Northern Ireland Travel Feature
This article originally appeared in the Bolton Evening News on the 15th March
2003, and was featured in the Mourne Observer from Northern Ireland, talk about
taking coals to Newcastle.
I
f
you were to think of Northern Ireland the first thing that would spring to mind
would be ‘troubles’, ‘terrorism’ and political arguments. What you wouldn’t think is that Northern Ireland is
probably the United Kingdoms best kept tourist secret.
When I say Northern Ireland I am referring to the six counties that
constitute the province of Northern Ireland which are Counties Antrim, Down,
Armagh, Tyrone, Fermanagh and Londonderry. When we went over to Northern Ireland
for the October half term we stayed in County Down on the east coast and made a
few trips into the North Eastern County of Antrim.
Northern Ireland could best be described as a very compact
Scotland, with an abundance of self-catering, bed and breakfast and hotel
accommodation. The advantage it has
over Scotland is its containment, and that accommodation is quite a bit cheaper,
there are also no ferocious midge attacks in July!
To reach Northern Ireland there are now lots of options
open to the traveller. We drove to
Scotland and enjoyed spectacle of the golden autumn sunlight flashing over the
Lake District hills and rolling over the lowland Scottish hills on route to
Cairnryan. There are ferry ports to Ireland from the West Coast of Scotland,
England and Wales, so chose what is best for your needs.
If you don’t like the idea of a ferry ride to Northern Ireland then
there is some amazingly cheap air travel from Liverpool thanks to Easyjet.
You can obtain a single ticket to Belfast for as little as £7.50!
But if you are hiring a car for a weeks holiday you may find that the
cost works out the same as a ferry ticket including car.
Our first glimpse of Northern Ireland was from the deck of
the pristine European Causeway. The view was like something from an ancient
Celtic age as we sailed across a sea of glass and black mountains swathed in a
sea of mist came into view (you could almost visualize the Celtic warriors in
their huts with their peat fires burning, as they sharpened their swords for
their next battle!). However
that’s where the romantic notion ends. When
you arrive in Northern Ireland you are still in the 21sth century, no
women in black shawls, no donkeys pulling peat on the back of their carts and no
men smoking clay pipes.
The first
thing that hits the nostrils is the smell of peat fires as Northern Ireland has
very little piped gas so heating is either oil fired, or by using peat, coal or
wood. 
Flags fly from telegraph poles – don’t be frightened by this, flags
in Northern Ireland are like football shirts in Greater Manchester it shows who
you support!
We were staying in self-catering accommodation in South
County Down which was situated about one mile outside a small town called
Newcastle at the foot of the beautiful but foreboding Mountains of Mourne.
There is no shortage of accommodation around this area as it is popular
with tourists. Newcastle itself is a Victorian seaside town, which is currently
undergoing transformation from the burger bars of the 1980’s to cater for a
variety of different tourist taste buds. The
town attracts hundreds of visitors from Belfast at the weekends whilst during
the week (with the exception of the
summer months) reverting back to a rural seaside town.
You will discover when driving through Northern Ireland as
we did when we travelled from Newcastle up to the North coast of County Antrim
that the province is rural and the roads are fast for driving.
Traffic calming measures around the province are not so much traffic
lights or sleeping policeman as tractors and farmers moving cattle and sheep
from field to field.
If there is a pecking order of sights to see in Northern
Ireland then the Giants Causeway is the first ‘must see’ wonder.
We stopped at a small village about 5 miles south of the Giants Causeway
called Bushmills. Bushmills is
famous for its oldest ‘legal’ whiskey distillery in the world, built in
1608, visiting is free and you are rewarded with a sample of their
internationally famous whiskey at the end of your trip.
From Bushmills we decided to go on the newest railway line in Great
Britain, but built on the world’s oldest Hydro Electric tramline, which runs
from Bushmills up to the Causeway Coast. This
is a good way to get to the Giants Causeway as you get a feel of Victorian age
of genteel travel which did not distort the face at high speed! It is also a
better way to spend your money than paying to park your car for £5.00 at the
National Trust Car Park at The Giants Causeway.
The Causeway has been described as ‘a remnant of chaos’, 40,000
hexagonal rocks strewn across the sea gives a bit of truth to the statement.
There is also an old Irish legend of the Giant Finn MacCoul which runs
parallel to the geological explanation of the Causeways existence and which
gives it the name of the Giant’s Causeway, but to find out about that you will
have to go and see for yourself!
We decided
to take the coast road back down to Belfast from the Giants Causeway.
The coast road is a beautiful sight but it is time consuming as there is
much to see en route especially if you are interested in castles, ancient
monuments, abbeys etc,(Northern Ireland probably has more ancient monuments than
Lancashire has chippies!). The
County Antrim coastline is akin to the Cornish coast with jutting headlands and
sheltered sandy harbour villages. The
views are truly magnificent as the Antrim coast also includes the seven glens of
Antrim, the Queen of which is Glenariff. Unfortunately
for us, as we continued down the coast road the weather started to deteriorate
as the predicted tail of a hurricane came to fruition.
We took refuge for a short time in a small village of Cushendun, one of
many quaint villages nestled in amongst the rocky outcrops of the County Antrim
coast, before leaving the coast road and heading south to Newcastle and the
warmth of the cottage.
The
Mountains of Mourne are deceptive as they give the impression that there is only
about three Mountains as you look up at them, but when you climb or drive up
through the Mountains there is approximately 12 mountain peaks in the range.
Whilst the Mountains are beautiful the weather is very changeable and
care should be taken when hiking in the Mournes.
We crossed the Mournes heading 15 miles south to the fishing town of
Kilkeel. Kilkeel is probably one of
the busiest fishing ports in Northern Ireland and there is no better place to
buy fresh fish or seafood. The Nautilus Centre is a new building
on the harbourside of Kilkeel in which you can buy the latest catches
from the boats. Most of the fishing
boats catch seafood which is then dispersed to the up- market restaurants in the
South of England as well as the restaurants of Northern Ireland where local
produce is served. The Bucks Head Inn, five
miles north of Newcastle in the village of Dundrum is one such fine
establishment where local fowl, beef and seafood are served imaginatively in
this Egon Ronay approved restaurant. 
If you enjoy eating out on holiday then the tourist information board
publish ‘A Taste of Ulster’ guide which gives different places of interest
to eat out. The village of Dundrum despite is seemingly drab appearance houses a
few more hidden gems. At the
southern end of the village lies the road to Murlough Nature reserve, the first
nature reserve in the British Isles and is an excellent location if you are a
keen birdwatcher or enjoy flora and fauna.
Towering above the village is the ancient ruins of the Norman Dundrum
Castle which was built by John De Courcey circa 1180.
Towards the back of Dundrum village is the small Celtic jewellery
workshop of Mary Doran. For those
of you who remember BBC’s ‘The Clothes Show’ it was Mary Doran who crafted
an ornate Celtic wedding ring for the Irish bride.
Villages such as Dundrum are very typical and that’s why you may find
that you need longer to visit Northern Ireland than you previously expected. Small craft workshops are often not to be found on the main
streets of local market towns but are more usual in a small backwater in the
countryside with a signpost pointing to its location.
Northern Ireland has its fair share of rain and our short
break was no exception to the rule. There
are good places to go for days out when it rains. The Ulster Folk and Transport
Museum is an excellent day out but you must give yourself plenty of time to see
the exhibits. This is not a
conventional museum because the Folk part is actually houses, streets, Churches
and shops which have been removed brick by brick and rebuilt at the museum site
in Cultra near Bangor, North County Down. Once built, the houses are then kept
in the style that they would have historically been furnished when they were
built about 150 years ago. If walking around the Folk part of the outdoor museum
hasn’t tired you out then you can try the indoor Transport museum and
especially the emotive history of the Belfast built and ill fated
‘Titanic’.
The newest
family entertainment to arrive is at Belfast is the Odyssey Centre.
Aside from the Warner Brothers studio, there is the Arena, which is home
to Northern Irelands most famous Ice hockey team ‘The Belfast Giants’, but
when we went it was to visit W5 the new interactive science centre for children
and adults. I would be the first to
admit that I do not have a scientific bone in my body but when you get to have a
go with different experiments in a fun manner it is very enjoyable and our 5
year old son really enjoyed himself as there was lots of smoke and water to mess
with!
Northern Ireland has a lot to offer the individual, the
couple and the family. If you enjoy
specialised holidays then the Northern Ireland Tourist board have booklets on
all sorts of holidays e.g. horse riding , cycling, walking, coarse fishing, game
fishing, birdwatching, boating etc. If
you enjoy nightlife then why not try Belfast for a change there are some of the
newest dance clubs like ‘Milk Bar’, ‘Shine’ or ‘M Club’ and plenty
of places to eat and drink from Italian to Thai, Mexican to French, as well as
good old Irish. Some people still
have a fear of Northern Ireland, but it has brought its country into the 21st
century whilst still keeping its best bits in the past.
If you’re still not sure about this part of the British Isles why not
have a day trip over near Christmas and buy some of your Christmas presents in
Belfast. Single airfares from Easyjet in Liverpool are as cheap as £7.50
single, you could scarcely get to Blackpool for that!
A few years ago the Northern Irish Tourist Board ran a campaign in which
they said “You’ll never know until you go”, why not give it a try?
Story by Hazel McCavery
http://www.discovernorthernireland.com/
Northern Irish Tourist Board
http://www.poirishsea.com/
P&O Ferries site
http://www.stenaline.com
Stena Ferries
http://bushmills.com
Bushmills Distillery
http://www.giantscausewayrailway.org/
Giants Causeway Railway
http://www.w5online.co.uk/
W5 Discovery Centre Belfast
http://www.giantscausewayofficialguide.com/welcome.htm
Giants Causeway Guide
http://www.easyjet.com/
Easy Jet
http://www.tollymorecottages.co.uk/
Tollymore Cottages our accommodation
http://www.gotobelfast.com/
Belfast Tourist Board.