A Walk Along the Lagan

Last Thursday I took a walk through town to visit the Odyssey, to buy some tickets for Graeme Walton's testimonial game and to get some more flexi tickets. The day was overcast and wet, I'd go so far as to say it was miserable. Despite the weather it turned out to be the same day that, completely separately, Neil over at Belfast is my Mojo also took a walk along the urban banks of the River Lagan. Here was Neil's walk in his blog post 'Down by the Lagan-side'.

Most of my own walk was on the opposite side of the river. After buying the tickets and setting off back towards the city center I was stopped in my tracks (in the rain) by this Black Guillemot who, all alone on this part of the river, was seemingly on a hunt. With what must have been a chance of some dinner, it was DIVE DIVE DIVE! The legs kicked up into the air as its head went under.

Then there was just a glimmer of those bright red webbed feet disappearing in an instant into the abyss.

In less than a second all that's left to give away the bird was ever there are the small ripples that fade into stillness.

I watched this a few times before heading on along the towpath, mostly because I was slowly getting soaked.

Further along before the footbridge that is part of the Lagan weir is a nice view of the Lagan Boat Company's MV Joyce Too' and MV Mona.

After another small stretch of water between the weir and the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge are some benches where on a nicer day than this you can watch the traffic and water flow by.

Back on the city side of the Lagan, down by Lanyon Place and the Waterfront is the MV Confiance aka 'The Belfast Barge' which is home to a maritime exhibition and cafe.

I wasn't alone in arriving back at the office drenched that day but it was still worth it for the lunch time walk and the tickets.

Alcúdia Old Town - In the Market for Roman Ruins

Getting back to our holiday to Mallorca in May, it was day two, the day after we'd realised that we'd forgotten how to relax. As we woke up to bright sunshine that cast rainbows onto our hotel room floor it wasn't long before we'd found the bar and the pool.

After a swim and some writing/reading and more drinks we took some time out of the sun in our room and watched the first couple of episodes of season one of 'How I Met Your Mother' on DVD on the laptop. It didn't take long for us to be totally addicted and the couple of episodes turned into half a dozen. It was a slow paced day, we watched the episodes with Vodka Sunrise cocktails and later enjoyed some more of the sun before heading along in the evening to the hotels film quiz.

We sucked at the quiz but after it it was announced there was to be a walk to the weekly market held in the old town of Alcúdia the next day, so keen to get our bearings anyway we made plans to head along. The market happens every Tuesday and Thursday in summer and though we were trying to take it easy, a bit of sightseeing and adventure was just the thing to tip the scales.

So day 3 began with a 2.5 mile walk to Alcudia Old Town where we the only ones except our guide to have thought the hike was a good idea. It was their loss as we chatted to our guide and found out a bit more about the area, the hotel and our guide himself. There were local and regional elections taking place in the area and like Northern Ireland at similar times, every lamp post and miscellaneous empty spot with a vantage point was being used to display election campaign banners and posters.

It was a nice walk, it wasn't too hot. When we arrived outside the walls of the town that date back to the 14th century we parted company with our guide for the day and went off exploring.

First of all we checked out the market which stretched from the lower walls at the base of the hill all the way through the lower part of the town. The market was very busy with people, mainly tourists but nothing much appeared to be being bought.

Except for the food sellers, most of the traders there seemed to be offering almost identical goods. The same bags, leather goods, t-shirts, jewellery and salt and pepper shakers adorned the packed stalls. I wasn't really impressed or interested to be honest and it seemed there were not many other people who were either. I'm probably just not the demographic for the goods on sale, I wasn't alone though as Norngirl didn't buy anything in the market itself either and found more that interested when she ventured into the regular shops, most of which were clothes and souvenir shops

Alcúdia Old Town itself was very pretty and picturesque. A stroll around the town through its grid like puzzle of tight streets was like stepping back in time.

At the peak of the hill stands a grand building called the Church of St Jaume that was apparently (according to unsourced sources) finished in 1893.

On our way around the town walled town we stopped for a beer and watched the world go by before carrying on to the tourist information centre. There we found some helpful leaflets about the island and the local area. One thing we did want to see were the ruins of the former Roman town. So that's where we headed next.

The entrance fee for the Roman Ruins was €3 and that included access to the small museum across the road from the Church which contained some of the archaeological artefacts from the site. The museum part was interesting but very small, really just the one big room with modern displays featuring the best major finds from the excavations of the site.

The best part though were the ruins. They are a good bit of a walk if you want to see everything including the amphitheatre but well worth it. Walking around the site gives quite an insight into the Roman settlement that once existed.

With the exposed foundations of buildings, a fair few pillars and more well preserved stone features there is lots to see, the site also has lots of information boards that explain the ins and outs of what your looking at.

We had fun down by the amphitheatre, pretending to be gladiators. Norngirl also did a wee rendition of I'm a little teapot... don't ask, though it was a very good rendition.

There were lots of nice views from the site too, like these poppies in a nearby field.

It was a really nice town to visit, the beer not too expensive, the tourist attractions very cheap (3 Euro's for the Ruins and Museum was a bargain) and plenty of history there to be seen, from walking the walls to visiting the church. We even made it back to admire the walls some more later in the week but more on that later.

All cultured out for the day and beginning to crave more 'How I Met Your Mother', we headed down into Alcudia Port. Realising that we enjoyed - or were at least capable - of relaxing by being active (yet still unable to unwind by sitting around or taking it completely easy) we booked ourselves onto a tour to Lluc and Soller for later on in the week.

The port part of Alcúdia is just a big tourist resort and the further south around the coast we saw later in the week, the more tourist-centric it seemed to become - at least the bigger the hotels got and the more fast food was on offer, very much not our thing. We headed back towards the calm of Alcanada and our hotel but before we did we stopped in a cafe and we got some refreshments. My drink being a usual that I have at home in teabag form but here I had a very nice tea leaf filtered cup of Rooiboss tea and it was very refreshing. Almost as refreshing as some of the oranges growing in gardens by the side of the road on the short walk between the Old Town and the port.

We walked back to the hotel and in total it turns out we had walked a good 6 miles during the day by the time we got back to our room. Our feet were really starting to feel it so it was a quick dress change before plunging ourselves into an empty and very soothing swimming pool.

The rest of the day we did spend relaxing, turns out a long walk and tiring yourselves out is good way to facilitate relaxation of the lazy variety - it dawned on us this is probably one of the reasons why we love visiting big cities and sightseeing so much.

The evenings entertainment in the hotel was a thing called the 'Crazy Mix' and lets just say it was unique. We agreed after the show that the ladies who work there really don't get paid enough... because you couldn't have paid us to do what they did for anything short of a small fortune. We retired to our room with some drinks and day four was to be known as 'Gym Day'.

Back in the Future and a lot of photos

Hi everyone and sorry for the bloggy absence. You might be happy to hear that I haven't had to be put on strong medication to get over the anti climax that was this years world cup but that does lead to the question of why this page has been bare.

To be honest I just haven't got around to it but after two summers of possible mutterings it does seem the summer months of are a bit of a blogging desert for me and July just fell off the calendar completely this time around. Maybe its because I'm a night owl and my brain doesn't wake up until its been dark outside for a few hours on an evening? I dunno, nor does it much matter... but I do know that there is no point dwelling on the past for too long... so I'll keep this a snappy before (all being well) normal ramblings will resume.

So here is quick summary of the last 2 months where every day (except one) was a work day. Because of that, we have been making the most of the weekends:

Once weekend we went on a trip to the Ulster folk and transport museums and very good they were too:

Above is a train in the Transport Museum

And here is the one of the 3 churches in the Folk Museum which is a village where you can walk around almost every building - including playing the piano in the silent movie theatre!

Another weekend we ambled our way with friends and family across the Carrick-a-rede rope bridge

The Rope Bridge and the views from the walk to the bridge and the island were quite a sight as always.

On the same day this was closely followed by a visit to the Giants Causeway

More recently, Crusaders pre season friendlies kept us busy, followed by the Irish Premier League restarting with the Crues back in action:

Other weeks saw plenty of housework done which included the weather finally sparing two dry days which allowed us to cut the lawn prior to the landlords house inspection. Normally cutting the grass has no rewards but on this occasion I got to see a young beetle that had some great colour:

And as well as other events such as Birthdays, the odd trip to the cinema and sticking up mirrors with command strips and various other random events of note, we have started to go on some weekend walks.

These have been quite random walks so far. One up the toe path from Giants park up to Hazelbank and back home (6.7 miles), the other from town, up through the harbour, and around the back of the airport to Ikea (5.8 miles). On the latter trip, we found the RSPB Belfast Lough harbour lagoon and the bird hides there which are open to the public:

Our walks have had a purpose too, we had a rude awakening as to how long you might be on your feet when making the most of a city stay with our day and a 1/2 in Paris in March 2009... so this time we're going prepared with our 'endurance practice for couch potatoes'. Our final walk before going on our holiday will involve visiting charity shops around Belfast and buying an item, this item will then be delivered to a special recipient - the aim is to get the most bemused reaction.

That is pretty much the highlights of the past couple of months but the next few months have plenty for me to get back in the blogging spirit with. I'll be sure to share them with you as the nights get shorter :)

Exploring the Cavehill and Cavehill Country Park - Part 2

After a long walk and a picnic with a view, which is where we left off after part 1.  I was left with the question of how to find my way down the Cavehill. Jumping seemed the quickest way, but I fancied staying alive and wasn't in any rush.

The day was still young but my legs were tired. I wanted to see as much as I could. So I decided to head North and then once I've seen what there is to see, cut back on myself and take in the rest of the country park.

With my right ankle already aching, I was wondering how it might hold out. Looking out over the moor and with a pretty view out to sea still in my eye line, my heart ruled my head and I set off for as long as it was going to take.

Here is the view I found looking towards Mallusk, Glengormley, Carnmoney and the rest of Newtownabbey.

Distracted and with my head in the clouds as usual (though this time almost literally), I was soon heading downhill, but perhaps a little too quickly. It dawned on me just in time, well, just in time to prevent another uphill struggle. I turned around promptly and hiked back past McArts Fort and this time headed South.

Parts of the city that were out of sight before were now in view and up on the hill behind the moorland was the not so scenic view of landfill machinery.

Where the North Side of the hill was battered by a relentless wind, the South side was calmer, the upland heath turned to flowering bushes and the trees stopped looking like the heads of models from those odd looking generic styling gel adverts.

The path was a steady decline which headed West as the path takes you around the site of an quarry.

The Limestone quarry on the south face of the Cave Hill was in operation between the 1840 and 1862, closing 8 years before Belfast Castle was built. Many of you may have heard of the Limestone Road in North Belfast, well this road was named after the route of the horse drawn gravity railway that took the limestone to the port from the quarry.

148 years later and the area has been populated with a variety of flora and fauna. Seemingly sheltered here by the hills and also south facing so bathed in what sun Belfast does see, it was quite a sight. A lovely place to take a walk. A tight and uneven path meanders through an almost wilderness of flowering bushes. The quarry sides were a patchwork of plants. Bees and song birds combined with the tranquil sound of running water provided by a small brook to provide a natural soundtrack to the walk.

I could have stayed there a lot longer than I did but with my ankle feeling a little weak on the uneven terrain and not wanting to tempt the bee's into making me move on by force, I kept a brisk pace.

I never knew this place existed and it almost was like walking into wonderland. After the end of the Quarry faded away behind the flowers, the flowers in turn turned back into the sort of woodland found on the East slope around the castle. The ferns and bluebells were everywhere under the towering trees above.

I didn't have far to go now and as I popped out on to the path close to the car park, I felt slightly sad to only have pavement, cars and well mown grass to look at.

The trip back towards the Shore Road was downhill but it still took a lot longer to walk. Almost out of energy at this point, I only just had enough left in me to notice two more things. One was that houses in the area had far too many intercom systems. I mean how does the postman deliver the mail to those places without taking a week to make it down the street? The other was the remains of a pigeon being fought over by a crow and a seagull - the gull won if you were wondering.

These sightings were a little random but it didn't matter, I was tired but happy having done something fun that I'd wanted to do since the day I first saw the Cavehill. I had a small sense of satisfaction and some good memories too. All in all a great morning and apart from the slightly unsafe aspect of the trip, one I'd recommend anyone who can, to go ahead and experience too.

Exploring the Cavehill and Cavehill Country Park - Part 1

My feet kept sliding backwards, it was clear I had taken the wrong path in my trek to the summit of the Cavehill in the Cavehill Country Park. It dawned on me that this was probably why the sign said the equivalent of 'take the sheep's path at your own risk'. It really hadn't looked this steep from the bottom. Oops.

I caught my footing and clambered back to much  sturdier ground that was scattered with plenty of fixed-in-place rocks. I negotiated my way over them, on all fours at times. It was like being a kid on a climbing frame again.

Conscious of eroding the hill quicker than nature and other people were already doing, I did my best to not cause the scree I was walking on to relocate further down the slope. I dodged the rabbit droppings that were peppering the ground and after a quick stop to rabbit spot, I was all but a short climb of some steps from McArt's Fort.

Before we head up those stairs though, here is where it all started...
The Monday before last was the Monday following the weekend of joy that crescendoed with Leeds United being promoted from League One to the Championship. So whilst feeling on top of the world, I had planned to use one of my days off to head a little higher in the physical sense of the term. So when the weather forecast had given the indication that Monday was the best day of the week to be heading outdoors, I made a vague plan. The idea was to make my way to ASDA on the Shore Road, to buy some supplies and then set off walking towards the Cavehill Country Park and, via Belfast Castle, make my way to the top of the Cavehill where I would reward myself with my lunch.

I know Divis at 478m is the highest elevation of Belfast's Hills but at 370m the Cavehill won out, mainly because it was closer and I couldn't fathom how to make it to the top of the Divis hills with just public transport and my own two feet (at least in any reasonable length of time) - though having found the link there I think that this trip might be do-able in the future!

Kitted out in the sort of gear you'd wear to play 5-a-side football but with a coat over the top, I beeped my items through the self-service checkouts and started my walk.

From ASDA this was my eventual route:

Path depicted using Google Earth

The first part was a breeze. It began well as I hadn't even passed too far by the old gateway to the Fortwilliam area before I had spotted some wildlife. It was a grey squirrel foraging around but it was already on the move before I had the sense to try and take out my camera. I was soon at the Antrim Road and walking up Innisfayle Park and into the grounds of the park.

The incline started to pick up as I approached Belfast Castle itself. Belfast Castle is a castle only in the palace type definition of the word as it is a sort of Victorian stately home, but is never the less an impressive structure with quite a view.

Having found myself here plenty of times before, I didn't go snooping around and just passed through the gates to head onto the forest path. The path leads up to an odd feature of the Cavehill, a depression surrounded by tiny-hillock like mounds and boulders, an area known locally as the 'Devils Punchbowl'. The path is lined with trees and from a gentle start gets quite steep about 3/4 of the way up to the Punchbowl. Being unfit and wanting to make it to the top as soon as possible (I was very hungry by this point) I took a quick rest and took on some fluids to keep me going.

I set off again and soon made it to the Devils Punchbowl. Once there I had a look at the quickest route to the top. I was in two minds as to whether to stick with my original plan of making the steepish clamber or take the easy but longer hike. Sat on the edge of a hillock looking up at the hill I made my mind up. Or was there a little devil on my shoulder telling me to do it? Whatever the real reason, I decided I was going to head up the steep route.

With slightly heavy legs I began the walking-clamber. At first it is a slight hill heading south beneath the cliffs, then with the large basaltic outcrop looming, the path became earth and rocky scree. With the path uneven and very loose in places I was in two minds between looking up incase of falling rocks and looking down to ensure I wasn't going to be heading backwards.

Inbetween the glances up and down I caught sight of something moving. Two rabbits bounded in opposite directions and out of site. Like Alice spotting a glimps of the white rabbit, I had to follow, although unlike Alice, I had a camera with a decent zoom so didn't have to get too close. Having spotted a rabbit moving I had the camera on and aimed. But where had it gone? I never saw it leave. I took a photo and had a look. Still nothing, but...ah wait, there it was! It was camouflaged against its habitat, presumably to make it harder for the birds of prey that stalk the hills to make the wee thing their next meal.

Back on the move, I found myself facing a literal uphill struggle. I could perhaps make better progress on a solid base of rocks. With that plan though came the problem of it being steeper. I ended up having to use my hands as well as my feet. It was feeling like the wrong choice, but in so many other ways it was the right choice. I was feeling free and having fun, even if I was having to avoid putting my hands in rabbit droppings.

I persisted and only got myself in a twist the once which required sitting down and spinning around. Having got out of that pickle I was soon on a short walk on flatter ground between two outcrops feeling quite proud of myself. I was near the top but couldn't yet see anything infront of me but rock, grass and path. The informal path reached a proper one and a cattle gate too. I was almost at the top, a climb of the steps away from the view from McArt's Fort.

As I made my way up the steps, the anticipated panorama was hesitant in appearing and a continued view of grass meeting the sky met my eyes. Then there it was, Belfast and the surrounding area, in the distance I could see the North Down coast and further afield. The Mourne Mountains were poking in and out of the clouds and the city was bustling by below me.

Sadly there was quite a bit of cloud so the view from the top of the Cavehill wasn't quite as far reaching as it could have been, but it was quite a sight never the less and here are some of the sights I captured on camera from (and in one case hanging over) the edge of Napoleon's Nose:

   

Once I'd absorbed the view, I sat myself down and unzipped my backpack. I took out the goodies I had bought and dug in.

Settled down for a short stay, as you do. I set up a windmill and with the wind up there it spun like it had never spun before (yes I am a big kid, did I not mention that already?). Also except from birds, planes or the wind blowing it off the cliff, I was protected on all sides from food thieves and could really enjoy the hour or so I loitered watching the world go by.

Reluctantly, I had to make a move and head down the hill. I packed up my things, making sure not to leave any trace of my presence. The question in my head was then, which way?

After hopefully joining me in a short hypnotic interval with the Hypnowheel of Belfast, please do visit the next page - Part 2 of Exploring the Cavehill and Cavehill Country Park to find out what I came across next.