Northern delight will draw you back
AWINTER break with the children, not too far from home, with no tricky language or airport check-ins to worry about. What more could we want? The answer, it seemed, was more time. Our relaxing weekend began with us hurtling south towards Cairnryan as fast as the drizzle and self-preservation would allow, having one of those tight-lipped rows about who decided when we should set off.
But we made it and screeched into the care of the P&O crew with a huge sigh of relief.
The trip is as relaxing as it is short and the wifi kept the children entertained while my husband I took in the ocean view.
After a short drive from Larne to Belfast, we found a warm welcome at the Europa Hotel.
With the skies now clear, we decided to hop on to a Belfast City Sightseeing Bus Tour.
It’s a fascinating way to get the potted history of this muchchanged city, from its glory days in the late 1900s and the impact shipbuilding had on Belfast and the world, through The Troubles to its recent reinvention.
The tour does not flinch at the city’s violent past. A non-judgemental commentary is given on The Troubles as you pass the Falls and Shankhill roads, where so much violence took place and to the Peace Walls that separated this divided city.
The teenager even perked up a bit when we learned our digs are ‘the world’s most bombed hotel’, suffering 36 attacks during The Troubles.
It is hard not to be impressed by the way the city has moved on from being a place beset by seemingly intractable difficulties to one that has so much to offer. It is lively and vibrant, full of colour and a distinct humour.
And one of its proudest boasts is the top-notch food on offer. We headed out to the Bar and Grill at James Street South. The former linen mill has been transformed into a stylish and unstuffy restaurant offering some of the best steak we had ever tasted.
The next day we hopped back on the Belfast City Sightseeing Tour Bus (tickets are valid for 48 hours) and hopped off again at the Titanic Quarter.
Titanic Belfast is as much of a success as the liner was a failure. It tells the story of the ship from her conception in the 1900s, through construction and what that meant for the city, to her launch and subsequent sinking.
We explored the sights, sounds and even smells of RMS Titanic through nine galleries and a ride that transported us to the clanging shipyards.
The moving testimony of survivors set alongside the Morse Code messages from the doomed vessel will stay with me for a long time. Even the kids judged it to be ‘OK, for a museum’ – high praise indeed.
But the Titanic Quarter has more than the museum. There are plenty of places to eat and more nautical treasures including SS Nomadic.
It was just a short walk back to the city centre where there is enough retail therapy to satisfy the most desperate cases, as well as more galleries, exhibitions and tours than you could begin to cover in a weekend.
The next morning we headed north for the Giant’s Causeway.
Samuel Johnstone may have considered these basalt columns worth seeing but not worth going to, but he hadn’t reckoned on the National Trust visitor centre with its lively interpretation of the myths, people and geology of the area.
We also found time to squeeze in a visit to magical Dunluce Castle, used as Castle Greyjoy in Game of Thrones.
Alas we ran out of time for further exploration and as we made our way back to Larne, we vowed to return as there was so much we hadn’t managed to pack in to our weekend.
Even the teenager found himself enthusing about the trip. ‘It feels like we’ve been on a proper holiday and we should go back again soon,’ he said without a single eye roll or sigh. I think I agree with him.