventually drove the car deep into the bowels of the boat, parking alongside semi trailers and vehicles of all descriptions.
      We exited the car and started heading upstairs to the seating areas.
      Once again, I had been slightly neglectful in providing Loriene with full details of our journey, meaning that I had only booked ‘cattle class’ tickets to cross the Irish Sea and hadn’t disclosed this fact.

      However, in full expectation of better arrangements than that, Loss keeps climbing the stairs beyond cattle class, beyond business class, up to the top level ‘first class’ lounge.
      Before she speaks with the concierge guarding the door, I quietly manage to steer her away before any undue embarrassment occurs.
      As I coax her down a few staircases back towards steerage class, I have no choice but to explain the situation to her. She puts on a brave face.

      I speak to a lady at the reception desk who happens to be right near us at this awkward moment, explaining that I have been stingy with our tickets and ask her for guidance as to where we should be sitting. She politely tells us where the allocated seating areas are for cheapskates like me.

      There is an uncomfortable silence as we trudge off toward the doorway marked ‘Boiler Room’, with Loss still maintaining the bravest face she can.
      It could be a long, long sea voyage to Belfast.

      Then quite unexpectedly the lovely Scottish lady comes running after us, discretely presses an access code pass into Loriene’s hand and says to her quietly ‘Here you go- I think you look like you should be in first class’.
      I thank her profusely for saving my life and we climb the stairs again to the top deck….
      A pleasant voyage was then had by all.

      On arriving in Belfast and after eventually prising Loss out of her seat, we drove straight from the ferry into the CBD of Belfast and within 20 minutes of departing the ferry we were parked and walking to board our ‘Hop on / off’ bus from the city centre. We did a full lap of the route, listening as carefully as possible to the broad-accented Irish commentary before getting off.

      We then walked to the Titanic memorial, which lists the name of every individual who perished on that ill-fated maiden voyage. We also looked up the Christadelphian Magazine for details about Bro and Sis Henry Sulley, who were travelling on another vessel in the Atlantic at the same time the Titanic sunk. Here is a little snippet of his account:

      “Sister Sulley had been unwell for three weeks before we left England. Upon advice of the doctor the journey was delayed a week, and I began to fear I might require to take the journey alone (not to be thought of unless imperatively impelled). Towards the end of the week the prospect brightened. The question then arose, shall we delay our journey four more days, and take passage on what proved to be the ill-fated Titanic? Sister Sulley said “No; we have delayed a week, I think we ought to start as soon as possible.” So, the doctor having given permission to make the journey, providing sister S. kept in her room till the day she travelled to Liverpool, we took not the ill-fated Titanic, but the safer, and, I think, the more carefully managed Cunarder called Carmania, whose commander, under the hand of God, conveyed us safely to our destination.”

      Next we moved on to Belfast’s premier attraction which is the relatively new, multi million pound Titanic Exhibition. It has everything in it to do with things Titanic but as we had seen quite a few of these in recent years (including in Sydney) we skipped the exorbitant entry fee and just toured the ‘Nomadic’ which was the tender for the Titanic. The Nomadic delivered passengers from the White Star Line’s French port onboard the Titanic before it then set sail for New York.

      We then did another lap on The Big Red Bus, understanding much better the second time around the various sections of the city, the incredibly violent past from 1969 until 1998 and the political and religious divisions that caused such harm and bloodshed for so many years.
      A key issue was the status of Northern Ireland. Unionists and loyalists, who for historical reasons were mostly Ulster Protestants, wanted Northern Ireland to remain within the United Kingdom. Irish nationalists and republicans, who were mostly Irish Catholics, wanted Northern Ireland to leave the United Kingdom and join a united Ireland. We saw absolute evidence of this division as we drove around.

      After finishing our second lap of the city, we sought out a few points of interest on foot, returned to the car then made the short drive to our apartment for the evening. Loriene has managed to whip up an amazing roast chicken dinner (using some more ingredients brought from home - but not the chicken, thankfully) in less time than it has taken to type this out.      Read more

    • TravelerWestmont in Northern Europe
      11
      Day 20

      Belfast

      September 19, 2023 in Northern Ireland ⋅ 🌧 16 °C

      *queue Van Morrison*

      This past Tuesday the gang drove up to Belfast! During our visit, Halle, Joel, and I were in change of giving a report on the Civil Rights Movement. This movement was led by students at Queens university in the 1960’s, and advocated for the rights of the Catholic population who were being discriminated against.

      Belfast has been the site for many historic and gruesome conflict, but much of that would not be apparent in the way the city has continued to develop and progress. When walking by the school back ti the coach, a few of us were invited by students to a church BBQ, where we got to talk to many Christian students from Queen’s about their mission to build community.

      We also visited the titanic museum, as it was built and docked in the Belfast lochs.      Read more

    • Mooney's European Adventure
      1
      Day 10

      On to Belfast

      July 3, 2022 in Northern Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

      Today was a travel day. And our most complicated travel day. The trick was trying to get to Dublin to catch the train to Belfast that would get us here early enough in the day to get to our place and go out of we wanted to. In order to do that, we started by taking a bus from Killarney at 9:30 to Cork. We had about an hour to walk from the bus station to the train station and print off our tickets. No real rush but when you are dealing with so many firsts, you don't know what to expect. But we made our train and enjoyed a nice ride across the country to Dublin. When we got there, that is when things got tricky. We arrived at the Heuston station where we had 30 minutes to catch a train that was outside the station that world take us to the Connoly station. From there we had 10 minutes to find and board our train to Belfast. We got lucky and caught an earlier train to Connolly which gave us more time to find our Belfast train. And we needed it.

      Once we managed to find our train, it turns out our seats weren't our seats. They were given to someone else. And it appears that this happened to a bunch of people. The conductor guy just said to make our way down to the dining car and when the train starts, just go find some empty seats. So on our way we were seeing enough empty seats that we figured we would be fine. And in the end it turned out fine. The kids got to sit together and we were right behind them. So... we were good. It is still weird though.

      Anyway, we arrived in Belfast around 6:30pm. By the time we walked to our place and got settled, we were tired so we ordered food again and just relaxed for the evening. Tomorrow we are doing a hop on hop off bus tour and hopefully do the titanic museum. Weather is supposed to be good so cross your fingers.

      Ok. Off to bed. Check ya later.

      p.s. For those who care I only had a measly 12,025 steps today. Feels like I was slacking off...      Read more

    • Mooney's European Adventure
      Day 11

      First Day In Belfast

      July 4, 2022 in Northern Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

      Today was explore Belfast day. And we figured the best thing to do was do one of those hop on hop off bus tours. So we stopped at a local grocer, got some muffins and chocolate milk, and headed down to city hall to catch our double decker tour bus. We decided to do the whole tour right of the bat (90 minutes long) and then use it for transportation when we want to get somewhere. The tour was great and the weather was great so we got to hang out on the open air top. The bus hits all the major sights including the university where they were having their grad. At the end of our tour we hoped on another bus and headed over to the titanic experience. It is so well done and everything is meaningful down to the benches outside that look like the distress signal the ship sent out. So so cool. I recommend using the audio guides as it gives you so much information.

      After that emotional experience, we caught the bus and headed back into downtown Belfast looking for lunch. We ended up at Grannie Annie's.

      By then it was late afternoon and we decided to head over to the Victoria Square Mall. It is a glass dome thing that has great free views of the city. While there, the kids saw a movie theatre and wanted to go see a movie. So we sent 3 of them to Jurassic World while Jen, Evan and I continued our Belfast wanderings. We finally got to the top viewing platform of the mall, kissed the "Salmon of Knowledge", visited Tim Hortons, walked around city hall and just meandered wherever our hearts took us. Then it was back to the mall to get the kids and head back to our place.

      All in all, it was a great day. Tomorrow we are off to the Giants Causeway so better get to bed.

      And... just to keep things consistent, I will close off with the step counter. We clocked in at 17,723 steps. So a more laid back day. We will try and do better tomorrow.      Read more

    • TravelerDie Britische Insel
      Day 65

      Belfast

      July 9, 2023 in Northern Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

      Nach bequemer Autobahnfahrt erreichten wir bald Belfast. Achtung! Geschwindigkeiten und Entfernung wieder umrechnen von Meilen auf km und Euro wegstecken, Pfund ist wieder angesagt! Wir sind nämlich wieder auf britischem Terrain.
      Relativ nahe am Stadtzentrum fanden wir eine ruhige Stelle, unternahmen von dort wieder zu Fuß unsere Erkundungstour und nach der Rückkehr konnten wir völlig ungestört schlafen. Doch nun zur Stadt:
      Wie in Reiseberichten empfohlen steuerten wir als Erstes die Cityhall, das Rathaus an. Hier zeigt sich, dass Belfast mal eine sehr reiche Stadt mit florierender Wirtschaft war. Nicht weit davon entdeckten wir das Grand Opera House, heute leider sehr eingekeilt zwischen Glas- und Betonriesen. Sehr schön empfanden wir das Shoppingcenter Victoria Square mit seiner Glaskuppel und darin der Aussichtsplattform mit Blick über die gesamte Innenstadt (leider geschlossen). Wir besichtigten die Stadt weiter und fanden so manches highlight wie Albert Memorial, St. Anne's Cathedral, aber auch hübsche Kunst- und Fotomotive.
      Aber heute zum Sonntag wollten wir noch das bunte Nachtleben in den Pubs mit Musik erleben und in "the Entries" dem Kneipenviertel wurden wir fündig. Als Erstes suchten wir den (offiziell) ältesten Pub der Stad auf, die legendäre White's Tavern (seit 1630), in der wir lange dem erstklassigen Musiker lauschten, bis wir in seiner gewerkschaflich zustehenden Pause weiter zogen zur "Dirty Onion" (heißt wohl so was wie "dreckige Zwiebel"?). Auch hier wieder live music und ein herrliches Ambiente. Hochzufrieden machten wir uns auf den Heimweg, dabei schwelgten wir noch bei einer köstlichen Pizza auf rustikal genietetem Tisch, um dann satt, müde und zufrieden in die Federn zu fallen.      Read more

      See translation
    • Summer of 23
      11

      Day 2 - Walking Tour - Belfast, Northern

      July 11, 2023 in Northern Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

      Today we have a 3 hour walking tour of Belfast booked with local guide, Arthur, who is a Belfast native, co-author of “The Little Book of Belfast” and a once member of an unpopular 1980s Manchester pop group.

      Starting at Belfast City Hall, we walked to the Peace Walls with detailed commentary provided by Arthur, giving us the historical and political background to “The Troubles”.

      The Troubles was a conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. The conflict began in the late 1960s and is deemed to have ended with the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.

      The conflict was primarily political and nationality fuelled by historical events. It also had an ethnic or sectarian dimension, yet despite the use of terms Protestant and Catholic to refer to the 2 sides, it was not a religious conflict. A key issue was the status of Northern Ireland.

      Unionists and loyalists, who for historical reasons were mostly Ulster Protestants, wanted Northern Ireland to remain within the United Kingdom. Irish nationalists and republicans, who were mostly Irish Catholics, wanted Northern Ireland to leave the UK and join a United Ireland.

      Peace Walls were built in some areas to keep the 2 communities apart. We walked through several huge gates of the Peace Walled area, which are still locked shut every evening.

      The Peace Walls are adorned with murals depicting scenes related to the Troubles.

      Arthur presented the information in a personally informative and sometimes gruesome manner. We all agreed that we had learnt was informative and, at times, emotionally confronting. Arthur’s tour explained the Troubles in great detail, and added to the reality by Arthur’s own personal account of his own experiences at the time. He also looked forward and placed Belfast within the context of a fast changing, post industrial world.

      He also took us to the City Centre and the Cathedral Quarter, where we were last night, and to the Albert Memorial Clock in Queen’s Square in Belfast. Completed in 1869, it is one of Belfast’s best known landmarks. It has a 4 degree lean caused by it being built on soft soil.

      Today’s lunch consisted of a buffet style meal at a pub, it was interesting as they kept saying there was to be a top up of the buffet coming, it never seemed to come through. Though the meal was nice in a nice traditional pub with some cheery locals.

      The pint today for Dad and I was a beer brewed for English Heritage, which I bought at Stonehenge, called Wassail, a strong chestnut ruby premium ale with an oaky aroma containing sherry and mature fruit. Drinkable but probably won’t rush to purchase another. Desma resorted to a blood orange gin and tonic, along with Katie.      Read more

    • TravelerIreland
      Day 17

      Victoria Square

      July 23, 2023 in Northern Ireland ⋅ 🌧 57 °F

      On the way from St. George's Market to our hotel, it started pouring. We stopped into the Victoria Square shopping center to try to wait it out. We went up to the dome to look at the city, then stopped and had a drink.
      Cheers!      Read more

    • TravelerTour of Europe
      11
      Day 95

      Belfast

      April 12, 2023 in Northern Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

      Belfast, Nordirland

      Unser Stellplatz in Belfast lag in einer schönen Parkgegend ausserhalb der Stadt. Wir hatten eine schöne Aussicht auf das Hafengelände und wurden wie schon in Dublin mit einem wunderschönen Regenbogen empfangen.

      Leider war der erste Tag in Belfast nicht ganz so schön, da es durchgehend regnete. Dies nutzten wir zu einem entspannten Tag im Camper mit Serien schauen und der Vorbereitung für den nächsten Tag. Dies hat sich gelohnt, am Mittwoch wachten wir bei Sonnenschein auf und gingen zum frühstmöglichen Zeitpunkt ins Titanic Museum. Somit konnten wir die tolle Ausstellung über den Bau des Schiffs und vielen weiteren Details beinahe alleine bestaunen. Das Museum ist sehr interaktiv gestaltet und wir waren beide sowohl begeistert als auch beeindruckt.

      Nach einem kurzen Stadtspaziergang gingen wir in ein Kaffee, welches Marion am Vortag entdeckt hatte und genossen ein hervorragendes Frühstück. Danach gönnte ich mir die volle Museumsdröhnung und ging ins Irish Republican History Museum, während Marion weiter in der Altstadt verweilte. Leider konnten wir die Verabredung mit Joe Biden nicht einhalten (er hatte einen "wichtigeren" Termin) und gingen zurück zum Stellplatz.

      Am Donnerstag ging es um 6:00 Uhr weiter auf die Fähre nach Schottland, wo uns der noch höhere Besuch erwartet, da die Shitheads (Steffi, Carmen, Silvano und Jonathan) für ein Wochenende nach Edinburgh kommen. Wir freuen uns schon sehr darauf 🎉🍾

      Auch wenn wir nur 5 Tage in Nordirland waren und gerade einmal 224 Strassenkilometer zurücklegten, gefiel es uns hier sehr gut.      Read more

      See translation

    You might also know this place by the following names:

    City of Belfast, Belfast, BFS

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