Matt and Mum Do Ireland, Part 8

PART EIGHT: Crossing The North

2016-03-22 to 2016-03-24

The Giant's Causeway.

Our final stop on our circumnavigation of Ireland (except for the return to Dublin at the very end) was the capital of the North: Belfast. A city with a proud history in manufacturing – specifically ships – it has also seen its share of problems over past few decades. While Derry had Bloody Sunday, Belfast saw many associated issues to do with the Troubles. But since the mid-1990s, it has slowly rebuilt itself through investment and opportunity to become the bustling hub it is today.

The only sign we found denoting the border.

Departing from Derry, we backtracked to the east briefly for one reason only. In my previous post, I noted that we were somewhat disappointed in the lack of notification of crossing the border into Northern Ireland. However, on Monday 21^st, on our way back from our lap of County Donegal, we spotted a rather nondescript welcome above the first speed-limit sign right on the border line. And so, of course we needed to go back and get a photo alongside it!

Following the sign-posted Causeway Coastal Route, we tracked northeast around Derry towards Coleraine. Our first target was the Dunluce Castle which lies just to the west of the town of Bushmills. Originally built in the 1500s and renovated as it changed hands over the centuries, the Castle would have been a marvellous estate to behold. Accessible only by drawbridge (which is now a permanent wooden fixture), it was well protected from unwanted visitors as it sat grandly on an outcrop over the treacherous cliffs below. The only docking for ships is in a cave directly under the outcrop, and ships could only dock here on extremely calm days. With a lot of the skeleton of the Castle still standing, it offers an interesting insight into life in those days; days when you either had money and a reputation or you had absolutely nothing.

Dunluce Castle.

Dunluce Castle.

Dunluce Castle, well protected over the cliffs.

Dunluce Castle - the view to the west.

From the Castle, we continued along the Causeway Route to the next stop and the namesake of the route: the Giant’s Causeway. An excellent example of millions of years of geological formation and erosion, the Causeway shows up the true power and wonder of the natural world. The Irish tales state that the Causeway is what remains of a path built by a giant named Finn McCool so that he could walk over to Scotland. If you consult a map, you will notice that his path is going the wrong direction, but let’s not let fact get in the way of a good story! While I really enjoyed wandering around the rocks and exploring the amazing formations of the Causeway, it has to be said that the entry fee is ridiculously overpriced: £9 for a self-guided tour. Sure, you get a little audio guide that gives you information about various stops along the way. But neither mine nor mum's worked properly. It seems like you can actually get a guide to take you and explain some things, but going without a guide is no cheaper. And most of all, given that it’s a natural phenomenon that requires no human maintenance, charging so much really is a bit of a farce. But, anyway... enough grumbling; the Causeway is an amazing site and definitely worth exploring!

Incredibly interesting natural scenery at the Giant's Causeway.

Over millions of years of erosion, the rocks have formed into interesting shapes.

The Giant's Causeway is made up of "pillars", a lot of which are almost perfectly hexagonal.

And the pillars are not exactly short, either!

Stopping off in the town of Bushmills for a bit of lunch, we eventually opted for The Copper Kettle, a little cafe on what appears to be the town centre square. We would have preferred a hearty stew or something, but most places were either closed or coffee shops! In any case, The Copper Kettle did have an Irish Stew special, so mum ordered that while I went for the Bangers & Mash. We both had the same problem with our dishes: basically all potato. And look: fair enough, mine had 3 sausages to accompany the 5 scoops of potato. But some peas or carrots might have evened things out a bit. The stew on the other hand had, according to mum, “one-and-a-half pieces of meat and about eight pieces of potato”. While both were tasty, the ratios were a bit off.

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They weren't kidding about their *large* cappuccino.

Delicious Bangers & Mash, but could have done with some veg.

But all that starch did have a purpose as the next stop was the Bushmills Old Distillery at the south end of town. Signing up for the tour, we set off at 15:30. The guide, Amy, took us through the process from grain to whiskey, explaining the stages along the way. Nothing particularly different from the self-tour at Kilbeggan, but it was good to have a professional explanation. We weren’t allowed to take photos along the tour, as it is a working distillery, but the tour ends in the bar where each person gets to choose one of five whiskeys from which to taste test a nip. Of course, I chose the top one on offer: 12 year old single malt, and a smooth drop it was! Mum sampled the honey-infused option, which was suggested as a good choice for people who don’t drink too much whiskey. But as mum was driving from there onwards, I ended up drinking most of both of them!

Bushmills is the oldest licensed whiskey distillery in the world.

Choose your poison!

We had planned to visit the Carrick-A-Rede ropeway before proceeding down to Belfast, however, the weather had started to roll in and we didn’t want to get to Belfast too late. Furthermore, we found out it costs £6.50 just to cross the ropeway bridge! So, all these reasons combined to convince us just to drive to Belfast instead. Arriving to our accommodation, Belfast International Hostel in the University Quarter, we dropped our bags and relaxed briefly. The hostel was quite nice and well equipped; not the best one of our trip, but certainly not the worst either.

Our room at Belfast International Hostel.

We decided to go for a light dinner to finish the day. Our map showed a couple of cafes close by, so we went for a walk south down Botanic Avenue, first arriving at Maggie May’s. Their menu didn’t inspire us for a light snack. We continued on and found soups and toasted sandwiches available at Ribs ‘N’ Bibs. Simple and nicely presented, this turned out to be a good choice. On settling the bill, we got chatting to the owner and the waitress about Ireland and Scotland and Australia; he was a typically very friendly and talkative local, and we enjoyed some great banter with him; definitely a good choice to drop in here.

It's almost like they set this up so people would Instagram it!

A very tasty toastie to fill the evening gap.

The sounds and lights of the bustling city of Belfast woke us relatively early on Wednesday morning. Oh how I would love to not be a light sleeper! We walked north through the city centre and wrapped around the City Hall – a rather impressive building. Continuing through to and across the River Lagan, we made our way out to Titanic Belfast. A multi-million dollar investment, opened to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the sinking of the world’s most famous ship, Titanic Belfast sits at the end of the dry dock where the Titanic was built. Through four stories, you are introduced to the expansion of Belfast’s industries prior to the ship’s manufacture; the facts and figures about building such a massive ship; life in the shipping yard as a worker; and tales and facts about the ill-fated journey across the Atlantic. All in all, quite an interesting exhibition, but it doesn’t come cheap: it will cost £17 entry for an adult, so save some pennies before you go.

Belfast City Hall.

Titanic Belfast.

Here once stood the dry dock where Titanic was built.

"The Beacon Of Hope", affectionately known by Belfast locals as "Nuala With The Hula".

We retraced our steps through town almost the same way after the exhibit in search for some lunch, deciding on Robinson’s on Great Victoria Street. On the 1^st floor bistro, they have a varied menu with most mains between about £8 - £12. Both of us had a hankering for a nice, warm Steak & Guinness Pie which came with a mountain of fries and some mysterious mashed vegetables. Quite the feast, to be honest and it certainly sorted us out for the remainder of the day!

In the late afternoon, we went for a bit of a walk around the streets near our hostel. One road to the north and parallel with Donegall Road, there is a wall covered in murals dedicated to various people – both famous and regular – that originated from the area around Sandy Row. While we didn’t know anything about these characters, it still stands as a nice tribute that they would honour their neighbours and friends in this way, showing a true pride in their heritage and the place which they call home. We continued all the way down Donegall Road as there was supposed to be a few more murals around the place. We didn’t find much, but walked to the roundabout at the far western end where the Rise Up Sculpture sits. I’m not sure what this is supposed to represent (it looks like a big Zorbing Ball!) but it’s interesting nonetheless.

Murals to various locals from Sandy Row.

Note the language: "murdered by the enemies".

Rise Up Sculpture.

On Thursday morning, Belfast was overcast and dreary. The rain was spotty rather than heavy, but still convinced us to take it easy for a while before heading out. This day was planned around hunting down the more famous of the Belfast murals relating to the Troubles, and seeing various areas around the city. We walked down to the east end of Donegall Road, not finding very much before returning past the hostel and heading north up Sandy Row and then west along Grosvenor Road. Cutting through the backstreets to see Clonard Monastery, we then came back out via Falls Road and then up Cupar Way. Along this stretch of road lies the so-called “Peace Wall”, a structure about 15-20 metres high which, I suppose, separated the Republican and Loyalist areas of the city during the height of the Troubles. These days, it remains standing as a tribute to the past and has been decorated with street art all the way along Cupar Way.

The people of Sandy Row are very proud of their home and of being part of the UK.

Clonard Monastery.

In the Republican corner of town, a memorial mural to one of their leaders.

The Peace Wall on Cupar Way.

Besides being a cool piece of art, I found the words to be very appropriate.

We continued up to Shankill Road, which is a strongly Loyalist area. A few murals dot the buildings along here, along with a memorial to some locals who were killed when a bar in the area was bombed by Republicans. As with in Derry, it was quite interesting and reflective to walk through the different areas of Belfast and get a glimpse into what people have been through over the years of disagreement.

An interesting and very true quote.

Once we got back into the city centre area, we started looking for a place for lunch, spying Titanic Bar &Kitchen down a shadowy side street. A good variety of dishes adorned their lunch menu, as well as a special offer of two main courses for £15. Mum enjoyed a Spicy Meatball pasta (that she informed me was not really spicy!) while I had the Thai Green Chicken Curry. It was very tasty and warming, filling me up just nicely after a long morning of walking.

Thai Green Chicken Curry at Titanic Bar & Kitchen.

From there, we decided it was time to head back to the hostel and rest for a while. I worked out later using Google Maps that our round trip for the day was about 9.7km, so we definitely earned a lazy afternoon!

Not a bad effort for a the day!

We spent one last night at the hostel before packing up and moving along; this time, actually changing country. Belfast had been our last stop in the island of Ireland before taking a detour across to Scotland. Bring on the haggis!