Belfast: the Giant’s Causeway, the Titanic and the Troubles

From Portree it took two buses and the world’s shortest flight to get me to Belfast (okay maybe it’s not the world’s SHORTEST flight. But with roughly 40 minutes in the air it was certainly the shortest flight I’ve ever been on). On my way into the city I ended up chatting with an elderly couple about nothing in particular as we were both waiting at the same bus stop. When they realized I was travelling on my own they became adorably concerned about my safety and tried to give me every direction they could to help me get to my hostel. They reminded me so much of my own grandparents that I wanted to hug them goodbye when my bus arrived but as I had only known them for five minutes I settled for waving.

I didn’t have the best weather in Belfast, but my good luck with the weather had lasted so long in England and Scotland that I wasn’t surprised. Thankfully we did get one sunny day and to take advantage of it, Geehee and I went on a second bus tour together to see the Giant’s causeway, Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, Dunluce Castle, and the old Bushmills Whiskey Distillery.

Out of all our stops I think the distillery and the Giant’s causeway were my favourites. In Bushmills Distillery Geehee and I enjoyed a couple tasters of Irish whiskey before piling back on the bus to head for the Giant’s causeway.

The Giant’s causeway is easily one of the coolest natural geological phenomenon I have seen yet. Designated to be a UNESCO World Heritage site, the Giant’s Causeway is formed by 4,000 interlocking hexagonal columns called basalt columns. When you look at the columns it’s hard to believe that they are naturally formed. They were created when Lava flowed through the chalk beds below forming a plateau. As the lava cool it cracked much in the way dry dirt cracks leaving a distinctive pattern. The different sized columns lead from the shore down into the ocean giving it the appearance of a Giant sized stone path (or causeway). The Giant’s causeway was our last stop of the day and we were lucky enough to have a beautiful sunset accompanying the view.

Back in the city on a rainy day, Geehee and I explored the Titanic museum which was heart-breaking, but educational. At the beginning, the focus is on Belfast’s history before it transitions to the construction of the Titanic in Belfast. The tour of course ends with the tragic history of the ship itself and includes a summary of how the Titanic has been commemorated by movies and songs throughout the years. Letters sent from the ship before it’s crash are particularly heart-breaking to read, but the stories of heroism and of loved ones reuniting lift your spirits slightly. If you need a rainy day activity in Belfast, check out the museum.

That said, if you only do one thing in Belfast, let it be a black cab tour. These cabs don’t take you to a destination in particular, but instead bring you around the city while your driver explains the history of the “troubles” in Ireland. The Troubles, also known as the Northern Ireland conflict, refer to the near guerrilla style warfare that occurred in Northern Ireland from the late 60s to the late 90s. The bare bones explanation of the conflict is that the Protestant residents of Northern Ireland considered themselves to be British and wanted to stay a part of the U.K., while the Catholic residents considered themselves Irish, and wanted to separate from the U.K. to form a united Ireland. Over the years, many films have been made about the troubles.  The British Film Institute has listed the top 10 here. Our driver, Paddy Kane, picked us up from the hostel and we spent the next two hours winding through the city listening to his stories. Paddy lived in Belfast during the troubles and said that if you are going to go on a Black cab tour and want to hear first hand stories, make sure your driver has grey hair.

Paddy had certainly earned his grey hair. He lived in Belfast during the troubles with his wife and sons. Over the years he lost friends and family, including one of his sons, to the troubles. We drove through neighbourhoods that were burned to the ground, heard stories about those who fought and those who died.

If you’re looking for a black cab tour I would highly recommend going with Paddy. You can find his contact information and more details on the tours here. In the website gallery you can see a picture of Paddy with Vince Vaughn taken while Vince was in town for the movie, Art of Conflict. Narrated by Vince Vaughn, Art of Conflict, explores the troubles through the many murals painted throughout the city. While I haven’t watched it yet (as it’s not on Netflix) it has 6.8 stars out of 10 on IMDB which isn’t bad. If the troubles interest you, give it a go.

The rest of my time in Belfast was spent wandering around the city and included a tour of city hall, a wander through the local greenhouses and, for the first time ever, I went to the movies by myself. I’m sure if I was in a social mood I could have found someone in the hostel to go with me, but I wasn’t excited by the prospect of having the same “where are you from”, “where have you travelled”, “what have you done” conversation again. I was already downtown so I ducked out of the rain into a movie theatre, grabbed a popcorn and caught a matinee showing of Hotel Transylvania 2. I had watched the first movie with my Dad and it was actually surprisingly funny so I thought I would give the second movie a go. I didn’t enjoy the second movie as much as the first (either because I was watching the movie without my Dad, or because sequels are normally worse) but it was nice to sit and do nothing for a couple hours in a near to empty theatre.

After a rainy few days in Belfast and roughly one month in the U.K., it was time to head south to the Republic of Ireland to see Dublin and to drink Guinness.

More to read

• Coimbra & Porto: Cloaks, Bats and Delicious Food
• Madrid: the City Built on Water, Surrounded by Walls of Fire
• Lisbon: Fado with a Friend and Failing to be an Adult
• Madrid: the City Built on Water, Surrounded by Walls of Fire
• Tilloy-Les-Cambrai Canadian Cemetery
• Paris: The Louvre, the Tower and Cafés galore
• Cork: Kissing the Blarney Stone and Visiting an Art Gallery with Lord Voldemort
• Dublin: Guinness, Fake Tim Hortons and Guinness
• Barcelona: A magic fountain, bubbly and a lost credit card