Belfast, Northern Ireland

Day 22

Belfast, Northern Ireland

The short hop last night was quiet. This morning we slowly entered the river to Belfast at 7am. By 0735 we were tied up to the pier, starboard side to pier and port side (our side) overlooking the river, a couple of oil platforms in for maintenance and a part of a shipyard, complete with dry dock. It took me a few minutes to realize that what I was looking at from our cabin and deck was the Harland & Wolff shipyard; birthplace of the Titanic and Olympic. There is the Titanic museum, the drydock, grounds where the Titanic was built and a replica of her bow. Also at the site is the warship HMS Caroline.

an estate on the channel

oil platform in for maintenance

Our pier, starboard side of the ship

The Harland & Wolff shipyard and old pump house, dry dock

part of Titanic memorial

HMS Caroline

By this time the rain had started and the temperature was cool. A trip up country was planned so we joined the herd and piled into a bus for a 7 ½ hour tour. These people love their round-abouts and they have plenty of them. After negotiating a few of these circles in the bus, I determined that roundabouts driven on the left side of the road should be left out of my bucket list. Best to sit back and stare out the window.

Off we went to the North passing through Larne, Ballygalley and a restroom stop at Carnlough. At the latter, a local came up to us to visit so I got a dose of the Irish accent. On to Cushendall and Ballycastle. Narrow coastal road. Ballycastle is where Marconi lived and transmitted the first transatlantic message.

This is also the home of the author of Tales of Narnia. Something was mentioned about Game of Thrones being filmed somewhere around this part.

At Carrick-a-rede we stopped and piled out to look down at a house on a promontory connected to the mainland with a rope-bridge. Tiny (and I assume very wet) people could be seen crossing the bridge.

countryside

typical

Another photo stop at White Park Bay overlook during a break in the rain and a no-break in the wind. A drive through Bushmills where more fortunate tourists were sampling the whiskey. The lunch hour had arrived so we stopped for roast beef and potatoes at the Royal Court Hotel on the coast. Back in the bus (getting the picture?) and down the road to another overlook; this one peering through the wind driven rain at Dunlace Castle, a bit of a distance away.

Golf

Dunlace Castle

With no time to dry off, we made the short hop to Giant's Causeway, a spot on the coast with 60,000,000 year old basalt rocks that look like stepping stones; another UNESCO World Heritage site. Despite the rain and wind, every tourist in Northern Ireland was here today. Cruise ship tourists, shore tours, Europeans, Japanese, locals all crammed together on the pathway, trams and in the visitors center. We took a tram to the bottom, looked at the slippery rocks and paths, got back on the tram and returned to the visitors center, planning to save this spot for another visit and a drier and quieter day. Besides, my carry along no headphone audio guide didn't work.

Giants Causeway

Back to Belfast I watched the farmland of Ireland go by, beautiful and verdant. Sheep and sheep and sheep and (oh look, a cow) and sheep. We did get a good look at North Eastern Northern Ireland despite the rain and wind and what we saw was clean and beautiful. The people we met were friendly.

on the waterfront

streaming aboard

looking back upstream at departure

view of shoreline

Back in Belfast by 1630. Sailed at 1715. One of the ship staff mentioned she had visited the Titanic museum and was told that our next leg would follow the route of the Titanic. For certain, I know, we would be sailing through waters frequented by convoys and U-Boats during WWII.