First, some new news from yesterday’s outing. Yesterday’s wind wasn’t just any wind, it was part of Storm Kathleen. And Kathleen damaged part of the roof of the Titanic Museum, luckily after we left. The wind was still pretty blustery today, but much more manageable for our outing.
For our last full day in Belfast, we opted to walk to Cave Hill Country Park to check out views, see Belmont Castle, and do a short hike before walking back into town to do some shopping. The 3.5 mile walk to Cave Hill Country Park took us through North Belfast, and we discovered some maps along our walk.
as we headed to the big green space on the left.
Cave Hill Country Park gets its name from the five caves located there, which could be early iron mines. The large park is currently used for cattle grazing, hiking and mountain biking, and visiting Belmont Castle for the views, lovely gardens, or events. The current Belfast Castle was built in the Scottish Baronial style for the 3rd Marquis of Donegall. It was completed in 1870. It isn’t much to look at on the inside now but the building itself and the gardens and views were worth the visit.
We’re guessing a cat since there seemed to be
a cat theme going on.
(and 2 people trying to stay out of the photo)
After touring the castle, we walked the 2.4 mile Estate Trail, one of a number of trails on the property.
natural spring named for the Irish Volunteers militia group
who conducted their drills on the slopes near the spring
We had the wind at our backs for much of the walk to the park/castle, so we had a little tougher go of it on the way back into town. We poked into the lovely Waterworks Park that we had seen on the way.
We finally got to see the Belfast Cathedral (known locally as St. Anne’s). Our cab driver had pointed out its very thin, steel spire on our drive in from the airport. It is known as the Spire of Hope and wasn’t added until 2007.
Finally, we headed to Victoria Square Shopping Center, an open air mall where we were able to climb to the observation deck on the top level (floor 3 here, would be floor 4 in the States) to get another view of Belfast.
and the famed Samson and Goliath cranes.
Fun fact — Goliath was erected in 1969 and Samson in 1974. Goliath stands 315’ tall, and Samson is 348’ tall. Samson wins again.
We didn’t end up shopping at Victoria Square, but a helpful employee recommended another store to help us and Bob now has his trekking poles for our upcoming walking trip.
Peckish Travels 