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Beguiling Belfast
MALCOLM ROGERS travels to the city of Belfast, the place which has produced characters as diverse as
C.S. Lewis, Van Morrison, George Best, and Mary McAleese.
Belfast has a dramatic setting on the edge of Belfast Lough, with the huge volcanic outcrop of Cave Hill behind dominating the city to the west, while the giant gantries of the shipyard, the birthplace of the Titanic, line the horizon to the east.
The natural beauty if the hills used to clash jarringly with the ugliness of the barbed wire, the sand bags and the miles of corrugated iron separating the communities. Now things are slowly returning to normal, and this city, which in its time has manufactured everything from linen napkins to ocean liners (and not forgetting, of course, sectarian bitterness), has turned progressively to culture and craic.
The relative peace of the last few years has resulted in a huge upsurge of restaurants, cafes, clubs and pubs. The new Laganside centre boasts an array of concert venues, coffee shops, restaurants and art galleries, with excellent views across the Lagan Weir. Meanwhile “The Golden Mile”, stretching up Great Victoria Street to just beyond Donegall Square (the name is the result of a centuries-old spelling mistake) boasts every conceivable type of eatery from Indian vegetarian delicatessens to up-market Tuscan brasseries.
The restaurant critic Clement Freud reminisced recently about a trip he made to Belfast some years ago. He was much taken by a sign in a pub which said “Pint, pie and a kind word — £1.00.” Clement duly ordered the “special”, was served an immaculate pint of stout and a serviceable enough looking pie, but the chat didn’t seem too forthcoming. “Hey! What about the friendly advice?” he called to the barman. The barman came back, leaned over the bar, and conspiratorially whispered to Clement, “If I were ye, I wouldnae bother eatin’ the meat pie.”
An unlikely scenario in Belfast these days.
A few suggestions on how to spend your stay in Belfast:
- Visit Odyssey’s W5 “interactive and discovery centre”. W5 is the brand new £45 million science bit of the Odyssey complex near the river, where you can interact with all sorts of weird and wonderful exhibits.
Odyssey Trust Company, 2 Queen’s Quay, Belfast BT3 9QQ
Tel: 028 9045 1055, www.w5online.co.uk
- Take a trip to the Ulster Museum, Botanic Gardens, Belfast BT9. This superb museum has an entire gallery dedicated to Early Ireland, but also boasts artefacts nicked from many other countries — telephone 02890 383000 or 383001 or www.ulstermuseum.org.uk
- While on the museum theme, don’t miss the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum,
Cultra, Hollywood, Co. Down BT18 0EU
Tel: 02890 428 428,
e-mail: uftm@nidex.com
- Visit Milltown Cemetery, on the Upper Falls. A melancholy place, this cemetery has sent headlines right throughout the world.
- Browse through the book literary collections of the Linen Hall Library, hard by the City Hall. The smell of this venerable old institution is a mixture of leather, books, newsprint and wooden floors. Established in 1788 ‘to improve the mind and excite a spirit of general inquiry’, it’s one of the most fascinating libraries in these islands. 17 Donegall Street North (there goes that spelling mistake again) 02890 321707
- Visit the Entries, a cluster of narrow alleyways or closes running off High Street and Ann Street, all that remain of Belfast’s oldest quarter. Once home to thriving commercial and residential
centres, now only the pubs remain.
- Ignore your cardiologist’s advice and dine at the Kitchen Bar in Belfast — the Kitchen Bar, 16-18 Victoria Square, Belfast, BT1 4QA Tel: 028-9032 4901
- Have a Guinness and a meal in one of Ireland’s oldest pubs — Kelly’s Cellars, Bank Street, in the very centre of Belfast. With cellars dating from 1720 (possibly the oldest in all Ireland) Kelly’s was a frequent meeting place for the United Irishmen in the run-up to the 1798 rebellion. Tel 028 90 324835.
- Visit The Crown. No Oirish theme bar this — the only theme is drinking. Sit back and enjoy a pint in one of the
snugs, which bear a passing resemblance to confessional boxes — but don’t let that put you off. Instead marvel at the ornamental woodwork and intricate glasswork — if you’re lucky the sun will be streaming through the stained glass windows, once again giving the impression of being in church.
- The Crown Liquor Saloon, 46 Great Victoria Street, Belfast. Telephone: 02890 249476
- If you want to visit some of the sights (and sites) associated with the Troubles, take Black Taxi “Living History Tours”. You’ll see the famous murals, the peace-line — and lots more — contact Michael:
e-mail: Michael@BelfastTours.com ,
Tel: 02890 64 22 64,
Mobile: 07860 127207
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