The town of Cullybackey might not be much of a place, but it does have a railway station. On that basis I decided to take a day trip from there to Belfast – some 30 miles away. Of course, I had never been to Belfast before, so had no idea that there wasn’t just one station there but 3 or 4 commuter stations, so when the time came on the train to buy a ticket – I had no idea which one to ask for. I had overheard the young women in the seat in front of me ask for Great Victoria Street, so I followed her lead and alighted there.
Opposite the station was a pub which looked really interesting, for its décor, not just because I was thirsty. As it was only 10am and the breakfast menu looked expensive, I decided to walk on but made a note to come back.
I followed the signs to the city centre and alighted on the City Hall. This is a pretty impressive place as town halls go – and I was tempted to try and get in to look around; but there was an event taking place which involved a lot of journalists and photographers so I decided to watch them instead. I never did find out what was going on – but the kerfuffle seemed to centre on a young lad in a Spaceman’s outfit. It was a warm day and even I could see he was getting uncomfortable. I later found out that there was a guided tour around the interior of the hall every hour – but by then I was back in my digs in Culleybackey (can you tell I just love that name!)
According to street signs – across the road from the Town Hall is a library – the Linen Hall Library no less, so I thought I would pop in and have a look around.
I wasn’t even sure if I was allowed in, but it looked public and nobody stopped me. I made my way up a fabulous curved wood staircase and found that many of the seats and tables were only available to subscribers, but there were a few others and I plonked myself in one of those and looked around. I had passed the ground floor café and the smell of toast and coffee had followed me up the stairs. I think I had found the place for brunch already. And to be surrounded by books. I gave away my 3000 + books for sale on Amazon in order to be on these travels … so books is a love and passion. After a peruse of the shelves – concentrating on the Irish collection and books about Donegal in particular – I made my way downstairs for vegetable broth and more of the wheaten bread I had already fallen in love with.
By now it was after Midday and I decided to walk back to the pub I had seen some hour and a half earlier. The Crown Liquor Saloon on Great Victoria Street. It was still a little early in the day (I rarely drink at lunch times) but I felt that in the interests of blogging …
I ordered a pint of Guinness and waited. I guess most of you will know – but just to be clear, Guinness is NOT something you rush in Ireland. It takes time to pour and time to drink. Typically the barperson will pour about 2/3rds of your pint and then leave it on the side to settle for perhaps 3 or 4 minutes (I once waited 10 – but I think the young server had forgotten about me.) Then they will finish it off and you pay – but don’t take the first sip for a couple of minutes yourself – to get the real creamy flavour of the head. Whilst I was waiting, I was watching the booths filling up. Little rooms at the side of the bar with small doors for a bit of privacy at your table. I thought they had all been taken, but a woman of about my age came in and found a door behind me which I hadn’t noticed and off – loaded her coat and bags to reserve it. She then came over and ordered a bottle of Champagne and 6 glasses – so which I thought was fair enough as it trumped my 1 pint of Guinness.
So, I never got to sample a booth – but stayed at the bar – sipping slowly whilst I watched the great and the good of Belfast come and order and try the booth doors more in hope than expectation. There was also a restaurant upstairs which took away many – I guess you would have to pre-book for this.
Photo by Tristan Gassert on Unsplash
I came out of the pub in bright sunshine and decided to make my way to the station opposite. In coming into Belfast I had noticed that there was a station called Titanic Quarter – and I guessed that it served the Titanic Belfast– a new museum to the building of the infamous ship which took place at the dockyards in the city. As one wit put it – “the Irish built her and the English sank her.”
I got off the train and was confronted by the modernist exterior of the building which looked to me a bit like the front of a ship just before it hits an iceberg. Walking into the building, I got a sense that this was a very well put together exhibition of the story of The Titanic but there were 2 problems. The price (over £15.00 with a senior’s ticket – £19 normally) and the time – it was estimated at 2 hours … which would take up the rest of my day, but also could I cope with being on my feet that long – I had already walked quite a way.
In the end I decided to give it a miss – with some regret as the reviews I have seen since have all been good – check them out.
Back into sunshine – I decided to have a sit and watch the water lapping at the old dockside and try to imagine what life would have been like when the docks were going at full blast. Hard to do. It is such a serene area right now (although I guess it will get a lot busier later in the tourist season.)
In the end I decided to give it a miss – with some regret as the reviews I have seen since have all been good – check them out.
As I got up to walk along the waterside, I was confronted by 2 young men who wanted to know what my name was and what I was doing there. I hadn’t really thought about the fact that I was in a city with an edgy reputation and there was no-one else in sight, until now. When I spoke and revealed my English accent, they seemed to relax and kept saying something which, I confess, I didn’t understand (their accent?) but they seemed to be trying to sell me something – but I made to move away and they didn’t try to stop me. Unsettled, I decided to walk back to the railway station and onwards to Cullybackey.
It was probably as well that I did, for looking out of the train window – there was a terrific storm of fierce winds and rain pelting down; a reminder that the weather in Ireland is so changeable.
That was MY day in Belfast. What did I learn?
Well in a nutshell – to do more research first. With only one day, it would have been as well to have looked up where I really wanted to go and what the cost and duration of the visit would have been. Would taking a tour have made sense? (I saw lots of walking tours around the city – and I believe there is a black cab tour as well.)
In addition – I also need to be aware that as an older single visitor I might be a bit vulnerable and to check what is ok and not ok to do in the place I am going to. I am assured that Belfast is a very safe city for tourists and that I was in no real danger on the dockside, but it is just a reminder to myself not to take my safety for granted.
So there you have it. How NOT to spend a day in Belfast. I hope to post more positive stories about other places soon.
