Feature post: The food on our shoreline

Always eager to incorporate food into our coastal adventures, we were very excited to discover that Ulster Wildlife were hosting a number of events to learn about what we can eat along our shoreline. We took a trip to Carlingford on a very rainy Saturday where we were warmly greeted by Dermot Hughes of Forage Ireland.

Over a couple of hours, Dermot led our group along the shore and showed us a variety of plants and seafood that we can easily pick, eat and cook. I was very surprised at just how much there was; from leaves that tasted of horseradish to several types of molluscs, there was easily enough for a hearty and tasty meal. And very nutritious too – Dermot told us how the peppery-tasting scurvy grass was so named because sailors used to eat it to cure the scurvy they developed from a lack of vitamin C whilst at sea.

There were a number of berries along the route, some edible, some not. The elderberries were lovely. A caramel-flavoured berry, on the other hand, sadly left us gagging.

We found quite a variety of seaweed on offer too: sweet kelp, gut weed, and sea lettuce among others. I would never have thought you could just lift seaweed from the beach and eat it without washing it or drying it out, but the sweet kelp was surprisingly palatable, and I’m still alive to tell the tale. There was something very enjoyable about snacking on bits of fresh algae as we made our way along the shore.

 

After battling the elements for a couple of hours, we made our way back to very literally warm our cockles. Dermot quickly got some water boiling over a camping stove and threw all the greenery into one pot, and the periwinkles, cockles and mussels into the other. And as easy as that, we were able to feast on all the food we picked up on our short walk on the beach. The seaweed mixed with some butter tasted very like cabbage, and you could really taste all the different flavours of the fresh molluscs.

It was so satisfying to be able to lift a meal from the ground and prepare it so simply. And we lifted a lot too. If you plan to go foraging I would definitely recommend going with someone who knows what they’re doing though. There is so much scattered about the shore that it can be confusing to know what’s edible and what isn’t. Dermot really knew his stuff and I thoroughly recommend doing one of his walks to see what else we can forage.

-Rachel

Belfast Leg 13: Docks Divided

Onwards to the Clarendon Dock area of Belfast; not the most exciting area (bar the two locations we’re about to mention) but since we visited, a £250 million development plan has been agreed and work has already started on making the area one of Belfast’s ‘up and coming’ spots. Huge office blocks, housing, hotels, shops and restaurants are all proposed for the 20-acre site and you can see quite a bit of work already underway. Whether or not this is a good thing, I’m just not sure; with the recent demolition in the North Street and Kent Street areas of the city centre (on buildings which were soon to be listed), as well as the ‘Athletic Stores’, a beautiful Victorian warehouse on Queen Street, we are losing so much of the ‘old’ Belfast. Clarendon, and it’s neighbour Sailortown, are so rich in history, do we really want to see that overwritten with more offices and apartments?

So from the aforementioned ultra-modern office blocks, to Sinclair Seamen’s Presbyterian Church, and Belfast Harbour Commissioners Office, both of which date back to the mid 1800s; we took a trip to both buildings as part of the European Heritage Open Day back in 2015 (yes, we know, we are EXTREMELY far behind with our blogging).

If you like all things nautical, you will absolutely love Sinclair Seamen’s; not only is their pulpit surrounded by a prow of a ship, they have dozens of other pieces of memorabilia around the church, from beautiful stained glass windows and floor tiles, to anchors, masts, a ship’s log (in which the important comings and goings of a ship were recorded), a capstan (those big spool-like structures you see next to docks) and flags and ropes galore, are all on permanent display.

Tiled floor at entrance to church

Nautical pulpit

Collection plates

As well as opening up for EHOD, the church welcomes visitors most Wednesdays (2pm-4.30pm) as well as their regular Sunday services (11am and 6.30pm). Our photos from the church aren’t fantastic so we would strongly advise a visit. The church members who spoke to us were extremely knowledgeable about all the interesting items inside, and sadly told us about some former members of the congregation who believed the nautical items were too much of a novelty. We loved it though, and you should certainly call in for a nosey and a chat if you’re in the area.

Next door, to the Harbour Commissioners Office. The building is not usually open to the public so we were very lucky to see inside. A fairly sizeable collection of fine art resides inside, as well as more incredible stained glass windows.

Harbour Commissioner building

Also as part of EHOD 2015, we joined PLACE for a walking tour. Rachel will talk more about this in our next blog about Sailortown, but we also had a little dander around Clarendon’s two graving docks; not as humongous as the dry dock in Titanic Quarter but a nice place to visit in the middle of the dozens of grey office buildings. The docks date back to the early 1800s (the oldest graving docks in Belfast) and sit next to a building which was used as a workshop for designing ships’ rigging (the system of ropes and chains used to support a ship’s mast).

Graving Dock

Old rigging workshop

As you dander through the area you’ll see the Dividers sculpture by Vivien Burnside. According to Belfast Harbour, “The Dividers sculpture stands as an archway or frame as the viewer looks inwards to the changing city or outwards to the sea. Dividers, in connecting points, allude to communication and navigation intrinsic to the Clarendon Dock area.” The notion of division more or less sums up our impression of the area after our visit. The maritime history of Clarendon Dock sits in contrast to the area’s contribution to the city as a growing business district.

Dividers by Vivien Burnside

Despite the fast-moving modernisation of the area, don’t be put off visiting; there is still plenty of history and stories to be told there!

Keep an eye on Discover Northern Ireland’s website for future EHOD events.

-Clare

Belfast Leg 11: Sport, science and a talking robot

Robothespian in action!

Spooky goings-on in Monster Mansion.

Tomb of Homunculus Hibernicus by John Kindness

Tomb of Homunculus Hibernicus

Snow White’s cottage by Mark Maher

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Mark Maher

Peter Pan by Mark Maher

Snow Queen’s Castle in Narnia by Mark Maher

View of Titanic Quarter from W5

Matt Nickerson emerges from the mouth of Finn McCool

Giants in action against the Cardiff Devils

Us on the big screen!

Giants win!

Big buoy under the Lagan Weir

Now on to the SSE Arena and pavilion (formerly known as the Odyssey) to check out the many activities it has to offer. The arena is not only home to the Belfast Giants (Belfast’s ice hockey team; more about them later) but has hosted some of the biggest musical acts in the world; Elton John, Rihanna and Adele are just a few of the thousands of acts who have set foot on the stage in front of the 10,000+ capacity crowd.

The arena has also played host to many other sporting events, various musicals, WWE tapings, UFC events, boxing matches (with Belfast’s own Carl Frampton), Disney on Ice, Premier League darts, comic conventions, the Belfast Tattoo, and even the MTV European Music Awards took place here in 2011.

The pavilion is home to several restaurants, cafes (we recommend The Streat for a decent fry), bars and clubs (RIP Beach Club) as well a 12 screen cinema and an arcade which offers 10 pin bowling, pool, and some arcade games (most importantly Dance Dance Revolution). The cinema formerly boasted an IMAX screen but sadly this has been closed for quite some time; as far as we know, the screen itself still exists and I certainly would love to see this back in action again.

In October 2015, we visited the SSE’s, W5 (Who What Where When & Why?) a science and discovery centre aimed mainly at kids. We weren’t really sure what to expect and hoped that there would be plenty to entertain adults too. Admission for an adult costs £8.50 (£6.50 for children, and various family packages are available too) and we were really pleasantly surprised with what we found! The centre spans several floors, all of which make use of interactive features which manage to be great fun and educational. During our visit we made model cars, competed in tug of war, and (most excitingly) met Robothespian, a talking, interactive robot! See him generously promote our blog here. As it was October, the annual ‘Monster Mansion’ Halloween spectacular was back; this was a fantastic, spooky display of singing pumpkins, haunting holograms and creepy skeletons, and good news; it’s coming back for 2016! More details can be found here.

Besides all the interactive and festive goings-on, two fantastic exhibits really stood out. Firsty, the ‘Tomb of Homunculus Hibernicus’ by artist John Kindness which is basically an ornate cabinet with a tiny little human skelton inside, perhaps a leprechaun? The story behind the piece is fascinating and you can read more about that here.

Another treat was ‘Once Upon A Fairytale’ by model maker Mark Maher. Mark is known for working on ‘The Hobbit’ film series and here at W5, he has several miniature model sets on display, from various books and movies, all painstakingly handmade, with an incredible attention to detail. My personal favourite was the set of Dorothy’s (from the Wizard of Oz) house atop the tiny legs of the Wicked Witch; complete with her charmed silver shoes, a nod to the original Oz books by L. Frank Baum. As a big fan of pop culture, as well as toys, action figures and figurines, Maher’s work was a real pleasure to see. Click the link here to read an article about Mark Maher’s work at Hasbro; a great insight for toy fans like me!

Something else that really impressed us about W5 was their emphasis on health and the environment; vending machines selling water only, and clearly marked bins for recycling, make W5 a real ambassador for personal and environmental health and other venues should seriously take note.

Now for the aforementioned Belfast Giants! Belfast’s ice hockey team were formed in 2000 and after being to a few matches over the last 16 years, we’ve recently started going more regularly and are now diehard fans of the ‘Teal and White Army’! The atmosphere at matches is electric, with great music, cheerleaders, competitions, the infamous Subway cannon, and the ever vocal fans in Boomerang Corner, we would really recommend attending a match. What we also love about the team is their motto; ‘In the land of the Giants, everyone is equal’. In a country where equality is sadly an issue, and where sports still cause a divide between religions, the Giants make an effort to make everyone feel involved, and in East Belfast, a fantastic Giants mural has replaced an intimidating paramilitary mural in a housing estate. More information on the Giants can be found here.

And so finally, this side of the River Lagan is complete! We took a dander over the Lagan Footbridge which connects the Titanic Quarter to Belfast City Centre, and was recently reopened after being rebuilt, and replacing the previous 20 year old footbridge. There are great views up and down the Lagan from here and at night time, it is beautifully lit up, making the entire area look very fresh, modern and extremely appealing. While on the footbridge, you’re also standing pretty much on top of the Lagan Weir. The weir is basically a number of barriers which help keep the river at a constant level. Besides that, the weir has made a notable improvement in the water quality which in turn has helped reintroduce salmon to the Lagan! More about salmon in our next post….

A day or night out to the SSE is a must if you’re visiting Belfast, there is literally something for everyone to enjoy, and with it’s fantastic location between the Titanic Quarter and the city centre it’s fantastically easy to get to, and you won’t find yourself short of things to do and see.

-Clare

Belfast Leg 10: Coffee, craic and a close-knit community

A spot of crazy golf at USA NI

Clare perfecting her aim

Reason why Clare was perfecting her aim

Rachel’s perfect shot

Coffee break at the Dock honesty cafe

Dock Cafe

Glorious selection of teas

Titanic art installation at the Dock Cafe

Belfast Baking Company

Tasty Harland & Wolff sandwiches

Huge Titanic cake

The delicious cake at a H&W table

Macarons at the Belfast Baking Company

Tony Stallard’s Titanic Airfix piece

Toasting our time in Titanic Quarter

Mural by Friz at Sydenham train station

Swings at Belfast Beat Carnival (Ormeau Park)

Poutine stand at Sea Bangor Festival

After all our museum trips, talks and educational outings in the last few legs, we thought a day of general gallivanting and merriment was in order. And actually, the very fact that general gallivanting and merriment is an option around Titanic Quarter (TQ) has been one of our biggest surprises so far. I’m slightly ashamed to say that I had more or less written off this area before we started. I really didn’t know much about what was there. I’m not sure if my pre-conceived ideas led me to just ignore what TQ had to offer, or if it wasn’t well advertised in its early days, but my main assumption was that, aside from the Titanic museum itself and a couple of boats knocking about, the area was fairly barren.

I had heard that a lot of money had been put into regenerating the area, but I had no idea what it was spent on and why it was being spent on an area which only seemed to celebrate the doomed ship. I got that Titanic equals tourists, but given that the Troubles and associated murals are already one of the appeals for tourists, did we really want to promote our country as a destination for a sort of trauma tourism?

After the excitement of abandoned piers and glorious oil rigs, we were fairly sure that the stretch from the Titanic Dock and Pumphouse to the Odyssey would take us just a couple of weeks. But once again, almost as if in deliberate defiance, TQ threw so many fantastic activities and events our way that it was months before we could somewhat confidently say we were ready to move on to the Odyssey. I should add at this point that it’s well worth following TQ Events on Facebook or Twitter. Their advertising of events in the area is always up to date and second to none.

Rather conveniently, at the start of this stretch, we found Groupon offers for a couple of activities at USA NI Sports Park, between T13 and Cast and Crew and opposite the Drawing Offices. Our activities of choice were archery and crazy golf, but they also offer paintball, baseball batting cages and segway tours. The crazy golf wasn’t terribly crazy, but at £4 (normal price) for an adult for 12 holes, I probably shouldn’t complain, plus they let us go round twice. The archery was £15 (normal price) per adult for an hour. The time includes set up, brief instructions on how to hold a bow and shoot an arrow, and then a number of rounds where each person gets their own arrows and target. We enjoyed archery so much that we went back a second time. And this was quite something given the epic bruise that Clare sustained, seen in all its colourful glory in the photo above. Note to self, do not catch arm on string. Both times I found the instructors to be very friendly and knowledgeable. After we all had a few practice runs, they gave each of us some tips on how to improve our aim. We definitely weren’t the best of the bunch, but we think you’ll appreciate my arrow above which hit the target dead centre. This may be the best thing I ever do. We’ll definitely try to get back to archery again – a rather pleasant, calm and satisfying way to spend an afternoon.

After all our “sporting” endeavours we headed to the Dock Cafe and Market, just next to the ARC apartments, between the Nomadic and the Odyssey. The cafe is an honesty cafe, run by volunteers. It has an honesty box system, so you just donate what (if anything) you can afford. The cafe opened in 2012 and traces its origins back to Chris Bennett when he was appointed Chaplain of TQ. It was set up “to build Life in the Titanic Quarter” at a time when the area was still in the early development phase. Referring to the widespread division of communities and churches in Belfast, Chris, on the Dock website, elaborates that they “sought to provide something different – a shared gathering point – a boat on neutral waters, in which all our traditions could share the excitement of building community together”. The cafe is beautifully decorated with shipyard memorabilia and artwork and even has some tables from the Drawing Offices. In the corner of the cafe there is an area for reflection. They have a very good selection of tasty herbal teas which you can enjoy at one of the tables inside or outside with a view over the marina. I love the concept of the Dock cafe and it’s a great space for friends to catch up or groups to meet.

Just a few doors up, you’ll also find the Dock Market, which features craft, art and artisan food stalls every other Saturday. Definitely worth a nosey if you’re in the area. A favourite stall of ours was Jude’s Clay, run by two lovely ladies. They primarily sell very cute, intricately sculpted, little clay pop culture figures, but had other gift ideas such as hand-decorated notebooks and candles. We were delighted to be the first people to buy some clay figures from them at the market! We have since seen them at Showmasters’ Film & Comic Con at the Odyssey, and they run regular clay modelling workshops. Well worth checking out if you’re on the lookout for a very unique personalised gift.

Another welcome addition to the area is The Belfast Baking Company, located in the same row of shops as the Dock. If there’s one thing we love, it’s sitting down with a beverage and a bun or a spot of breakfast, and the Baking Company has it all. Looking out over the marina, we reflected on Titanic Quarter over a peppermint tea and a flat white. Our cake of choice was delicious – the salted caramel swiss roll was rich, moist and surprisingly not sickeningly sweet. We were warmly greeted by a senior staff member who chatted to us about their future plans for the cafe. Our ears perked up at the mention of choux pastry; if ever we catch a glimpse of a religieuse in their window, we will immediately be re-locating to the ARC apartments. As we chatted it was clear that the cafe takes real pride in creating quality produce, and they are always looking to improve their recipes and expand their menu. It is also a cafe that takes a standard concept and adds its own spin. Their tables are not just covered in photos of local landmarks, but they include a QR code which gives you directions to them; they don’t just make a nice cake to showcase their baking, but they create a 7 foot long Titanic cake to mark the anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic (hands down the best cake I’ve ever had – photos above); there isn’t just a window looking into their baking kitchen, but they actually make a feature of it and host living baking sessions with local celebs (Clare was particularly devastated to miss Mary Peters). I’m pretty excited to see what other events they have in store and have already been back for breakfast and lunch (both very tasty). We’re glad we have another excuse to keep coming back to TQ even though we will shortly be moving on up the coast.

We ended the day by taking a dander around the marina area and having a closer look at the 13.5 metre-tall Airfix sculpture of the Titanic’s component parts. We once heard that this art piece had come under some criticism on account of its unfinished paintwork, but I think it’s perfect for the area. TQ itself isn’t finished. It is undergoing constant development, and every new business and event, cruise ship and activity adds a little more colour to the area.

So as our Titanic Quarter leg officially comes to an end (some many months after we started!) we have checked in to the Premier Inn to spend a bit of time wandering about the area and reflecting on our journey. I started out already a bit weary of hearing about the Titanic. Granted, this was somewhat exacerbated by the folly surrounding the centenary of the ship’s sinking in 2012, which saw the emergence of Titanic teabags and the highly-publicised, slightly reality show-esque interview process (read auditions) for the new Titanic museum. However, as we learnt about careers in the shipyard, felt the enormity of the Titanic when we descended into the dry dock, and stood at the feet of the famous yellow cranes that feature so heavily in murals and memorabilia all around the city (see photos above), we have finally understood that TQ is not at all about creating a morbidly tacky tourist trap. Titanic Quarter is the story of Belfast’s incredibly rich and innovative shipbuilding history, told with reverent pride by an increasingly confident city.

I was struck a number of times by the sense of community in the area. It seems as though every business is working together with the shared vision of placing Queen’s Island once again into the daily life of Belfast. One example of this was when we contacted T13 to see if their cafe was still running. They told us that it had unfortunately closed, but they made sure to point us in the direction of other cafes in the area. We have felt incredibly at home in TQ and it’s fantastic to see that Chris Bennett’s dream of a close-knit TQ community has been realised, not just in the Dock Cafe, but in the whole area in just a few short years. The area is being constantly developed, and given that we live and work nearby, we know that we will continue to visit here even after we have moved on up the coast. Keep your eyes peeled for our upcoming blog post on our recommendations for a weekend in TQ, and our Twitter page for updates on future events and festivals in the area!

-Rachel

Belfast Leg 9: Tall Ships and Tender Ships

One of the magnificent tall ships

Rachel and her sailor!

Our friend Anna, Volunteer Extraordinaire

SS Nomadic

Fancy cocktail bar

Clare loves Mary Peters

Most luxurious loos

Mechanism to lower the anchors

Said anchors

Dry dock

Chilling with a shipyard worker who built the Nomadic, A French seaman who sailed it in Cherbourg, and passenger Charlie Chaplin

Casual anchor

The beautiful Pump House

The caisson gate

This post focuses on our trip to the Tall Ships and the SS Nomadic in Titanic Quarter. Now I know you may be wondering why on earth we’re talking about the tall ships now. Well, you might remember in our very first post we were optimistic that we would complete Belfast’s coast in a few daytrips. It quickly became abundantly clear that Belfast has A LOT of coast and many a nook and cranny. In fact, we are coming up to our first year anniversary of the coast tour and we’re only now approaching the final leg of Belfast. Our first leg covered the stretch behind the City Airport which is home to, among other things, the RSPB Window on Wildlife. As far as we were concerned we would be heading to Titanic Quarter next. Normally I’m pretty particular about doing the coastline in order so we don’t accidentally miss anything, but if an event is organised in an area we’re heading to soon, we’ll usually skip ahead momentarily to take advantage of the timing. This was the case at the very start of the coast trip which began just before the 2015 Tall Ships Races, for which Belfast was the home port. The last time the tall ships came here was 2009. So yes, it was in fact ages ago, but sure who doesn’t like looking at photos of a good tall ship months after it has left?

The Tall Ships Races are hosted by Sail Training International, whose purpose is, according to its website, “the development and education of young people through the sail training experience”. Each year, participants race around European waters, stopping off at a number of different ports each year. Last year the race, which included 50 vessels from 15 countries, began the race off the coast of Portrush. For Belfast, this meant we got a fabulously nautical maritime festival. If you went to the maritime festival this year, it was fairly similar, but with a few more ships. Lots of food stands, street entertainment and music. You’ll see in the photos above I even got myself a Brazilian sailor! Unfortunately he forgot to take me with him when he sailed off. It was great to go on a couple of the ships and have a nosey around. I’m very impressed at anyone who manages to work all those huge sails and actually get the ship moving in a given direction. Our friend Anna volunteered at the festival as “Artist Liaison”. Ultimately this means she was a sort of security guard to the juggler. She also got a voucher to spend at the food stalls and got to keep the hoody and hat. Not bad for a couple of days’ work! All in all it was a good atmosphere and lots to keep you occupied.

We also decided to visit the SS Nomadic while we were there. SS Nomadic was the tender vessel which transported first and second-class passengers from the port in Cherbourg to the Titanic. She was built at Harland & Wolff in Belfast between 1910 and 1911 at the same time as the Titanic and is now the last remaining White Star Line vessel. You will see in the photos above the striking similarities between the Nomadic and Titanic, not least her very cute solitary little funnel. The Nomadic has had quite a career, serving not just as a tender vessel to many luxury liners, but also serving in World Wars I & II before becoming a restaurant on the River Seine next to the Eiffel Tower. Eventually the plan was to scrap her, but, following a campaign in Belfast, she was thankfully bought by the Department of Social Development and arrived home around 95 years after she was launched. What a boat! Like with the Drawing Offices, Titanic Dock & Pump House and Slipways, I was once again a bit gobsmacked that we have in Belfast such incredible living connections to the Titanic, and a little bit proud of what Northern Ireland produced during its illustrious shipbuilding era.

You’ll see in the photos above that you can have a good look around the boat. You’ll get a sense of the luxury in the boat (it even includes a cocktail bar!), a hint of the luxury that awaited passengers on board the Titanic, and see the differences in decor between the first and second-class sections. You have access to most of the boat and there’s a cafe on board if you fancy living it up like the elite of the early 1900s. We did very much enjoy our trip to the Nomadic, but what is equally fascinating is the care that went into restoring the Nomadic and Hamilton Graving Dock (built in 1867), where she was originally fitted out and where she sits today. The Nomadic was purchased in 2006 and opened to the public in Belfast in 2013. If you look at photos of her pre-restoration, you’ll see she didn’t look quite as fresh as she is now and actually had had her upper decks and funnel cut off. A number of companies were involved in the restoration, and we had the opportunity to hear a talk by Project Architect Graeme Moore of Consarc Conservation, who was charged with the restoration of the Nomadic’s interior, Hamilton Dock and its Pump House. The talk was part of the annual European Heritage Open Day (EHOD), which we’ve mentioned in a couple of previous posts, and took place in the Public Records Office (PRONI).

The speaker told us about their efforts to restore the Nomadic to her original 1911 state. Of course, as this was such a long time ago, this had its challenges. However, the team were lucky enough to find a number of clues that shed a bit of light on how the original decor would have looked. For example, they found a tile with hints of the colour scheme and patterns, and they were able to use this to envisage how the more luxurious first class and more basic second class areas would have looked. Piece by piece they restored the original timber panels, added decorative plasterwork and generally kitted it out. They also made sure that visitors could get a sense of the boat’s career history and you can see where it once had a cinema/dance floor in its party boat days. The dance floor could originally be raised up to the roof revealing the cinema seats below. Perhaps even more interesting though was hearing about how they restored the dock and Pump House. When you think about the restoration of the Nomadic, you don’t even imagine that these guys meticulously repaired and restored the cobbled path that surrounds the dry dock. The Pump House too had its surprises. When they were having a look at the concrete building they noticed a hint of something that suggested all was not as it seemed. They began to scrape away at the concrete walls and what they found beneath the grey exterior was the beautiful stonework you can see in the photo above. What a treat! They believe that it was originally covered over as a war-time measure to avoid destruction. The grey half you can also see is a new extension, the contrast distinguishing the old from the new.

Like most things in Titanic Quarter, there are so many hidden gems and nuggets of information that lie behind the main attraction. We saw before how much effort was put into turning the Titanic centre and Slipways into both an educational experience and memorial to those who died, all presented in the most unassuming fashion. When you’re walking around the Nomadic, you just don’t realise how the surrounding area helps to tell the story of Belfast and the boat itself. One final delight was catching sight of the dock’s original caisson gate, which you can see in the photo above. I know it looks extremely conspicuous, but we actually didn’t really notice it for a while. Now I can’t stop looking at it every time I pass. A caisson gate is essentially like a big plug that keeps the water in or out of the graving dock. We saw something similar at the Titanic Dock and Pump House, which is now indefinitely closed to allow visitors to descend into the dock itself. A caisson gate is built like a boat, and is actually a registered vessel in its own right. It is hollow and, when pumped full of water, sinks and blocks the entrance to the dock, allowing the water from the dock to be pumped out, creating a dry dock. When the boat is ready to leave the dock, the water is pumped out of the caisson gate, the gate rises and water pours back in so the boat floats out. Very clever! According to the Nomadic’s website, it is potentially the oldest Harland & Wolff vessel in the world.

You can see the caisson gate without accessing the Nomadic, but we really do recommend a trip to the boat itself to help you understand its incredible history and to help transport you back to the grandeur of the Titanic. It’s £7 full price (concession prices can be found here), but remember that entrance to Titanic Belfast also includes entrance to the Nomadic, so it’s more economical to visit both at the same time if you plan to go to both anyway.

-Rachel

Feature Post: Our visit to the HMS Caroline

 

HMS Caroline pre-restoration

The stern pre-restoration

Post-restoration

Clare getting to grips with her audio device

Scene from the powerful opening film

One of the cabins

The fancy dining quarters

A cup of cocoa

One of the giant engines

Doing a terrible job deciphering a message

Wee coffee break

Out on the deck

Semaphore in action

In a previous blog, we briefly mentioned the HMS Caroline which is one of only 3 remaining warships from World War 1 and the only remaining ship from the Battle of Jutland in 1916. The battle was fought in the North Sea between the British Royal Navy’s Grand Fleet and the German Navy’s High Seas Fleet. Over 36 hours, 25 ships were sunk and over 8500 men died. It ended with the retreat of the German army. Since the 1920s, the Caroline has primarily served as the headquarters for the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserves in Belfast. She has been restored by the National Museum of the Royal Navy and the Department of Enterprise Trade and Investment and opened to the public on 1 June 2016 on the centenary of the battle. You can see some before and after pictures of the Caroline above. She is moored in Alexandra Dock in Belfast’s Titanic Quarter next to Titanic Dock and Pump House.

We popped down on Thursday this week and were delighted with the whole experience. First, the practicalities; adult tickets cost £12 (discounts for children, students and seniors can be found here) and it opens daily from 10am-5pm (last admission 4.15pm). There is a carpark with limited spaces on site and public carparks nearby, but the Wee Tram also stops off here; as mentioned in a previous blog, we definitely recommend a trip on the tram. In terms of accessibility, the museum’s website notes that it is the most accessible historic ship in the UK. It is mostly wheelchair accessible, but see this link for more details. It’s also worth noting that tours are self-guided and you are given headphones and a device that you point and click at various sensors around the ship to hear all about the room you are in. You can control the volume, which goes up quite loud. and pause the audio if necessary. The headphones are great for anyone who is slightly hard of hearing and they help block out background noise a bit for anyone who needs to focus. The audio guides are available in  English, Italian, Spanish, German, French and Chinese. If the audio guide isn’t for you, there are many detailed information boards about the ship.

On to the tour itself. You begin by watching an emotional short film on the Battle of Jutland which is likely to make you shed a tear. The film really helped put in context how amazing it is that the Caroline survived the battle and made me feel lucky that we have the opportunity to explore this historical artefact today. It’s worth having a read at the info boards in this room too as there is a bit more information on the battle and shipbuilding in Belfast. After this, you are led through the living and eating quarters, learning about some of the people who worked on the ship as you go. I got a real sense of how it would have looked and how they would have lived. It’s easy to see the varying levels of luxury experienced by the different ranks. Make sure to look out for the food (which you can see in the photos above). One member of staff told us that it was made and painted by a 16 year old from Belfast who does it in his spare time. Incredible. I also read that other local companies were involved in the restoration, including a metal company, Acapple Construction, who made the replica guns on the ship’s deck.

The virtual areas are very tactile, informative and generally good fun. You can learn about signalling with various Morse code, semaphore and code-breaking games, and find out how to launch a torpedo, to name a few. There are lots of photos and videos showing people at work on the ship, including photos of the very cute ship mascots, Tom and Puff the cats and Blücher the rabbit. One rather interesting exhibition shows how the ship was painted with crazy patterns to camouflage it, and explains how its layers of paintwork have helped marine experts properly understand for the first time what colour navy ships were painted during WW1. We made a quick stop in the cafe located in the crew’s mess and had a lovely cup of tea and coffee and a traybake. You can also have a light lunch and a glass of wine or beer including a Jutland Ale. We ended the tour by soaking up some sun on the deck, having a look at the giant guns and taking in the beautiful view. Check out the gift shop too which is actually rather tasteful.

It was lovely to see staff who were very friendly, passionate and liked a good chat. All in all, it took us around 3 hours to do a tour of the ship, although it certainly flew in! There is so much to see and do that you get your money’s worth out of the ticket. We both absolutely loved it. In fact, I loved it so much I went back the next day with my parents (yes, I cried at the film the second day too). I learnt a lot more about the ship and the Battle of Jutland, but I also picked up lots of general maritime facts as well. The tour would appeal to people from age 6 to 106 and we’d definitely recommend a visit. It’s great to see Titanic Quarter attractions going from strength to strength, and the restoration of the ship has been so well executed that it gives me hope for the restoration of the Drawing Offices. Great work HMS Caroline and crew, already looking forward to my inevitable next visit!

-Rachel

Belfast Leg 8: Documentation and Restoration

Public Records Office

‘Ulster Names’ by John Hewitt

‘Heritage’ by Felicity Straker Graham

Porcelain!

‘Bonnet’ by Rita Duffy

‘Hand of Ulster’ by RIta Duffy

‘Winged Boots’ by RIta Duffy. According to its plaque, this piece “symbolises the generations of designers and workers, who, whilst rooted and grounded in Belfast’s industrial heartland, contributed to the history of flight”.

Quick tea break in the PRONI cafe

H&W Drawing Offices

Draughtsmen in the Drawing Offices

Historical layers

In a previous post Clare wrote about our trip to the Titanic Dock and Pump House as part of the European Heritage Open Day (“EHOD”) in Northern Ireland. This post though focuses on our next EHOD outing to the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (“PRONI”) and the Harland & Wolff Drawing Offices. To PRONI first. As the name suggests, PRONI houses public records, but it also has a large collection of private documents. According to an exhibition at the centre, PRONI began collecting private records to fill the archival gap left after the Public Record Office in Dublin was destroyed in 1922, taking with it most of its records. The exhibition goes on to note that these private collections “add colour and texture to the official records, creating a wide-ranging and varied archive”. Types of records included in the archive are government and court papers and documents deposited by individuals and businesses.

The first thing to note about PRONI is that its website is exemplary. An odd thing to highlight you may think, but go check it out here. We had a look at the website before we went on our tour and it literally answered every question we had, from clear opening times and days and how to register as a member, to what to expect on your first visit and information on their archives. The second thing to note is that the centre itself is beautiful. PRONI re-located to Titanic Quarter in 2011, and as soon as you enter the building, you can see that a lot of focus has been placed on making it fresh, modern and relevant. White walls, huge windows and open-plan floors invite you in, while modern art pieces adorn the walls and capture your attention. A particularly striking piece by Felicity Straker Graham, a tribute to those who have contributed to PRONI, is a display of porcelain sheets, finely moulded to form intricately-designed pieces of paper. The photos don’t do it justice, but the sheets of porcelain are so delicate that you can see the light shining through them.

On to the actual tour itself, our group got a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the research areas, labs and archives. We were given tips on how to search for documents in the computer room, and then led to the reading room where you can peruse your chosen document at your leisure. Our guide pointed out that, perhaps unexpectedly, you don’t wear gloves when reading old documents, and that she would tell us why later in the tour. She never told us. We forgot to ask. Cue several months of being sporadically plagued by this question. As you might expect, old documents can suffer major damage. We were told about one particular document that was completely saturated and in the process of being dried out. Fortunately PRONI has a conservation lab to try to restore these documents so readers can enjoy them.

The lab took us right back to third form Chemistry. Suppressing an urge to fire up a bunsen burner, we moved on to a cool reprographics lab where one of their projects is to merge old and new photos to show you what an area looked like then and now. Finally we made our way down to see where all the archived documents are kept. These rooms contain shelves and shelves of hundreds of boxes and the temperature is noticeably lower than in the rest of the building to help preserve the documents. Most of the documents in these rooms are accessible to the public, however there are also a large number that have to remain confidential either indefinitely or for a set amount of time. We left the tour inspired to hunt through old documents, maybe to learn more about our family history, or perhaps to read through some historical documents on the Titanic.

As mentioned in a previous post, I will be writing a post on my Grandas’ careers in the shipyard, and we thought this would be the perfect topic to research in PRONI. Hoping to find some sort of mention of them in relation to the shipyard, we chatted to a member of staff who reckoned our best bet would be the archived Harland & Wolff personnel papers. Alas, these papers aren’t available to the public for confidentiality reasons, and we hit a bit of a brick wall. If you have any suggestions for where else we could look please leave a comment! Not the result we were hoping for, but we’ll definitely find another project so we have an excuse to go back. Plus, it’s free to become a member and look at the documents, and your card lasts for ten years. It would be a great place to spend a grey, rainy day, engrossed in old personal diaries of world war veterans or investigating your family tree. The centre isn’t open at weekends, but you can go during the day Monday to Friday, and Thursday evenings from February to November. Make sure to check out the cafe too. It does a pretty decent scone with jam and cream.

After our tour of PRONI and a talk in its lecture theatre on the SS Nomadic during the EHOD weekend (see our next post), we made our way to the Harland & Wolff Drawing Offices. Titanic Foundation’s tourist brochure notes that these offices, built around 1885-1917, are the oldest remaining structures of the shipbuilding industry on Queen’s Island. It was here that great ships such as the Titanic, Olympic and HMS Belfast were designed, perhaps by the draughtsmen you see in the black and white photo above. According to Titanic Foundation, the building “is the most critical and authentic physical and emotional link which connects the Titanic and Olympic Slipways, SS Nomadic, HMS Caroline and the Thompson Dock into a sustainable world class heritage destination”.

It was, therefore, with particular sadness that I learned that the Drawing Offices are to be converted into a boutique hotel. True, the offices have been vacant for quite some time, and the funding will not only help restore the building, but also create jobs and help attract more tourism to the area. However, as I stood in the high-ceilinged shell of a room, surveying the layers of colourful peeling paint, a hint to the building’s long-standing history in the area, and following the streams of light directed through the multitude of windows onto the long drawing tables, helpfully laid out as a visual aid, I could almost see the rows of draughtsmen hunched over their desks with rulers and sharpened pencils, meticulously mapping out every rivet and stairway of one of the many innovative ships proudly conceived in the Belfast shipyard. I generally support and see the value in restoring and re-purposing buildings. But I can’t help but feel that this experience, this unique opportunity to stand between the crumbling walls and wooden desks and reflect on our city’s maritime heritage, would be somewhat out of our grasp with the presence of a hotel lobby and brightly coloured suitcases.

That being said, the hotel will reportedly have “heritage at its core”, and I still hope to be pleasantly surprised by (perhaps even enthusiastic about!) the restoration work. It’s true, after all, that just because it will be a different experience doesn’t necessarily mean it will be a worse experience. Please do let us know your thoughts on the re-purposing of the Drawing Offices and other historical buildings. By the time we learned that the Drawing Offices would close to the public in their current state for good, we almost missed out on accessing them. Thankfully, in a last-minute miracle, we discovered that they would open once again during EHOD 2015. Access was limited, however, so we only got to see a small part of the Drawing Offices. Helpfully, though, many of the documents from the offices are available to view in PRONI, so we, and future generations, will still have extensive access to the building’s history and legacy.

We are incredibly lucky to have, in this small area, access to not only educational talks and discussions, through which we can explore Belfast’s shipbuilding past in its economic, social or political context, but also to authentic documents, artefacts and actual historical buildings. To re-purpose the PRONI quote in the first paragraph, these facets combine to add colour and texture to the black and white photos we so often see of the docks and their workers.

-Rachel

Belfast Leg 7: Dunchers, kites and coffee snobs

 

‘Titanica’ by Rowan Gillespie

Treats from The Galley Cafe, Titanic Bellfast

Horrific robot baby

Michael Jackson ‘Moonwalker’ bust

C-3PO

R2-D2

Star Trek – Picard borg

Martian from ‘Mars Attacks!’

T-800

RoboCop

A very handsome Sontaran from Dr Who

Iron Man

Kryten from ‘Red Dwarf’

The exhibition’s most attractive robots

Titanic Memorial

Some of crew who perished on the RMS Titanic, including Titanic shipbuilder Thomas Andrews

The Wee Tram

Duncher!

Grumpy duncher! (Gruncher)

Coast!

To the coffee festival!

Indie Fude goodies!

Americano. With milk.

Now off to the crowning glory of the Titanic Quarter, ‘Titanic Belfast’! Well, not quite. Having both been before, we decided that at £17.50 for a standard ticket, it was just too expensive to visit again. Do note though, that your £17.50 also includes entry to the SS Nomadic so if you’re planning to visit both attractions, this is actually a really good deal.

The building itself is pretty spectacular (extremely silver, and extremely angular, apparently in an effort to depict the angular prows of ships) and cost a mere £77 million to construct and kit out with all things Titanic. As well as the standard museum experience, the building boasts multiple exhibition spaces, conference facilities, café, bistro, gift shop and a replica of the famous staircase as seen in James Cameron’s ‘Titanic’. Access to the staircase is not included in the standard ticket price and presumably does not include a meet and greet with Leonardo DiCaprio.

Although we didn’t revisit the museum, we popped into the café (for Titanic related treats), the gift shop (for Titanic related memorabilia) and to the ‘Robots’ exhibition where we came face to face with life-sized replicas of some famous TV and movie ‘bots. All the pieces were on loan from Scotland’s ‘Museum of Movie Magic’ and for £6 admission each, we though this was a really decent price for an hour of fun and photographic opportunities with the likes of R2-D2, T-800, Robbie the Robot and RoboCop.

We wandered outside to the Slipways and Plaza (covered in a previous blog here) to visit the memorial, commemorating all those who died on Titanic’s ill-fated journey. Names of the crew and passengers who passed away are listed on huge panes of glass.

In the mood for something a little more light-hearted, we hopped onto the ‘Wee Tram’ for a tour around the area. Although we’re now well familiar with the Titanic Quarter, we couldn’t resist donning a duncher (a flat cap worn by the shipyard workers in Harland and Wolff) and seeing some of the sights from aboard a more unconventional mode of transport. The tour harked back to the trams which ran through Belfast in the late 1800’s to the mid-1900’s and is certainly a unique way to take in the scenery. The ‘Wee Tram’ has been one of our favourite attractions on our coastal tour so far; it was at the bargain price of £5, includes a live tour guide, as well as an on-board TV screen with even more facts and figures, it operates the extremely useful ‘hop-on/hop-off’ system, and is wheelchair friendly to boot. If you can only do one thing in the Titanic Quarter, make it the ‘Wee Tram’.

After this, we happened upon Belfast’s first ever kite festival, ‘KiteTanica’ (pat on the back to whoever came up with the name). A fun event for kids (we saw plenty walking around with little personalised kites) but a bit underwhelming for adults, maybe due to the lack of wind that day. Still we got a few shots of giant inflatable animals, floating around the harbour.

To cap off our busy day, we visited T13 (as blogged about here) for the first annual Northern Ireland Coffee Festival. Since I’m not a coffee fan I was just hoping for a nice cup of tea and a sit down, while Rachel went straight to the hard stuff. Included in the entry ticket (£6) we were each given a free drink voucher, and the promise of live music, barista competitions, screening of coffee related documentaries and various food and (obviously) coffee stands. Plus this was all happening until 7pm! It’s rare that a daytime event in Northern Ireland goes on past 4pm or 5pm so we were looking forward to spending a fair few hours here.

Unfortunately, the whole event wasn’t as good as it could (or should) have been. Our free drink voucher was apparently worth £2 maximum (which was not stated anywhere) and so this led to frantic scrambling for change at the front of a busy queue. Many of the food stands shut well before 7pm and the documentary screenings fell by the wayside too, long before the event was over. The coffee ‘experts’ were out in force too, advising us exactly how to enjoy our hot drinks (“You’re putting milk in a macchiato? Really?”).

There were a few positives at least; the location was very good (T13 is such a multifunctional space, and could be used for anything really) and some food and drink stands were there until the bitter end. Indie Fude, an artisanal food company, had some beautiful stuff from all around Ireland, and the friendly guys at the Suki Tea stand generously gave us some of their milk after we were shooed away by the coffee purists.

Sadly the event was overall a bit disappointing, which was a shame as it had so much potential. We do hope it returns again next year when, fingers crossed, some of these problems will be ironed out.

-Clare

Belfast Leg 6: Dash-Dot-Dot-Dash-Dot-Dash-Dash-Dot-Dot-Dot-Dash-Dot-Dash-Dot

Part of Cable and Wake’s wakeboarding paraphernalia

Lights representing the lifesize outline of the Titanic’s deck

New headlamp!

Feeling adventurous, we took a night-time jaunt (well…at about 8pm…so not that adventurous) to the Titanic Slipways and Plaza, just behind the Titanic Belfast Museum.

From a distance, the area just looks like a fairly plain, paved space with several huge steel lampposts and some benches dotted about the place. On closer inspection, we found that the slipways and plaza are full of interesting facts, and the sparse features are all very carefully placed to represent it’s impressive history. The RMS Titanic, and one of it’s sister ships, the RMS Olympic, launched from this very place. Life-sized outlines of the ships, are marked on the plaza, and glow a bright blue in the evenings. It’s a great reminder of how massive these boats actually were; the lights look pretty special too and help make the Titanic museum look even more spectacular in the background.

Besides being a fascinating history-rich spot, the slipways are also used for concerts; BBC Proms and MTV have both used this huge space on multiple occasions. Plus if you’re into extreme water sports, wakeboarding company Cable & Wake operate from here too so you can willingly fling yourself in, around and over the port!

There are so many little details in this area, it’s impossible to talk about all of them; literally every patch of grass, lamppost, paving stone, and bench, was placed especially to tell another part of the Belfast shipbuilding story (the benches are placed in Morse code arrangement and welcome you to the Titanic museum!) . This area is well worth a visit; it’s completely open access and free, and you can drop by at any time of the day or night. We would definitely recommend dusk, just so it’s dark enough to see the lights in action, but still light enough to read the information boards which explain the layout, and describe what every piece of this site represents. More information on what each piece symbolizes can be found here; http://www.titanicbelfast.com/The-Experience/The-Slipways-Plaza.aspx

Belfast Leg 4: Industrial beauty meets urban art

The beautiful Borgny Dolphin

Not so beautiful Dolphins

The Borgny Dolphin again…why not?

Just look at the size of that!

No really, look at it!

Clare prepares for Rachel’s inevitable dive for the oil rig

Innovation Avenue

Titanic Studios

Yet another giant anchor

Samson and Goliath

The entrance to T13

Graffiti at T13

Just hanging around waiting for Iron Fit to start

The best seat in town

The end of the cranes!

Blinks

The fourth leg of our trip brought unprecedented joy: the best view of the oil rig yet. Nipping in behind Northern Ireland Science Park, we got comfortable on the well-trimmed grass and enjoyed uninterrupted views of Belfast Harbour. After our rather wet and muddy trip the day before, we were thankful that the weekend caught itself on and gave us the chance to take in the coast under the warm evening sun. But while we make our way back to Queens Road, we’ll give you the chance to reflect on some facts about the Borgny Dolphin and the rest of the fleet.

1. The Borgny Dolphin is one of eleven oil rigs owned by Dolphin Drilling, all sailing under the flag of Singapore;
2. It can operate up to a depth of 1,750 ft and can drill down to a depth of 25,000 ft (25,000!);
3. On the top right of the photos above, you can see the rig’s helicopter deck;
4. Its sister ship, the Borgland Dolphin, was built in the same year (1977) at Harland & Wolff, Belfast;
5. According to the Belfast Telegraph, the Dolphin rigs docked in Belfast in recent years have created many local jobs, and hopefully boosted the city’s hospitality sector;
6. And last but not least, they are magnificent.

We left our new favourite haven and took a stroll past Titanic Studios to see if we could catch a glimpse of any cast or props from the latest Game of Thrones filming. No such luck, although we are certain the fabulous teepee we saw will be iconic in no time. The studio has housed all seasons of GoT so far, and much of the first season was filmed in various locations across Northern Ireland. Of course Titanic Studios once had their place in shipbuilding history, and on a subsequent trip on The Wee Tram (keep your eyes peeled for this blog post), we learnt that this is where ships’ hulls were painted.

Next, we made our way to T13, Belfast’s urban sports park. We love T13 and have been to a number of events here in the past, from a breakdancing competition to a Chinese New Year celebration. In fact, we plan to go to a coffee festival here in the next couple of weeks, so we’ll keep you posted on that! It wasn’t open when we got there, but this gave us the opportunity to explore the grounds a bit more, which just happened to back onto the Harland & Wolff cranes. Clare hit the nail on the head when she likened Samson and Goliath to a rainbow: “you can see them for miles around, but you can never quite see the end of them”. Well folks, today we saw the end of them. We were probably the closest we’ll ever get, and, although we knew they were absolutely massive, it was still a little bit breathtaking.

One final surprise awaited us as we made our way back to the car and caught sight of ‘Blinks’ at the entrance to Channel Commercial Park. The Blinks sculpture was created by artist Peter Nelson, along with former Harland & Wolff welders, and was installed as a tribute to all those who worked in the shipyard. Both of Rachel’s Grandas worked in the shipyard, one making the steel panels for the sides of the ships, and the other as a caulker, sealing the sides. We won’t go into too much detail as we hope to do a separate post on this.

Although Rachel felt a slight pang of sadness today at the realisation that the Borgny Dolphin would some day leave again to return to the seas, the view of the rig and the endless comings and goings of various vessels through the harbour reminded us that, whatever you make of Belfast, you’ll never get bored of the view.