From Donegal, we had two options: driving straight to Belfast, or making a detour to the Giant’s Causeway, which is THE site to see in Northern Ireland. Despite the iffy weather, we opted for an extra hour of driving to see the most famous rocks in the United Kingdom.
On the way, we crossed into Northern Ireland, and noticed some interesting changes. First off, they use miles instead of kilometers, so the speed limits are all in MPH. Secondly, all of the signs were in English only. In Ireland, the signs are in Irish and English. More to come on some other differences we experienced.
At Giant’s Causeway, we first took the “Cliff” walk, which was listed as “difficult,” but was quite easy. Who are they trying to scare off? The main tourist attraction is at the end of the road pictured below.
This area is referred to as the Amphitheater. Looks just like Hawaii, without the sweating.
From the Cliff walk is a set of stairs and switchbacks back down to the lower area, where the bulk of the tourists were congregated.
The Giant’s Causeway is made up of approximately 40,000 hexagonal interlocking basalt columns, created during an ancient volcanic fissure eruption.
The name comes from Irish mythology, with a story about an Irish giant building it to Scotland to fight another giant there. Depending on who tells it, one of the giants destroyed the causeway out of fear of the other giant, and the rocks you see now are after the damage was done. Did I mention they like their Guinness over here?
The area does look man-made, with stepping stones and what appear to be stairs everywhere.
It was actually difficult to find a spot that didn’t create an excellent photo op.
It rained pretty much the entire time we were there, but we made the best of it!
It’s difficult to see in the photo, but if you expand it you can make out “The Camel” on the opposing cliff.
We then drove to Belfast, the Capital of Northern Ireland. Our first morning there, we took a Black Cab Tour, set up by our hotel. These tours tell the story of “The Troubles”, the conflict that existed for 30 years in Northern Ireland from the 1960’s to 1998. The story is told by a gentleman who lived through the time period, while he drives you around in a historic cab.
The center of Belfast is split into two areas. On one side is the Catholic/Nationalist side, and on the other is the Protestant/Unionist side. However, this conflict had little to do with religion; it was mostly political. To simplify it, the Nationalists want to be part of Ireland (separate from the UK), and the Unionists want to remain part of the UK.
First, we started off on the Catholic/Nationalist side of Belfast. There are numerous murals everywhere in this part of town, depicting the Nationalist heroes from that time period.
Our driver pointed out who each of the people were in the mural, but there were way too many to keep track of. It was clear which side he was on, though!
It was amazing to us, but there is still a wall separating these two sections of town, even though there hasn’t been any substantial conflict in years.
There are even a set of gates that separate the two sides, that they close every night. I had no idea this was still going on. We went through one of these gates and ended up on the Protestant/Unionist side.
Our driver told us this soldier was one of the most prolific “murderers” (his words, not mine) on the Unionist side. They even referred to him as “Top Gun.” Note the Union Jack, of which we saw plenty on this side of the wall. Below, our driver explains how the soldiers in the graphic are pointing their guns towards the Nationalist side of the wall.
There are literally hundreds of murals in the area around the wall.
This is the most famous of the Nationalists, Bobby Sands. I could have sworn it was a woman. Bobby was a Nationalist leader who died in prison, during a hunger strike in 1981. His death, along with 9 others, led to a surge in Irish Republican Army recruitment and activity.
After the tour, our driver dropped us off at the Titanic Belfast Museum.
Belfast is where the Titanic was built, and they have this incredible museum devoted to it. This is definitely a “must see” in Belfast, and be prepared to spend a few hours here.
There are displays depicting every step of the ship’s construction, from planning, to laying the keel, to riveting every section of the ship together to create the “unsinkable” vessel. There is even a little ride they take you on, supposedly through the shipyard. Very “Disneyfied.” The ride shows them putting rivets into place, and they have heaters blowing hot air on you for various effects on the ride.
They used a LOT of rivets to build the ship!
There are a lot of displays to read. You could easily spend 4-5 hours here, if you’re like me.
On May 31st, 1911, the Titanic was launched. They issued tickets for the event, and the crowd was estimated at 100,000! One of the secretarial staff for the builders, Charlotte Brennan, was given a VIP ticket which she was allowed to keep upon admittance—and this ticket is on display.
She even made notes on the back of the ticket, regarding events surrounding the ship’s demise.
This viewpoint from the museum is looking down on the area where the Titanic was built and launched from.
This photo shows them hoisting up one of the stacks of the Titanic. These things are massive, and I found it very impressive they had the capability to lift this sort of weight over 110 years ago!
The museum has mock-ups of the various cabin classes. This is a replica of a First Class Cabin.
The final moments of the Titanic are spelled out in a display towards the end, showing the last Morse code broadcasts from the vessel. I found the one below particularly interesting. Cape Race was a nearby vessel which the Captain of the Titanic had hoped was close enough to assist.
One last shot of the museum from the outside. Such a beautiful building!
This was our hotel in Belfast, the Fitzwilliam. It was nice, but no USB ports anywhere, and a really funky bathroom. It’s in a great location, though.
The view from the room was excellent!
Next up, we head to Dublin to connect with friends, and drink a lot of pints!