Archive for July, 2008

Ill be including a photo with each post, I suppose.     I’ll be including a photo with each post, I suppose.  Hi, and welcome to my all new blog. I’m going to try and post regular, well blog posts here, and hope that someone might eventually visit. It all works off WordPress. The rest, as they say, is boring.

The Dome of Victoria Square SC

Well, I went into Belfast yesterday whilst my sister and my mum were shopping in Victoria Square. Unbelievably I brought my camera, and did some photography.

Having done all of that I decided that the route which I took was quite interesting, and maybe I should plan out a few others.

So here is WaB No. 1:

Starting at Victoria Square Car Park

Length c. 2mi

Time c. 90min

Safety Warning When walking around Belfast it is inadvisable to wear football shirts (especially Glasgow Rangers & Celtic, which have sectarian connotations). Since you will be passing near to a Loyalist neighbourhood it is advised that you don’t talk about religion or politics either, for various complicated and rather silly reasons… Oh, and on that note, I accept no responsibility for any difficulty you get into, and I suggest you research the area, its history, and safety advice before visiting. Having a map is always wise too.

Assuming you’ve arrived early in the day I suggest going straight up into the dome of the Victoria Centre before the crowds arrive. The lifts take you up into it straight from the car park.

Then, heading out of the centre at the Williams St. South exit, walk up Cornmarket, and turn right onto High Street.

Continue down High Street, and you will see the Albert Memorial Clock ahead of you. Cross the Road, and enjoy the fountains of Queen’s Square. Walking on, on the left is Custom House Square, with, unsurprisingly, the Custom House, designed by English Architect Charles Lanyon. The glass building visible from here is the Royal Mail sorting office, on Tomb Street. Walk on around Custom House Square, and back to Queen’s Square. Cross the Road here to Donegall Quay, but first look to your right at the Calder Memorial Fountain, dating to 1859. Despite a 150-year service record, it still pumps water for thirsty passers-by.

Cross the road now, and walk over to the big blue fish. The work of John Kindness, a Belfast born artist, was unveiled in 1999, and is 10 metres in length. Once you’re done ogling the fish, head on up the twisted ramp, onto the weir. As you cross you’ll get amazing views of a small section of the river, as well as the beautiful Dargan Bridge, of concrete manufacture, with its equally splendid sibling, the M3 Bridge. Inconspicuous stairs take you down to four different piers in the length of the weir, where you can get a considerably better view of the port, and the Lagan estuary, partially obscurred by the supports of the bridge.

Once you cross the bridge things aren’t much better. This part of Belfast is considerably gloomier, with plenty of waste ground. You are now on the fringe of the old docklands. Walk along this road to the left, and under the two aforementioned bridges. A tidier, newer building pressents itself. The Odyssey Pavillion, home to the Belfast Giants (Ireland’s first professional Ice-hockey team), and Belfast’s entertainment centre. With a disproportionatley large number of restaurants to attractions, it houses a Sheridan IMAX, and a large Cinema, a bowling alley, a stadium, and W5 – Belfast’s answer to London’s Science Museum.

If you don’t eel compelled to explore the building head on down the road where you will discover the unfortunately named Titanic Quarter. At the moment it is a jumble of cranes and concrete buildings, frankly not terribly different from its past as the Harland and Wolff Shipyard. I couldn’t get any further on foot safely, due to the discontinuation of the footpath, so I doubled back along the road which led by the front of the building, and took a right turn along the side, to get a better view of a huge cruise liner. You may want to omit this deviation if nothing interesting presents itself. During some months – I am told the summer, in which case I can only ask why it wasn’t there in the July fortnight – that the Nomadic is moored there, which is open for tours of the last connection to the Titanic (a trip around Belfast may cause sickness over this point, but that is another matter), and the city’s cash-in on the various films. Heading back under the bridges, and across the weir, back up through Queen’s Square, to the Albert Clock, cross the road, and turn left. Walking along Victoria Street you will soon be greeted by the yellow Jaffe Fountain, and the entrance to Belfast’s Commercial paradise-under-dome, which should be familiar to you. Before heading back in, look to your right from the Jaffe Fountain, at Bittle’s Bar, which I am sure is the strangest pub in Belfast, by exterior shape, atleast.

You’ll notice on my map a suggestion to look at Ann Street, by heading out the same way as before, only then heading around the side of Victoria Square, on Ann Street, and into the side entrance, with the blue figures (my hearty congratulations to anybody who notices anything ironic about one man and his companion in relation to the centre’s by-laws).

So that is an exciting trip around a bit of our city. It took me an hour and a half, stopping along the way for photos, and being leisurely on a sunny, warm day (unusual). It’s around 2 miles long.

Map of the Walk