Our hotel is Ten Square which is lovely and ideally located on the north side of Donegall Square, practically opposite City Hall which is a rather impressive Edwardian building.
With some lovely internal features.
On the ground floor is the Famine Window which commemorates the plight of all those citizens of Belfast who suffered and died as a result of (the potato) famine and famine-related diseases, such as typhus and cholera. The worst years were 1846-1848 and those who died were laid to rest in mass common graves in the Shankill, Friar’s Bush, Clifton Street and Donegall Road graveyards.
In the grounds outside are numerous statues.
The first two are recent additions, firstly anti-slavery campaigner Mary Ann McCracken.
And Winifred Carney, a prominent Irish suffragist, trade unionist and advocate for Irish independence. I can't decide if she's pregnant or just standing funny.
Queen Victoria with the mandatory gull on her head.
Which also perches on Sir Daniel Dixon who was a wealthy timber merchant, shipowner, and politician and served as Lord Mayor of Belfast multiple times.
Belfast Cenotaph
Situated on the corner
of Donegall Square, The Robinson & Cleaver building (also known as Cleaver
House) is easily recognizable with its turrets, bluish-green copper roofs and chiselled stonework. Constructed between 1886
and 1888 it was owned by Robinson & Cleaver’s, a company specializing in
the creation of Irish linen and tweed.
On the east side of City Hall is the RMS Titanic
Memorial Garden commemorating the 1,512 people who perished in the
disaster. Of course the Titanic was
built in the nearby Harland & Wolff Shipyard and we plan to visit the
exhibition centre tomorrow. The garden
was officially opened on 15 April 2012 to mark the centenary of the sinking. Apparently it is the only memorial in the world to list every victim.
I'm not sure that this mini photo shoot was about but there was a lot of posing and pouting going on.
There are some wonderfully detailed buildings.
Just across the road was the Big Bus bus stop and we bought a day ticket so we could roam around.
The Jaffe Memorial Drinking Fountain, a gilded,
cast-iron structure commissioned in 1874 by Sir Otto Jaffe in memory of his
father, Daniel Joseph Jaffe, a prominent linen merchant and philanthropist.
The Salmon of Knowledge, the surface of which is covered in ceramic tiles that depict scenes, images, and newspaper clippings from Belfast's history.
The Obel Tower which contains apartments is the tallest building on the island of Ireland.
The Titanic Exhibition Building
Some poor old ship in for a refit.
HMS Caroline, a decommissioned Royal Navy C-class
light cruiser built in 1914, it is the last surviving ship from the Battle of
Jutland.
The Beacon of Hope symbolises peace and hope and Belfast's regeneration.
The Lanyon Building which is part of Queens College, Belfast.
The route then took us to the Falls Road area, where the "Balls on the Falls" sculpture stands on Broadway Roundabout, a main gateway to the city. It's really called The Rise and is the largest public art installation in the city.
The housing is this area is very much back-to-back terracing and there are numerous murals on the buildings but I don't know if they were actually painted during "The Troubles" or if they are relatively modern. We drove firstly through a mainly Catholic/Republican area I think.
This one I do recognise - Bobby Sands, who died in prison in 1981 after a 66 day hunger strike protesting for "political prisoner" status.
Some murals are particularly poignant.
This is part of one of Belfast's peace walls; once a symbol of a divided city it's now a tourist attraction.
Apparently some of the gates are still closed at night.
We are now in the Shankill Road area which would seem to be primarily Protestant/Unionist.
We saw a lot of houses in this design, a complete absence of grass/greenery and they somehow reminded me of graves
The family firm!
This is the now abandoned Crumlin Road Courthouse. The jail, which is another visitor attraction now, is opposite.
