A little road trip to Belfast

[JES72]

That’s a lovely thing to do.

 

[kateincornwall]

This must have been very poignant for you , just lovely xx

 

[Jacqui-S]

Yesterday we visited a couple of distilleries
For change.
Not a drop was drunk. Can't promise none was purchased though.

A new distillery. The Hinch Distillery
.


And an old one....Bushmills

 

[Stacia]

At last your Grandfather has received a visit, to leave a button from your Father's uniform is very moving.

 

[M.F.]

Oh yes.

It's a 3 hour drive from home on the east coast of Scotland down to the Cairnryan ferry terminal, then about 2.25 hrs on the ferry.
Stormont is in the east of Belfast and we were staying in a hotel right across the road.
We had a lovely evening stroll in the grounds, beautiful sunshine!
A very popular place for families and those walking their dogs.

I misunderstood! I thought you’d visited Ireland, return trip, in one day!! I see you’re staying a few days! Have a lovely time! Very moving your visit to your grandfather’s grave.

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

Lovely to see you hop over to Ireland! I'm thinking of dragging Carbon over for Christmas this year before we land in Cornwall, so this is an inspiration.

 

[Lab_adore]

found the in-your-face Protestant/Catholic divide with all the murals,

Forgive my ignorance but I had no idea this was still such a big thing. My Mum had Irish Catholic parents and when she decided to marry my Dad in the Anglican church not one member of her family went to the wedding. How sad is that?

 

[Selina27]

I'm planning a trip to Ireland myself, as my son is over there working for a while. Accommodation and ferry booked for the first week of October

I'm really looking forward to it !

 

[Granca]

I took one of my dad's naval uniform buttons with me and pushed it down into the earth by the headstone

What a lovely thing to do. A very special visit.

Have you been to the 1820s pub that used to be a gin palace? My DiL was in Belfast for work last summer and sent some wonderful photos - looked well worth a visit.

 

[Jacqui-S]

The Crown Bar?
we passed it on our tour

We stayed at the Stormont Hotel, pretty reasonable, and on the Glider bus route. Very impressed with the public transport system.

 

[Jacqui-S]

After our distillery visits, we went to the Giant's Causeway.
Has to be done.
Took the self guided audiotour and walked both ways (OH took the bus.....)
It was a bit busy for my liking, but fascinating and a must-do trip.

 

[Jacqui-S]

We were too late to take the rope bridge walk a little further along the coast to the east .

Passed a beautiful beach, Lilly would have loved it.
You could easily see over to Islay, Arran in the distance, and the Ailsa Craig rock. They didn't come out in my photos though.


Can you spot the bridge in that last one?

 

[Jacqui-S]

We were getting the ferry home mid afternoon on Wednesday and decided to book for the Titanic exhibition in the morning after checking out.
It was so interesting (also a little busy!).
We learned a lot about Belfast, ship building and specifically the building of Titanic and the Olympic. The audio commentary was excellent and you got a great sense of the intricacies of hull building and what the men went through.
There was less emphasis on the disaster and sinking than I expected, though it was covered well and thoughtfully.
But if Sophie asks, nope, we never went there



Behind us in this photo below you see the metal posts indicating where the titanic sat duiring its time being built. The Olympic was to the left, perhaps more clear on the photo anove.

 

[Atemas]

Really really interesting @Jacqui-S. i’d love to visit the Giant’s Causeway. I went to Belfast but I was only 3. My dad was from there and we were visiting my grandparents when the Queen came after her Coronation.

 

[Granca]

The Crown Bar?
we passed it on our tour

Yes, that’s it.
Lovely to see some photos of the Giant’s Causeway. I went there with my mother when I was about seven, as my uncle (Mum’s brother) and aunt were living in Belfast. My uncle was in the RAF and stationed in Northern Ireland for two years. My photos are black and white, so it’s good to see it in colour! I remember being fascinated by the white stone ‘toadstools’ on the grass verges by the entrances to houses when we explored the countryside.

 

[Lab_adore]

Can you spot the bridge in that last one?

NOTHING would convince me to cross that bridge *shudder*

 

[MrChew]

I'm taking notes for when OH and I visit his ancestral homeland in a few years and take Rowan to meet his extended family in County Down!

Giants causeway and the coastline are absolutely beautiful.

 

[Lisa]

So fantastic! I would love to go there!
Interesting re:the Titanic - quite a few of the victims are buried in the Halifax graveyard and we were thinking of going to see them, and the Titanic memorial there, but ran out of time.

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

Love the photos and it brings back such good memories of my one and only trip to Northern Ireland. The rope bridge and Giant's Causeway were definitely favourites. The host at my B&B recommended I park my car in a village along the coast (can't remember the name), then take the bus from there to the Causeway and walk back along the cliffs to my car. It took all day but probably where I fell in love with coastal path walking. The grass is so spongy in Ireland, you feel like you could fall down on it and just bounce up, like walking on a fluffy cloud. Well, a fluffy cloud with its fair share of cow poo.

The Titanic attraction looks really well done. I wouldn't have even been tempted to visit something like that, but seeing your photos I would go. I went to a museum in Youghal on the Irish diaspora and they had a replica ship (not the Titanic) and man, was that depressing. Very educational and touching, but a tear-jerker from start to finish. Your Titanic experience sounds MUCH better!

I've never seen Ireland with so much sun - I'm glad you've gotten good weather for your mini-holiday!

 

[Jacqui-S]

I've never seen Ireland with so much sun

We were very lucky!
I would have loved to do more walking, but OH is far from fit......