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
Nooks and Crannies of the Irish Coast 