Northern Ireland is one of the Countries that make up Great Britain. I know that the violence that sometimes takes place here may make you decide not to visit this charming place. Violence can happen anywhere so maybe you will rethink your travel plans if you are visiting Great Britain. The population of Northern Ireland is over 1.6 million people. 38 % are Catholic and the rest are belong to some Protestant Church. Out of the total population over 35 % live in the Capital City of Belfast. They use the British Pound as their currency. The country is beautiful when you see the North Atlantic Ocean’s coast line here, the Mountains, the green lowlands, the Cities and the charming Towns & Villages.
BELFAST: This beautiful City is ringed by high hills, the Belfast Lough and the Lagan River. Did you know that the Titanic once sailed from here? It once was a great port city and most of the major Cruise Ships stopped here. We took a few tours to see the many spots that Belfast has to offer. We took a Pub Tour one night and a Living Bus Tour one day. I will just tell you about the places we saw on the tours and by dropping in to places on our own. I loved the Edwardian, Georgian and Victorian architecture of the buildings here. The domed City Hall had an interior all made from Italian Marble walls and floors. The Botanic Gardens exhibits the flora and fauna of this area. We loved the Ulster Museum that shows exhibits from the Spanish Armada. We saw Queens University that was so charming with its older building a vine walls. At Lagan Waterfront we visited the new Science and Discovery Center. One evening we went to the Opera House and saw the Ulster Orchestra play, (they do present Operas and Musicals here but they were not on the schedule when we were here). The City is full of cafes, pubs, shops, art galleries and theaters that you could spend a week here just browsing, eating or drinking through them.
GOLFING: Golf must be the National sport of Northern Ireland because there are 80 courses to choose from. (I don’t know what the National Sport is but I presume it is either Cricket or Soccer). There are two championship courses at Royal County Downs and Royal Portrush, (this one is rated as one of the top 20 in the World). OTHER THINGS TO SEE: Europe’s longest footpath is called Ulster Way. It is 580 miles long and the circular trails take you at least a day to see it. I’m not that fast so it took us two days. When we visited the port town of PORTRUCK we visited the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge. I did get across it with my eyes closes and groping my way across. It was worth the effort as when we were across we saw the magnificent cliffs, bays and sandy beaches on the Causeway Coast. We visited a few ruined Castles and a few fishing villages while we were here. The green of the fields on one side and the Ocean on the other was breathtaking. ST. PATRICK’S COUNTY has many walking trails. We visited SAUL to see the first Church St. Patrick built. We also went to STRANGFORD LOUGH where he landed in Ireland in 432 A.D. Our final stop was at the town of DOWNPATRICK where we visited his grave and took a tour of the ST. PATRICK CENTER that opened in 2001.
SOME FINAL THOUGHTS: We found the people in Northern Ireland friendly and helpful. The Women of this Country are spearheading a way to bring the Catholics and Protestants together. I know what it means to loose someone you love when they are very young. So do these Mothers. We enjoyed our trip here and did not see one display of violence. I hope you will consider paying a visit here one day. ©LL