Easy Access!

skateboarders

Coleraine is easily accessible by train and is approximately 1 hour 20 minutes from Belfast Central.

Take advantage of the discounted fares:

Day tracker:
Monday – Saturday (1 July-31 August, excluding 12, 13 July, 12, 26 August) £7.00 (family=2 adults and up to 4 children - £17.50)
Sunday day tracker (all year round) £5.00 (family - £12.50)

Group (10 or more day return):
Belfast – Coleraine £11.50

Freedom of NI (unlimited travel on all scheduled rail and bus services in NI):
1 day £14.00
3 days out of 8 £34.00
7 days £50.00

Phone: 028 90 66 66 30

Website: http://www.translink.co.uk

St Patrick's Church

Located in the centre of Coleraine, on the original site of the Early Christian Church founded by St Patrick in the 5th century A.D.

Parts of the present church date from 1613 and it contains fine memorials.

Outside, there are the remains of the wall that surrounded Coleraine in the early 1600s.

Open Tues - Sat- 11.00am -3.00pm.

Address: Church Street

Phone: 028 7034 4213

Town Hall

The Town Hall building is situated in the pedestrianised centre of Coleraine.

Temporary museum exhibitions take place here during the year.

When the weather's fine, you can even see some skateboarders showing their skills right in front of the building.

Address: The Diamond

Phone: 028 7034 2850

Capital of the Causeway Coast

town hall

Situated on the banks of the River Bann, Coleraine’s the main town on the Causeway Coast.

Built for the 18th-century planters, it's a busy but ordinary market and university town that boasts an attractive pedestrian area with flowers everywhere.

City Gates

The famous 17th-century walls have withstood several sieges.

There are 4 original gates (Bishop's Gate, Ferryquay Gate, Shipquay Gate and Butcher's Gate) and bastions.

Three new gates (Magazine, Castle and New Gate) have been added.

Explore on foot!

Explore the city on foot, and don't worry, you won't get lost!

Btw, Londonderry was the first ever planned city in Ireland, begun in 1613.

Easy Access!

approaching the city

Trains run regularly between Belfast Central – Coleraine – Derry.

Take advantage of the discounted fares:

Day tracker:
Monday – Saturday (1 July-31 August, excluding 12, 13 July, 12, 26 August) £7.00 (family=2 adults and up to 4 children - £17.50)
Sunday day tracker (all year round) £5.00 (family - £12.50)

Group (10 or more day return):
e.g. Belfast – Coleraine £11.50

Freedom of NI (unlimited travel on all scheduled rail and bus services in NI):
1 day £14.00
3 days out of 8 £34.00
7 days £50.00

Phone: 028 90 66 66 30

Website: http://www.translink.co.uk

What to take?

Clothing/Shoes/Weather Gear: The weather here is very changeable - it can be sunny for an hour, rainy for half an hour, then sunny again. So, it's advisable to always have a raincoat or umbrella prepared!

Shopping centres

The city houses 2 major shopping centres (Foyleside and Richmond), a number of designer boutiques and a unique craft village.

St Columb's Cathedral

This is the most historic building in the city, built in 1633. Here you can admire marble monuments and stained glass.

Opening hours:
Mon-Sat all year
Summer 9am-5pm
Winter 9am-1pm and 2pm-4pm

Admission:
£2.00/ €3

Address: London Street, BT48 6RQ

Phone: (028) 7126 7313

Website: http://www.stcolumbscathedral.org

No Surrender

This is yet another mural, reflecting the spirit of the people here during the Troubles.

The "No Surrender" mural is right outside the city wall: "Londonderry west bank loyalists still under siege no surrender"

Free Derry Signs

There are several large stone columns on main roads into the city welcoming drivers to "the walled city".

One of them is the "Free Derry" sign in the Bogside. 

Murals

There are wall murals throughout the city. They depict the life during the Troubles.

Visit the Bogside Gallery and the Fountain area for the true experience.

The Tower Museum

Here you can find out a lot about the city’s rich history from its earliest to present days, including the Siege and Troubles.

Address: Union Hall Place, BT48 6LU

Phone: (028) 7137 2411

Website: http://www.derrycity.gov.uk/museums

The Guildhall

This interesting building houses some of the finest examples of stained glass windows in Ireland.

Its name is a reminder of the connection with the London Guilds.


Opening hours:
Mon-Fri 9am-5pm

Admission: free

Address: Guildhall Square, BT48 6DQ

Phone: (028) 7137 7335

City Walls

Walk along the top of the walls, admire fine buildings, interesting murals and sculptures...

The famous 17th-century walls have withstood several sieges.

There are 4 original gates (Bishop's Gate, Ferryquay Gate, Shipquay Gate and Butcher's Gate) and bastions. Three new gates (Magazine, Castle and New Gate) have been added.

guildhall

There are canons throughout the Walls, particularly above Shipquay Gate. These were donated by the Guilds of London in 1649.

Directions: the west bank of the River Foyle

Hands Across the Divide

As soon as you cross Craigavon Bridge, on your way from the railway station, this lovely monument will definitely catch your attention. It's called ‘Hands across the Divide’ and is a work by Maurice Harron.

Gateway to Ireland's Northwest

Northern Ireland’s second largest city, Londonderry (Derry), is much smaller than Belfast. 

Derry (Irish ‘Doire’, for ‘peace of the oaks’), a small community centred around a 6th-century abbey, was rebuilt by British settlers in 1613. Soon, the town granted charters to several London merchant companies to develop the area, ant the official name of the city became Londonderry. This name has never ben fully accepted or used by Catholics, who in general still refer to the city as Derry.

walled city

coat of arms

Derry is the only remaining completely Walled City in Ireland. 

Stroll up and down its cobbled streets and find out about its history.

What to take?

Who's that girl?

Clothing/Shoes/Weather Gear: The weather here is very changeable - it can be sunny for an hour, rainy for half an hour, then sunny again. So, it's advisable to always have a raincoat or umbrella prepared!

Also, be sure to have comfortable, non-slippery shoes on, if you're heading the famous Giant's Causeway.

Children's Summer Scheme

BCDA

This summer I did some voluntary work with Ballynafeigh Community Development Association, assisting with the children's Summer Programme for children aged between 4 and 14 years. This kind of work goes on in July and August every year.

Activities

There were a lot of different activities, arts and crafts (made masks and kites), sports activities for local children (went treasure hunting among other things)...

Cinema

We went to the cinema (watched Garfield 2, Over the Hedge and The Stormbreaker)

Indiana Land

visited Indiana Land, an indoor adventure playground involving fun (ropes, slides...)

Carnfunnock Country Park

went to Carnfunnock Country Park, an outdoor country park with lots of grass and open space for the children to play games on; there's also a play park and mini-train ride that the children use.

Co-Co's

Finally, we had 2 Big Days Out to Newcastle and on the way there spent hours in Co-Co's adventure playground (slides, bridges...).

All in all-we (the children, local and international volunteers) had a lot of fun! I really hope to be part of this again some day.

The Ballynafeigh Song

Amy, Arnold, Aulten, Ben, Bronagh, Cameron, Carter, Chloe, Dillon, Dylan, Ed, Emma, Emily, Eva, Finley, Gena, Glen, Imogen, James, Jamie, Joe, John, Jordan, Josh, Julius, Karl, Kathryn, Laura, Lisa, Mark, Matthew, Neve, Olivia, Owen, Rachel, Rory, Ryan, Thomas, Tiarnan and all the other wonderful Ballynafeigh children, this is your song:

Everywhere we go

People always ask us

Who we are

And where do we come from

And we tell them

We are from Ballynafeigh

Mighty, mighty Ballynafeigh

And if they don't hear us

We shout a little louder!

Everywhere we go...

City Hall

The Dome

The principle dome rises to a height of approx. 53m terminating in a stone lantern.

The Whispering Gallery similar to that in St Paul's Cathedral in London, encircles the interior of the Dome. It gets its name from a charming quirk in its construction, which makes a whisper against its walls audible on the opposite side.

The Grand Staircase

This magnificent staircase's made from Carrara, Pavonazzo and Brescia marbles.

The large stained glass windows around it record important municipal events, from the creating of the original Charter by King James I in 1613 to the redefining of Belfast as a County Borough in 1899.

Stained Glass Windows

Throughout the Hall are many colourful stained glass windows depicting the Belfast Coat of Arms, the longest serving Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress, Sir Crawford and Lady McCullough, world war memorials and other prominent historical events such as the Famine Window which commemorates the plight of all those citizens who died as a result of famine related diseases.






The Banqueting Hall

This hall features a vaulted dome. The walls panelled in carved oak and a series of stained glass windows showing the Royal Arms and those of Lord Donegall and Lord Shaftersbury.

A step away is the Reception Hall, the smallest of the three function rooms. Special cases in it display the city's charters and certificates awarded to the first Honorary Freemen of the City, Viscount and Viscountess Pirrie.

The Council Chamber

Belfast City Council sits hereon the first working day of each month, its 51 members privileged to conduct business in such a setting. Similar to the Houses of Commons, Westminster, the seating faces inward to a central gangway which leads to a dais at the top of the chamber.
City Hall - Belfast

Mayors

On the walls of the corridors, you can see the paintings of all Belfast mayors.

The Lord Mayor's Chain of Office dates from 1874 when it was presented to the then Mayor, James Alexander Henderson. At the heart of the medallion is the Coat of Arms and motto of Belfast. This is surrounded by symbols of the four provinces of Ireland. A red hand for Ulster, a round tower for Munster, a harp for Leinster and a wolfhound for Connaught. The medallion also features the Irish inscription 'Eirinn go Bra', meaning 'Ireland Forever'. Within the chain itself are coats of arms of Mayors and Lord Mayors from the period 1842 and 1928. Made of solid gold, it weighs nearly 7 kilos.

International Summer Programme

Fondest memory: This summer I did some voluntary work with Ballynafeigh Community Development Association, assisting with the children's Summer Programme for children aged between 4 and 14 years. This kind of work goes on in July and August every year.

There were a lot of different activities, arts and crafts, sports activities for local children. We had 2 Big Days Out to Newcastle, a Big Day in the park, we went to the cinema, ice rink... All in all-we (children, local and international volunteers) had a lot of fun! I really hope to be part of this again some day.

Explore the city on foot!

where to next?

Belfast is easy to explore on foot and there are Visitor Info Signs throughout the city with maps to guide you through the streets. They're located at key sites and can give you a detailed info on particular location or building.

The signs relate to 3 cultural quarters of the city and are colour coded: purple for Cathedral Quarter, blue for City Centre and red for Queen's Quarter.

Website: http://www.gotobelfast.com

Black taxis

at the city hall

There are taxi ranks at City Hall, the Crown Bar, airports and main stations. Drivers at Castle Junction pack London-style hackneys until full for a particular direction. An alternative is to phone a 'radio cab' such as Value Cabs (tel: 9080 9080) from Grosvenor Road or fonaCAB (028 90 333333) from the Queen's Quarter area.

Airliners

bmi

Useful links:

• www.flybe.com
• www.ba.com
• www.flybmi.com
• www.aerarann.com
• www.euromanx.com
• www.flybnwa.co.uk
• www.airberlin.com
• www.flyzoom.com
• www.bmibaby.com
• www.continental.com
• www.airtransat.com
• www.easyjet.com
• www.Jet2.com
• www.manx2.com
• www.ryanair.com
• www.ba.com

Fly!

city airport

Many daily flights link Belfast's two airports with the four London airports, with worldwide connections.

Regular scheduled flights also operate from many British regional airports, the Republic of Ireland, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Nice, Paris, Prague and Rome.

George Best Belfast City Airport (www.belfastcityairport.com) is 3 miles from the city centre. There's a direct City Airlink bus service from the Airport terminal to Belfast city centre every 20 minutes (8.15-22) Mon-Fri. It's advisable to check the timetable for services before 8.15 and at weekends.

Belfast International Airport (www.belfastairport.com) at Aldergrove is 20 minutes drive via the M2 Motorway. The Airbus service operates between the Airport and Belfast city centre every 10 minutes (7-18.45) Mon-Fri. Check the timetable for services before or after these times and at weekends.

The Parador Entertainment

the Irish

At the Parador, you can experience Irish traditional music (Tuesdays, starting around 9pm), or, if you're into it, swing (thursdays), sing karaoke (Fridays)...

Address: Upper Ormeau Road

Directions: South East Belfast

Phone: 028 9049 1883

Theme: Live Music

Feel Yourself At Home!

The Parador is 15mins walk from the city centre and offers

• great service
• excellent meals
• single or double-bed rooms

Unique Qualities: The Parador pub offers something for everyone:

• Tue, from 9pm-live traditional music
• Wed, from 9pm-Quiz & Games Night
• Thu, from 9pm-Burbon Swing Night
• Fri, from 9pm-Karaoke Night

Address: 473-475 Ormeau Road, Belfast, Northern Ireland B

Other Contact: info@theparador.com

Phone: 028 9049 1883

Kate's B & B

Kate's

Address: 127 University Street

Other Contact: katesbb127@hotmail.com

Phone: 028 9028 2091

Theme: Bed and Breakfast

Shopping Hours

Tesco

City-centre shops are generally open Mon-Sat 9.30am-5.30pm (Thurs until 9pm). Some larger stores open Sun 1-5pm.

Neighbourhood stores and garage forecourt convenience shops often open much longer-24hrs in many cases.

Banking hours are 9.30am-4.30pm.

Currency is the British pound sterling, but the province's banks (Bank of Ireland, First Trust, Northern and Ulster Banks) issue their own notes.

The Wicker Man: Souvenirs

W

hat to buy: In this rather small shop, you can find wonderful things like picture-frames, oil-paintings, calenders, clocks, mugs, postcards, perfumes, carvings, etc.

What to pay: Depends on how much you're willing to spend

Address: 12 Donegall Arcade, Castle Place

Theme: Local Craft

Website: http://www.thewickerman.co.uk