Posted by BELFAST
We journeyed from Singapore to London and then onto Dublin where a we picked up a car to take us on our Irish adventure. The drive to Belfast was easy and we checked into the Merchant Hotel in the heart of the city nice and quick. Our first sight as we walked to the Hotel from the car park was this striking sculpture which depicts the conflict of the Troubles and it could not have been summed up better. A constant reminder of over 700 years of it.
We had our first meal at the ” Cloth ear”, which was the pub attached to the Merchant Hotel we were staying in and the food and atmosphere were fantastic, such a fabulous way to start the holiday.
The Merchant Hotel was a Grand pile and the dinning room resturant was like being in a Palace with it soaring Dome and ornate arches and as it was once a bank the classic grandness was no suprise.
From here we wandered around the nightlife area we were staying in and it was buzzing on a saturday night with Hens do’s everywhere, and as a result some pretty platered ladies wandering around. Great pubs and vibrant lanes in abundance and we took it all in before crashing out to a nice sleep in our big four poster bed.
We often choose to do the Big Red Hopon-Hopoff bus tours in cities to get a feel for how they all work and as we only had one full day in Belfast it was the ideal way to get around and get maximum exposure. We started at the very grand City Hall that was built to surpass anything in Dublin and when designed it was to force the British Government into giving Belfast City status which was finally granted in 1888.
Next stop was the St George’s markets with its fabulous Victorian steel construction and every nick knack known to mankind for sale in its walls. Belfast is also wellknown for its very ornate pubs and bars and nothing matches the extraordinary Crown Liquor saloon resplendant in all its art nouveau glory.
Another stunning surprise was the beautiful mosaics in the Belfast Cathedral, Church of St Anne which were straight out of the Byzantine style of 1,000 years before. The Art nouveau artists really leant heavily on the style and created some true masterpieces.
McHughs is Belfasts oldest running Pub dating back to 1711 and is hughly popular to this day, which can be said for most pubs in Belfast, and during summer times the outdoors is the place to be. The street art with massive fresco paintings and sculptures was a real highlight in this part of town, much of it depicting various historical figures and of course the Troubles time is ever present.
One of Belfasts most famous Pubs is The Spaniard and was located on the corner opposite the Merchant Hotel (above) so it was a no brainer to take a visit and sample the beverages, our first real small rish Pub experience. The Craich was a blast and we met a couple of tippsy Ladies who were on for a chat and of course things turned to the insanity of the USA and mixed in with unification matters. it was facinating but after an hour it was time to leave them to their own devises and go a wandering.
Every street we entered there was more Art and it was all fabulous, even the orange car in the fields of flowers was so unique and fun and then around the corner a couple of dudes having duel, as they did back in the day.
On our last night in Belfast we had another extensive wander of the streets of the Old Town centre and took in all the sights and fun times being had and a lovely meal at Forty Four, a nice trendy French Tapas style eatery before trying to find some relaxed live music venue …but to no avail…they were all too loud or packed to the rafters.
We visited the Titanic Museum which was facinating and well worth the few hours you need to do the experience. The whole area on the river where the ship building took place was really interesting and the resurgence of inner city living is pumping around there..
No visit to Belfast is complete without a bus or taxi tour of the Troubles main locations on the Falls Road and Shankhill Road where the divide and walls existed between where the working class Catholic and Protestant people lived. There is now a massive peace wall along one part of the divide and still plenty of barriers and barbed wire at play. The posters tell the story of HOPE from one side and still agression from the other…such a shame . We took the bus and stayed on the whole time on the open deck as the story unfolded we saw no need to step foot into it at all.
The murals tell the story of how the two sides see the conflict very differently.
The Queen’s University Belfast prescint is well worth a visit, both for the lovely Victorian Architecture as well as the Botanical Gardens and Museum adjacent. The Gothic/Tudor revival style borrows much from Hampton Court Palace in London and mixed amongst it is the beautiful Palm House conservatory, a stunning Victotian Engineering masterpiece of steel and glass.
The flower displays, especially the Roses were beautiful with many varieties we had never seen before.
THE COAST ROAD
The next day we headed off up the North coast towards Larne on the M2 and then linked to the Coast road, through the Black Arch, past Drains bay and Ballygalley beach and bay(below). it was our first real experience of the Irish Coast and the fields of vivid green that would become a staple for the whole trip
We stopped for a break at Glenarm Castle Gardens for a visit and morning tea and it was a great choice. Just off the coast road it was beautifully set up and the walled garden was a delight.
Our lunch stop was at a nice little town called Cushendall with our first glimpse of the colourful houses that were everywhere in Ireland. We ate at a really nice resturant called”Harry’s” and we encountered our first baked wheel of Feta, with walnuts, beetroot and rocket salad…wow, sensational.
A stately little cottage that was once a gate house to a Manor house we imagined near Red Bay Castle on the coast.
After much navigation along the winding coutry lanes of the North we made it to Bushmills and our BnB, Carnborne House in the country side looking towards the coast at Portballintrae. The accomodation was excellent and the proximity to Bushmills town, where we enjoyed a lovely meal at “Tartines” that night, was great. After settling in we headed out to the Giants causeway and Dunluce Castle to get in before the expected rain was to arrive.
DUNLUCE CASTLE
Dunluce Castle was the first stop and was once the seat of the O’Donnell clan and occupies a prominent position on the rugged coast of County Antrim. Of course it was used in the filming of Game of Thrones but it has been in ruin since the 1700’s when part of the castle tumbled into the sea during a huge storm.
THE GIANTS CAUSEWAY
Next stop was the Giants Causeway and our first encounter with the tour buses and crowds. Once you got going and joined in the walk to the site it was fine with plenty of room for everyone to spead out so dont be put off, plus there is a shuttle bus that can take you down and back up. The site is extraordinary and the surroundings extend the volcanic experienes over a large area. To see it all could take a whole day but we spent about 2hours plus trampsing over the unique formations on the water side and then up the hillsides to take it all in. The shapes and scientific rationale on how everything was formed was facinating as were the mythical stories of Giants causing havoc with each other to create the causeway was equally entertaining. A very worthwhile experience for sure.
BUSHMILLS
Bushmills town is known both for the Giants Causeway nearby as well as the Whiskey distillery in the centre of town. Bushmills Whiskey is, along with Jemesons Whiskey are known as Irelands best Whiskey makers and we certainly enjoyed a few on our trip. The town itself was small but definitley had its own charm.
THE DARK HEDGES
Due to the long summer days there were plenty of hours of daylight to take in the sights so after diner it was off to the “The Dark Hedges”, also made more famous by Games of Thrones to experience the ambience of the Beech Tree shadowed lane at Gracehill House. It extended for abour 500m and creates a variety of imagery framing the lane and fields beside. 150 trees were planted in 1775 by James Stuart in honour of his wife and they are now preserved as an historical monument. The Tunnel effect creates both an atmospheric and errie feeling as you traverese along the lane and something that is well worth the visit.
