Thursday, May 31, 2018

May 31 - Around Belfast

Got up to a drizzly day in Belfast.  After breakfast the first order of the day was to head to the Titanic Belfast attraction.

Quite a remarkable looking building.

Inside is a lot of history of Belfast from the mid 19th century, when Belfast became the largest manufacturer of linen in the world.  The city also became a centre for building industrial / manufacturing machinery, first for the linen trade and ultimately heavy industry including ship building.  

Unfortunately, photos taken inside the exhibit didn't turn out well as everything is inside glass.  Here's one that did.  These are the locations where Titanic and her sister ship Olympic were built.

The dry dock was between the two sets of poles and went as far back as the dock extends.  Huge!  The other ship was built in a similar dry dock to the right.  There was a huge gantry frame with traveling cranes to build the ships.
 







This is a mock up of a first class cabin - as I said it isn't good quality.  You'll have to go to Belfast and see for yourself.





This photo did turn out - the business end of the Titanic.  Note that the centre screw was 4 bladed.  That propeller was driven by a turbine, whereas the two outboard propellers were reciprocating steam driven (triple reduction steam drives to be exact)









Another photo - a menu.  It was tough being rich.

Other really interesting features of the exhibit included a  cable car ride through the hull construction showing the riveting and plate bending required to fabricate the outer hull and frames.  Very noisy - apparently, a lot of the workers ended up deaf.

Also, there was Imax film of the underwater expeditions onto the Titanic.  Seeing debris on the sea floor belonging to passengers was eerie.

Definitely a worthwhile visit.  The Belfast history was a bonus.


Back outside, nearby is the "Nomadic,"  White Star's only surviving vessel.  At a mere 220 feet long it is 1/4 the length of Titanic (882 feet).  I was particularly interested in the old dry dock the vessel was in and how it was constructed.









After lunch I trotted out to get a look at a section of the "Peace Fence," part of 34 km of fences built to try and separate the warring factions during the 'Troubles.'

This is a quiet, peaceful looking neighbourhood not far from the city centre.  To the left, blocking the street is the fence.







A closer view.  This section was about 16 feet high, with a higher section to the right (I presume to protect the houses).

I have read that there are plans to begin dismantling some of the walls, with completion in 2023.  A poll not long ago resulted in feedback that it was still to early for dismantling as there are still concerns.








On the way back, I had a look at the Belfast City hall. A very impressive structure.











There was no way I could get a complete shot of the rotunda.  More exhibits about Belfast and its history.

Two interesting facts:
-Belfast was bombed a few times during WW2 (I thought it was too fart away). 
-In 2014 & again now the 3 highest ranking members of the Belfast council (Lord Mayor, Deputy Lord Mayor & High Sheriff) have been women.




Downtown still - a pedestrian shopping mall , going off in 3 directions













Before dinner we dropped into the Duke of York Pub.  It isn't too busy until later.  This back room was empty except for us and two Aussies.

On the wall behind me was a news story about how the pub was badly damaged in 1973 by terrorists.  Apparently, the bomb was intended for the High Court but went off prematurely as the terrorists tried to evade police.




At dinner later, I saw this beer on the list - if it had the name Maggie on it, it must be good, eh Judy? (It was)










Last photo today.  We have to catch the ferry to Scotland tomorrow which necessitates an abominable  get up time.  Yawn!









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