Belfast

June 16 - 18, 2025

Well, we are off again, this time to Ireland, Wales and Norway. We flew with WestJet overnight Monday night, a very smooth flight that afforded us with a few hours of restful sleep. We landed early in the morning and made our way to our hotel on an airport bus. We spent a quiet day in Dublin yesterday (Tuesday), mostly napping and planning our trip to Belfast. We will return to Dublin for three days at the end of our Irish adventure so no need to worry about missing what it has to offer.

 

We planned to leave Dublin early on Wednesday morning but forgot to set an alarm. At 10:30 am, Jim woke up ... well rested but perturbed by our slow start to the morning. He quickly left the hotel and took a taxi back to the airport to pick up our rental car. I also slept in but remained in the room and got our luggage all packed up. As soon as Jim returned, we checked out (noon by this time) and began what should have been a leisurely drive to Belfast with a few stops along the way.

 

First stop was a local cafe for a much needed coffee and a snack to go. Next, we decided to forgo our first planned stop, Newgrange, a historic tomb, renowned for its alignment with the winter solstice sunrise. Once again, we decided we could see it later on.

Driving on the left-hand side of the road has its challenges and leaving the city, following round-about after round-about was a bit of a trial. (For those of you from K-W, you will understand that it was like driving down Ira Needles on the wrong side of the road.) We finally made it to the M1 where the driving was much more pleasant as everyone was going in the same direction on the same side of the roadway. When we left the M1 and travelled on more local highways, we had become more comfortable and feeling much more confident.

 

We settled in for a pleasant drive north. Sadly, the M1 and even local highways had large hedgerows on each side which made seeing the surrounding countryside quite difficult.

 

We missed the village of Carlingford, our first destination, and travelled on to Greenore which provided a wonderful view of the Irish Sea and an inlet that divided the land into two distinct sections. Once we realized our error, we turned back to visit Carlingford, a trip that was well worth our while.

 

Carlingford is a charming country town, filled with old buildings, narrow streets and steep hills. We saw at least four castles in various states of disrepair and churches that were identifiable by their spires - tall pointed for Catholic churches and square and shorter for Protestant churches. This town has clearly been designated a tourist town and was decorated to attract guests.

Three main streets led us winding through the centre of the town. Although old, each building had been painted a bright pastel colour - green, blue, pink, yellow, even bright red. Interesting shops and eateries were abundant and so were tourists. It was fun to stroll along the streets and appreciate the effort this town has made to bring it to life.

 

Back to Greenore, we went and once again cast our eyes over the wonderful view of the Irish Sea. There is a ferry that we could have taken to cross the channel to the opposite shore, but we chose to drive along the coast and around the top of the channel to enjoy more of the landscape. It was lush and green with a multitude of stone fences, herds of sheep and cattle, and many farmers out in the fields cutting and baling hay.

Interestingly, as we drove along this local highway, we crossed the border from Ireland into Northern Ireland, just past the village of Newry. There were no signs or markings or toll booths to mark this place and it took us quite a while to realize where we were.

 

Our next stop was Tollymore Forest Park, a state forest park in Northern Ireland located at Bryansford, near the town of Newcastle in the Mourne and Slieve Croob Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

It became the first state forest park to be established in Northern Ireland on 2 June 1955. It was a truly beautiful site, beginning with the elegant stone archway at the entrance to the winding pathways and hills that meandered in many directions. It was quite quiet there today but one can imagine that on weekends it would be very busy, especially since it also houses a beautiful campground.

 

We continued on our slow trip to Belfast by next following a roadway that meandered among the Mourne Mountains. We eventually found the Mourne Mountain High Scenic Road that provided wide vistas over this amazing landscape.

Much of the land was marked into fields with sprawling stone fences. Sheep were the primary inhabitants although we did see a myriad of cattle and goats as well. Old farm buildings and homes had been replaced by modern stone structures and agricultural buildings. But the stone fences were still the primary mode of designating fields and more modern properties. We took several photos of stone fences because they were so varied in structure and stone size. We found them fascinating.

 

It was early evening when we left the Mourne Mountains behind and headed for Belfast. We passed through several villages and small towns. The roads were still busy and the traffic was pretty dense at times, requiring significant attention to the narrow roadways and busy roundabouts. But we finally made it to Belfast and successfully found our way to our hotel, home for the next two days. Our room is beautiful and dinner, included in our room rate, was delicious.

 

We will be sure to set an alarm for tomorrow morning so that we can use the entire day to explore Belfast.

 

Thursday, June 19, 2025

We awoke to the sound of the alarm clock this morning, moderately adjusted to this new time zone (5 hours ahead of Ontario). The hotel breakfast was delicious and provided energy to begin our busy day.

 

By 9:30 am, we were standing at the bus stop across from our hotel, awaiting the Hop On Hop Off Bus to tour Belfast. (What luck that it was so convenient for us!) The route included 19 different stops throughout the city. We often take a HOHO bus to orient ourselves to a new city and this route did just that. Along the route, we travelled through major shopping areas, museum areas, historical sites, areas where 'the troubles' between north and south Ireland occurred, the gates that are still closed each night.

 

A major stop was at Titanic Belfast.

Here, we disembarked and thoroughly enjoyed an amazing display of the Titanic, ranging from the initial planning to build such a vessel, to its construction and selection of contents, to its launch and initial departure, and of course, its demise. Each area was filled with videos, voices and artifacts, tracing the brief history of this amazing vessel from start to finish. Did you know that the vessel was launched when only the shell had been completed? So that, it was certain that it was not ever going to leak. It took an additional 10 months to complete the interior of the ship along with furnishings and decor.

There was a separate room for each component of the ship building with verbal and photographic descriptions of what was done. There was even a ride (as in a Disney ride) on carts high above the construction of the ship. Its launch was presented in front of the real launch sight, visible through broad windows overlooking the sea. Displays of the cabins, both first and second class had been recreated. Linens, carpets and china and crystal chosen for the Titanic were also on display.

 

Following the collision with the iceberg, rescue ships were highlighted. One two story wall named the survivors and those lost in the tragedy. I have to admit that I had tears in my eyes ... it was so realistic. Voices of the survivors were used to describe the rescue and the aftermath. If ever you are in Belfast, this is an absolute must!!

 

Highlights from the rest of our tour of Belfast included several cathedrals and churches, Catholic and Protestant; Queen's University, a highly regarded institution filled with elaborate buildings

; Belfast Peace Wall, formerly intended to divide the city, now filled with artwork and written notes about the peace that has finally settled in. It was a surprise to us that the gates between the north and south are still closed at specific times each day. Murals adorn the walls of many buildings, some of them political in nature but most are based on literature and entertainment. Of course, there is a whiskey distillery and lots of bars and restaurants. 

 

Fatigued from a full day of bus, walking and learning, we returned to our hotel for a rest before dinner. Dinner is included in the price of our room so it makes good sense to eat in house. Dinner last night was delicious and we anticipate the same quality again tonight.

 

Friday, June 20, 2025

Following breakfast, Kathleen, a new friend, picked us up for a coffee at Monroe House. What an elegant and large home it was with beautiful grounds that matched its character. I had met Kathleen at a Probus function in Waterloo just a couple of weeks earlier and we made an arrangement then to meet again in Belfast. It was so much fun to be together a second time. We all said it was as if we were lifelong friends. Kathleen dropped us off at our hotel.

 

From there, we drove around Belfast in search of distilled water (surprisingly difficult to find) and some other items before we head out of the big city. Driving in the city was challenging but we managed to find the things we needed without mishap and headed out of town.

 

We drove north to Larne on a variety of roads, some much wider than others. We came to the Irish Sea again and saw a ferry to Scotland. On a clear day it is possible to see the coast of Scotland across the water but not today.

 

We drove along the coast on the Causeway Coast Road. It was a bright sunny day with lots of people at beaches… although none in the water. The glistening sea was beautiful.

 

On a portion of the road that did not hug the coast, we detoured inland to see some of the Glens of Antrim, rolling countryside, lots of cattle and sheep, little traffic, and very pretty scenery.

 

Back to the coast briefly before the Causeway Coast Road veered inland again. We cut across hilly terrain to Bally Castle and watched people on the beach. Again, no one was in the water.

 

The Coastal Causeway Route returned the water near the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, Sadly or luckily (you decide) it was closed for the day. From a nearby cliff we could see the bridge, made of rope stretching high above the water connecting mainland to an island.

If you walk one way, then you must walk back across it again. It did not look like something we would want to do.

 

It was getting late in the day (Irish time). We continued driving and reached the Giant's Causeway visitor centre (5 pm). It was closed. We continued along road to Dunluce Castle, a larger castle than previous ones we had seen. with much larger remains. The sun was perfect for some great photo opportunities.

A bit further along we also saw rocky remains of what looked like the Apostles (Great Ocean Road - Australia). A bit further, we diverted to White Rocks Beach and took pictures from a lookout.  We had been given advice if there was a 'pull off', take it. Indeed there was much to be seen from these vantage points. Beauty in the late afternoon sun.

 

The road passed through the village of Bushmills which is the home of Bushmills Whiskey (also closed). We finally arrived at Portrush, had a delicious and enormous dinner at Harbour Bistro on the water and then, after a long day, we arrived at our Bed and Breakfast in Portrush.

 

Saturday, June 21, 2025

Following a wonderful breakfast at our B&B, we headed out for another adventure. We backtracked to the Giant's Causeway, a naturally formed structure of thousands of hexagonal basalt columns formed from lava.

It is a popular tourist destination and serve as a many-layered staircase above the water. Of course, there is a myth that describes how the site was constructed by prehistoric giants. The visitors' centre and gift shop featured work of several artists who specialized in paintings of the Causeway. The whole area was fascinating and somewhat unreal

 

Once again we were following the coast road, a partial repeat of yesterday, equally beautiful. We stopped to take another photo of Dunluce Castle and carried on through Portrush once more heading for Portstewart. We travelled through pastures of grazing sheep and cattle, as well as crops of grain and potatoes.

 

Inland again, we went around a big inlet to Coleraine, a holiday destination. It was a busy town with lots of holiday homes, enticing shops, crowded streets, heavy traffic and an amazing vista of the sea. We understood why it was a destination of choice.

 

As we left Coleraine, we had a huge surprise. Bonanza!! A Tim Horton's .... of course we stopped , a reward after travelling through Coleraine Town Centre three times as we navigated the round-abouts.

Coffee in hand, we were now on regular highways on the way to Londonderry (commonly referred to as Derry).Once there we crossed the river and went to see the 18 foot thick town walls with wide walking path on top, historically separating the south from the north.

We continued on to LetterKenny - very busy town, clearly some sort of special event was occurring. All roads clogged in every direction. Later we learned that the event was the Donegal International Rally, annual car race in County Donegal, one of most important events in Irish Rallying Calendar since 1972. And this most challenging rally begins and ends in LetterKenny. It continues for four days. No wonder there were crowds of people and traffic!!

While there, we did make our way to St. Eunan's Cathedral, completed in 1901. As expected, it was beautiful inside.

 

Just out of town, we stopped at the Coffee Barrel for a quick break and continued to drive away from LetterKenny to Glen Veagh National Park. We arrived mid afternoon but the Visitor Centre closed at 5 pm. We had just enough time to see an introductory movie and take a bus ride to the castle built for use in the hunting era and its amazing gardens. The surrounding countryside was extremely rocky and mountainous and totally unfit for agriculture. The park was originally purchased as a hunting estate and subsequently transformed into a national park.

 

We now headed for Donegal, our destination for the next two nights. We made our way back through LetterKenny (still thronged with people and traffic), enjoyed a bountiful dinner at Abbey Hotel in Donegal and then out into the countryside to find our B&B. It is located several kilometres outside of Donegal, along lovely roads with few cars. It was a great way to end our day in the car.

 

We are happily settled here for two nights ... laundry, sleep, reading and catching up on this blog and our photo book. We will be restored and energized for the next leg of this adventure.

 

Good night!