Belfast, Northern Ireland
The Palm House is one of the earliest examples of a curvilinear cast iron glasshouse. It was built by Richard Turner who also went on to build glasshouses at Kew Garden and Irish National Botanic Gardens.
The Queen’s University of Belfast opened as Queen’s College in 1849.
Crown Liquor Saloon is owned by the National Trust. It was reburnished in 1885 as a Victorian gin palace. The booths, known as snugs, have doors to enclose them and an antique bell system for calling waitstaff.
The RMS Titanic was built by Harland & Wolff (H&W) shipyard in Belfast. Don’t worry their reputation wasn’t tainted, they still build ships in Belfast and their iconic yellow cranes are a staple of the skyline.
Most everyone knows the Titanic sailed from the UK toward New York. But actually its last stop was Cobh, Ireland, known at the time as Queenstown, Ireland. After leaving the shipyard in Belfast, Northern Ireland it sailed to Southampton, England, where it picked up a majority of its passengers but it also sailed to Cherbourg, France and Queenstown, Ireland before heading out into the icy Atlantic. The Titanic was too large to dock in Cherbourg so it needed tender vessels to ferry people and belongings from shore. You can tour the tender boat Nomadic with a ticket to the museum.
Robinson’s Pub houses the largest private collection of Titanic artifacts.
There are amazing views from North Belfast!
There are some great murals that line the streets of West Belfast.
The Peace Line separates the Catholic and Protestant sides of West Belfast.
Having grown up in the US, I only had a vague idea of the IRA and knew nothing of The Troubles. The Berlin Wall overshadowed it on the nightly news.
The Troubles (1960s-1998) were a violent conflict in Northern Ireland between the Protestants who wanted Northern Ireland to remain part of the UK and the Catholics who wanted Northern Ireland to become part of the Republic of Ireland.
West Belfast gave me a lot to ponder. How long will the Peace Line remain standing? Is it beneficial for it to remain as a reminder of how things were? What can we learn from it? How does it relate to what’s going on in the world today?
Visited: 3-5 Nov, 2023
Fun fact: Northern Ireland does not have an official flag.