Arriving in Belfast from our early morning flight from Newcastle, we decided that since there were 5 of us, a taxi into the centre (13 miles from the airport) would be the way to go, costing £1 more than 5 single tickets on the airport shuttle bus.
We checked in to the Park Inn hotel (Clarence street west) which was comfortable and modern and exceptionally clean but more importantly it was very central. Breakfast was delicious and plentiful and was served in the bar which, with its elevated ceilings and grandiose light fixtures, could have been built in the 19th century rather than 2009.
Since none of our party had been to Belfast before we decide to take advantage of one of the many sightseeing bus tours in operation. Walk anywhere round the city centre and you’ll find numerous ticket vendors touting for business. The bus tours take around one and a half hours and take in the city centre and Titanic quarter as well as the Falls, Shankill and Crumlin roads. It was a great way to orientate ourselves with the city, which it turned out, is quite compact, and most places we went to were in walking distance of our hotel. You could easily get by without a guidebook or a map, as the people of Belfast are exceptionally friendly and will recommend places to you and provide directions.
The Crown pub was first on our list of ‘must sees’. Owned by the National Trust, it was the most elaborately decorated pub we’d ever seen. Think indulgent opulence and you’ll get the general idea. Luckily, we arrived in the pub just as a group were leaving so we jumped into the wooden booth, or ‘snug’ they’d vacated. Armed with our pints of creamy Guinness, we shut the door and marvelled at the stained glass, painted mirrors and wood carvings and imagined we were in our own private railway carriage. The snug came complete with an antique call bell to summon the barman when you required further refreshment – sadly, we rang the bell, but nobody came to replenish our glasses.
The annual Belfast Titanic Maritime festival happened to be taking place while we were there. Now in its 5th year, and spread over the Belfast quays, there was an international market, exhibitions, live music, boat racing and plenty for the kids to do including face painting, balloon modelling, stilt walkers and magicians. There were a huge variety of food stalls selling everything from hog roast to Provencal potatoes. Several boats were moored along the quay and were open to the public. My favourite was the Jacinta heritage Trawler, usually moored in Fleetwood, Lancashire, the original crew tell an interesting tale of life at sea.
Sadly there weren’t enough hours in the day to see as much of Belfast as we would have liked, although we are planning to return and take a trip to the Giants Causeway and all the other places recommended to us.
Peace mural in BelfastSection of the Peace Wall, Belfast
Section of the Peace Wall, Belfast
