I use this service every time I visit Belfast and I really like it.
Glider is a bus rapid transit system in Belfast, Northern Ireland, designed to improve the efficiency of mass transit in the city by connecting East and West Belfast and the Titanic Quarter via the city centre.The service is operated by Translink.
There are two routes, G1 (West to East Belfast) and G2 (city centre to Titanic Quarter). The busways total 15.2 miles (24.5 km) in length using both dedicated bus lanes and mixed traffic lanes. Costing approximately £100m of public funds, construction started in 2014, and opened in late 2018. It uses a fleet of 18m-long Van Hool ExquiCity articulated buses. Weekday services run from soon after 5 a.m. to soon after 11 p.m. (other times at weekends and public holidays), operating on a 7-9 minute interval, reducing to 4-6 minutes at peak times.
The vehicles are Van Hool ExquiCity 18 articulated buses of a so-called Light tram design with three doors and approximately 18 metres in length. The interior is a mixture of seating and standing, plus free WiFi, USB sockets, real-time visual and audible information and CCTV. The diesel hybrid electrical engines emit a low level of pollution and noise complying with environmental concerns. In October 2017 the Glider vehicle was unveiled at the Busworld Europe exhibition in Belgium.
I explored the area back in March 2019 and I planned to return again in 2020 but did not get the opportunity because of Covid-19 travel restrictions. In 2021 and 2022 I concentrated on other parts of the city.
Described as a lovely pub in the heart of the East Belfast community, Established in 1890. The Megain Memorial Church of the Nazarene is nearby on the same side of the street and I visited the area to photograph the church rather than the pub.
The A20 is a road in County Down in Northern Ireland. It runs from Belfast to Newtownards and on to Portaferry.
Beginning as the Newtownards Road at the junction of Bridge End close to Belfast city centre, the road runs in an easterly direction through east Belfast. The early parts of the road are mainly working-class Protestant districts with strong links to the nearby Harland & Wolff shipyard. After the junction of the Holywood Road, it becomes the Upper Newtownards Road and enters the middle-class areas of Ballyhackamore, Knock and Stormont, where it passes the Parliament Buildings.
After leaving Belfast and passing through Dundonald, the road becomes a dual carriageway, passing through a mainly agricultural area before arriving in Newtownards.
After Newtownards, the road follows the Strangford Lough shore to Portaferry, close to the end of the Ards Peninsula. Here, a ferry service is available to Strangford. In Portaferry the road joins the A2 coast road.
You must be logged in to post a comment.