The Titanic Quarter, Belfast

I took advantage of the dry weather to enjoy the dog days of summer on my bike.  Today is the last day of late summer bank holiday weekend and I took the opportunity to ride into Belfast to visit the Titanic Quarter.  Belfast was not as busy as I expected with the cycle paths seeing fewer cyclists and pedestrians than anticipated, compared to last week when the P&O cruise ship 'Arcadia' was in port.  

I used the new pedestrian/cycle bridge at the Lagan weir to cross over the River Lagan onto what was once Queens Quay where the old Belfast & County Down Railway had it's Belfast terminus and Kelly's Coal Merchant had their offices and where coal was unloaded from their fleet of colliers into railway wagons on the quayside.  A lot of old Belfast has been swept away in redevelopment and the Belfast Odyssey Arena and W5 Centre were the first of the new buildings in the area. Residential housing, the Titantic centre, and the new Public Records Office have all been opened in the Quarter, as well as the restored White Star Line SS Nomadic which was built as a tender ship for the RMS Titanic.  

The Quarter is well worth a visit and the excellent Dock Cafe is popular with cyclists as the food and coffee are to be recommended.  The cafe also has a display of memorabilia about the Belfast Port and RMS Titanic.  There is a large public artwork in the communal area outside the cafe featuring RMS Titanic. It is easily reached by bicycle for the visitor to Belfast by using one of the bicycle hire scheme bicycles.

Tall Ships, Belfast

I took advantage of the improving weather today and rode into Belfast to check out the new pedestrian/cycle bridge at the Lagan Weir.  The media were just dispersing and the bridge was open, so I used it for the first time to go to the Dock Cafe for a cup of coffee.  As I cycled down past the Odyssey Arena I was confronted by the first of the tall ships with two oil rigs in the distance at Harland and Wolff for repair.  It is unusual to see three oil rigs in the shipyard at one time as there is another over by the twin cranes Samson and Goliath.  

I took a few photos of the 'Morgenster' before the crowds arrive for the 'Tall Ships' event in Belfast from Thursday 2nd July until Saturday 5th July.  I then went to the Dock Cafe for my cup of coffee.  It is a popular spot with cyclists and the food is good.  

After enjoying my cup of coffee, I cycled down Queens Road to the entrance of the Harland & Wolff Repair Yard.  I took a few photographs of the two oil rigs before retracing my steps.  I could see the masts and rigging of another tall ship on the opposite side of the harbour.  I cycled back over the River Lagan and followed the NCN cycle route out through Clarendon Dock up to Duncrue Street where I turned into the Belfast Harbour Estate and right onto Northern Road. I followed the road round to the road junction at the Harbour exit where I turned left onto Dufferin Road.  I could see the tall ship berthed in Pollock Dock. 

I enjoyed the run today despite the breeze.  I had a tailwind home so it was a comfortable spin back.  There was another tall ship in Belfast Lough off the County Down coast about Bangor obviously en-route to the harbour.  It was nice to see the first of the ships which have arrived.  The event looks set to draw the crowds.

HMS Caroline, Belfast

Belfast underwent a significant increase in shipbuilding activity during the 19^th century with the change from traditional wooden ships to hulls made from iron and later steel. There were 3 shipyards on the River Lagan up until the end of the 19^th century when it reduced to 2, Workman Clark and Harland & Wolff. During World War I German U Boats operated in British and Irish waters. The Royal Naval Air Service operated airships from Bentra near Whitehead. The Royal Navy maintained a presence in Belfast and HMS Caroline was moved to Belfast to serve as a depot ship for the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve from 1924 after she was decommissioned and placed in Reserve from 1922.

HMS Caroline was built by Cammell Laird, Birkenhead, her keel being laid down in January 1914 and launched on 29^th September 1914 for fitting out. She was completed in December 1914 and was commissioned into service on 4^th December 1914. HMS Caroline was one of a number of C Class Light Cruisers and she was to serve as part of the Royal Navy's Grand Fleet based at Scapa Flow and spend her war service patrolling the North Sea. HMS Caroline saw action against the German Imperial Fleet at the Battle of Jutland in 1916. In 1919 after the conclusion of hostilities, HMS Caroline was moved out to the East Indies Station where she finished her active service. After moving to Belfast in 1924, she went to Harland & Wolff shipyard to have her boilers and armament removed for her continued service as a depot ship for the R.N.V.R.  HMS Caroline was returned to Royal Naval active service during World War II serving as the headquarters for the Royal Navy in Belfast. As the war progressed the role and function of the Royal Navy expanded and premises were requisitioned around the harbour and city for naval use. A lot of the ratings wore HMS Caroline hat tallies although not actually based on board. After the conclusion of hostilities HMS Caroline again reverted to her peacetime role as a depot ship for the R.N.V.R. HMS Caroline was given a refit at Harland & Wolff shipyard in 1951. She continued as a depot ship until 2009 when the R.N.V.R. moved ashore and was finally decommissioned out of service in 2011. Her ensign was laid up in Belfast's St. Anne's Cathedral.

At that point the future of HMS Caroline was uncertain as the second oldest Royal Naval warship. Proposals were made to move her to Portsmouth and in 2012 initial funding of £1 million was secured from the National Lottery Heritage Fund towards restoration and the announcement that she was to stay in Belfast. In October 2014 an announcement about a further £12 million towards the restoration of the ship with the planned opening of the ship as a museum in time for the centenary of the Battle of Jutland on May 31^st 2016. Restoration work is ongoing with the teak deck planking having been lifted. Paint analysis of the ship has revealed 38 different shades of grey used on the ship during her service. The new information has enabled experts to determine her colour during different periods of her service and determine the exact shade she was painted during World War I.

HMS Caroline is currently berthed in the Alexandra Dock behind the Titanic Film studios where 'Game of Thrones' is filmed. It is easily reached by bicycle. As part of the plans to turn her into a floating museum, the nearby old Harland & Wolff historic Titanic Pump House is to be turned into a visitor centre for the ship. As restoration work is ongoing the ship is not yet open to the public but she can still be seen from the security fencing. For anyone interested in maritime history she will be well worth a visit, alongside the White Star Line tender for the RMS Titanic, SS Nomadic and the Titanic visitor centre.

Revisited HMS Caroline on Monday 30th May 2016, before the 100th commemoration of the Battle of Jutland on 31st May 2016 to be held on board, as the last surviving ship that took part in the sea battle in which 6000 Royal Navy sailors lost their lives, of which 800 were Irish.  The restoration is impressive considering her external condition in 2015.  She is now a world class museum.

A Bit of a Breeze?

The course of life doesn't always run smooth and circumstances can conspire to disturb the settled routine of daily life. This is what has happened with my cycling, not by choice, I might add. So the opportunity to have some 'bike time' awheel with friends, was too good an opportunity to pass up. The date and venue were agreed by phone for the following Saturday as the weather forecast seemed to hint at improving weather. The weather only improved marginally over the unseasonally cold, wet weather, with strong wind and showers on the day in question. 

I chose to ride to Central Railway Station, Belfast as the other riders were all arriving by train. The journey into Belfast was uneventful apart from the grind into the headwind and a heavy rain shower as rode past the Harbour Estate. Despite the headwind I arrived 10 mins before the agreed meet up time. I preferred to spin a low gear into the headwind rather than push a much higher gear. Retaining the ability to spin and stay on top of the gear meant I would tire much less quickly during the ride. 

Meeting up with the other riders was firstly a chance to admire the various bicycles and secondly to catch up with friends. After the initial pleasantries, our ride leader explained the route would take us through busy traffic for approximately one mile along the busy A20 route Albertbridge Road, onto the Newtownards Road at Holywood Arches, where we would pick up the Comber Greenway route out to Comber.  After a gap of around 35 years since cycling these same roads, the volume and density of motor traffic has increased enormously, along with changes to road signage, road junction layout and traffic control. 

The one thing which struck me immediately was the vehicle fumes. This of course diminished once we entered onto the Comber Greenway which follows the route of the old Belfast & County Down Railway main line (closed in 1950) out of Belfast. It crosses a number of main roads, the crossings being controlled by traffic lights, but then quickly takes the rider away from the hubbub of urban traffic. The route was fairly well used by cyclists, from groups of mamils, (middle-aged men in lycra) groups of women cyclists, kids on bikes, through to youngsters taking tentative steps on their bikes with dad. The strong wind was not proving to be much of a deterrent to many folk. The Comber Greenway is also used by dog walkers and joggers too, so it is a shared space, not solely for cyclists. 

I found the route pleasant and following the former railway track bed the gradient does not rise sharply except where a road has to be crossed and the former railway bridges have long since been demolished. However there are no steep climbs on the route, so the nervous can rest easy. I personally found as a relatively unfit rider after a prolonged lay off I didn't have to change out of the comfortable gear I was spinning once, despite the wind. It was a pleasant run out to Comber and the weather was kind without any heavy rain showers.

The Greenway comes out on the Comber Bypass probably where the old Comber railway station had been. I was immediately aware again of vehicle fumes from the busy road. Our route followed the Comber Bypass to a roundabout where we turned right and proceeded along the road for a short distance before taking a road to the left marked as a part of the National Cycle Network (Route 99) for Castle Espie Wildfowl and Wetland Trust. 

This was to be our lunch stop as our ride leader assured us they have a great cafe and you get 15% discount off your meal bill if you cycle there. It was my first visit and I was impressed by the vistors centre and cafe. There are fine views out over Strangford Lough and of Scrabo Tower from the cafe. The food was good as well. There are plenty of bike parking racks at the visitor centre which was nice to see. Plans for the next ride were made over lunch and bicycle topics discussed. 

The return was made to Belfast after lunch which was mostly into the wind. The journey became interesting once back in Belfast on roads with traffic. The wind was being funnelled between the buildings and the blast of wind as I crossed the mouth of one or two of the side streets blew the bike out into the centre of the carriageway despite my best efforts. Apart from this, return was made to Central Station in good time for the others to catch their various trains. 

After bidding our farewells, I resumed my journey by bike. There was a stand of bicycles for the new Belfast Bike Hire Scheme at Central Station but there were too many cars and taxis dropping off and collecting people to take any photographs. I stopped at the much quieter bike stand outside the Belfast Harbour Commissioner's Offices to take a photograph of the new bike hire scheme. Only one bicycle had been removed from the stand of bikes. I continued the final part of my run, thankful that it was at least a tailwind back.

A sideways glance - Belfast cityscape

I don't know how much thought you give to the environment you are cycling through. Perhaps if it is for the first time, your senses and interest are piqued and you take more of your surroundings in. Cycling through the same environment on a regular basis, whether transiting through, to get to an area you wish to ride in, or just using your bicycle as transport to get from A to B, the familiar just blurs into the background. It is after an absence of decades and the many changes wrought to the landscape in the intervening years, that you begin to notice the landscape again, this time seeking the familiar in all the many changes. This is how I found myself in the urban landscape of summer, enjoying riding my bicycle in Belfast. I fondly remember the school visit to the Harland and Wolff shipyard as part of my Engineering Drawing studies decades ago. A guided tour through the yard to see the erecting shops, foundry and the dock under the giant cranes 'Goliath' and 'Samson' where the sections of ship's hull were transported to be welded into position, the quayside from which the hulls were moored for fitting out. Several bulk oil carriers, christened 'Supertankers' at the time, were under construction. Shipbuilding on such a scale is now only a fading memory. I was intrigued to see how much of Belfast's maritime past still exists. 

Riding along Duncrue Street towards Belfast city centre from the direction of Fortwilliam you pass through much of the old dock area. The old N.C.C. concrete railway gate posts mark where railway lines once entered the docks. The wooden gates have long gone, now replaced with steel fencing. Much of the old port has gone, due, in part, to the migration of the port towards the deeper water of the Victoria Channel, Belfast Lough, the containerisation of cargo and increasing size of modern vessels. This has moved the port away from the city centre. The once familiar quays, warehouse and grain stores have gone, demolished and replaced by modern office blocks. 

The development known as Clarendon Dock at the bottom of Princes Dock St and can be accessed as part of NCN 91/9. Cheek by jowl with the little square as you enter the gate is the Rotterdam Bar. 

This tiny bit of old Belfast is is very much down at heel, but is mentioned by the author Eric Newby in his 1956 book 'The Last Grain Race', published by Secker & Warburg Ltd, about his 1938 voyage on the Gustav Erikson owned S.V. Moshulu. The crew went to the Rotterdam Bar for a 'liddle trink' to say goodbye to the crewmen returning to Moshulu's home port of Mariehamn, Finland. There are some photographs of the old port of Belfast taken in 1938 by Eric Newby which were published in his 1999 book, 'Learning the Ropes: An Apprentice in the last of the Windjammers'. The Moshulu sailed from Belfast on 18^th October 1938 just after the Munich Crisis of the month previous and harbinger of the impending world war. 

Further along the route are the twin graving docks of Clarendon Dock and then the Belfast Harbour Commissioners Offices. The route then rejoins the road, past the Royal Mail sorting Office at Tomb Street, before continuing towards the substantial Custom House. 

The back of the building faces the River Lagan and the front steps have been a meeting place for demonstration and protest for over a century. The Custom House Square is now used each year for an open air pop music festival. As you continue towards the Queen's Bridge the premises of James Tedford, Ship Chandlers, Sail and Tent Makers,  is located on the right hand side. 

The sail loft was located at the top of the building, parts of which is believed to date back to the 18^th century. The business is one of the last long established Ship Chandlers in existence in the UK and Ireland and in 1991 vacated the building to move to a new premises. The original building is now an up-market restaurant. The community of Dockers who worked in the port, lived in the terraced streets off Corporation Street. The area was known as 'Sailortown' and has largely gone in the re-development of Belfast. The old terraced housing, the hard graft, uncertain pay, of the stevedore was not mourned by many, but rather the break up and loss of the small, self reliant, tight knit community forged in adversity has been a source of regret. Such is the march of 'progress'. Time and tide wait for no man.

Public Art beside Lagan & Lough Cycleway

It has been some decades since I last cycled in Belfast. As a teenager I regularly cycled into Belfast to my summer job during the school holidays. Many things have changed, the heavy security presence has now thankfully been consigned to history, but many of the older once familiar buildings have been swept away, in the planner's vision for a brighter, more modern city. One of the new things that stand out as unfamiliar to me was the public art which is displayed either on cycle route NCN9/93 or close to it, as it traces it's course along the northern bank of Belfast Lough/River Lagan into Belfast.

The first piece of sculpture I came across by accident, when I cycled down towards the Harbour entrance from the direction of Fortwilliam roundabout. There is a large silver seahorse displayed on a plinth. 

The seahorse is represented on the city of Belfast's coat of arms and is a testament to Belfast's maritime role as a major Irish seaport, as well as a former centre of shipbuilding. Anyone familiar with the old Belfast Corporation trolleybuses/buses will remember the seahorse from the crest on the side of the vehicles. Belfast by the late 19^th Century boasted three shipyards, with one, McIlwaine & Coll having closed by the turn of the 20^th Century. The second to close was Workman Clark in 1935, with Harland & Wolff still surviving today as a ship repair and marine engineering business. Part of the former shipyard Harland & Wolff shipyard is now probably more famous for the production and filming of the TV series 'Game of Thrones'.

The next sculpture is also beside the Dock Street entrance to Belfast Harbour in Princes Dock Street. It is located at the side of the Harbour gate and represents the bow of a ship complete with a figurehead. 

It is easily missed and I have to say that I didn't notice it on my ride into Belfast. I only really noticed it on my ride back. Another interesting feature of Princes Dock Street is that there is also another tangible reminder of Belfast as a major port. There are still some of the harbour railway lines in the road surface. 

Many of the harbour roads also had rails, as much of the freight going in and out of the Harbour was moved by rail. These lines would have been originally worked by the Belfast & Northern Counties Railway on behalf of the Belfast Harbour Commissioners. Those on the other side of the River Lagan would have been worked by the Belfast & County Down Railway. Princes Dock Street leads down to a gateway giving access to Clarendon Dock.

At the back of the Clarendon Dock building and twin graving docks stands a large sculpture of a set of ship's dividers formerly used in navigation in the days of paper charts. The sculpture stands in square between the two entrance gates to the the old graving docks. 

The older buildings are cheek by jowl with new corporate development. This modern style of architecture in my humble opinion lacks any of the panache or architectural statement of the older Victorian buildings.

Beside the Lagan Weir and near the Custom House is the last and biggest sculpture along the cycle route into Belfast -  Belfast 'Bigfish'. This was the first piece of sculpture that I was aware of and has been there since 1999 and even has it's own Wikipedia entry! 

The most striking new sculptured building to appear in Belfast is the Titanic building on the south bank of the River Lagan. The building when viewed from certain angles is meant to represent the bow of the ill fated White Star liner RMS Titanic and is probably the best Titanic exhibition in the world and a fitting memorial in the city in which she was built and launched.