This image demonstrates just how much the Harland and Wolff cranes Samson & Goliath dominate the Belfast skyline.
According to contacts in Belfast the Newtownards Road is generally safe and well lit at night. One potential flashpoint is the interface with the nationalist Short Strand neighbourhood. Though fairly well kept and safe during the day, it is best to avoid this area at night.
According to a local that I had a chat with this large Church of Ireland Parish Church was rebuilt after the War to the original plans, having been destroyed in the Blitz.
Here is an extract from the churche’s mission statement: Due to the extensive redevelopment and the ’Troubles’, the demography of the area has changed enormously in recent years and is still grappling with regeneration. This may explain why I found the area to be more than a little bit confusing.
Ballymacarrett or Ballymacarret (from Irish Baile Mhic Gearóid ‘MacGearóid’s settlement’) is the name of both a townland and electoral ward in Belfast. The townland is in County Down and the electoral ward is part of the Titanic district electoral area of Belfast City Council.
The ward was created in 1973 with most of the population coming from the former Pottinger ward. The ward was slightly enlarged in 1985, taking in part of the Island ward.
The ward consists of two distinct districts : Ballymacarrett itself, which is almost entirely Protestant, and the Short Strand which is almost entirely Catholic, with the two separated by a peaceline. Consequently, in the 2001 census, the Roman Catholic community background figure was 51%.
Set in the shadows of the Harland and Wolff cranes Samson & Goliath, large numbers of local men worked in the shipyard during its heyday. The area is also well known for ‘Ulster’s Freedom Corner’, a series of loyalist murals.
Ballymacarrett and the nearby Newtownards Road played a key part in what became known as the 2011 Northern Ireland riots. At first, the riots were only located in the area and were known as the 2011 East Belfast riots but by July, the riots had spread to other parts of the region.
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.
UPPER NEWTOWNARDS ROAD I WALKED FROM STORMONT TO THE JUNCTION WITH HOLYWOOD ROAD
The A20 road runs from Belfast to Newtownards and on to Portaferry.
I got the Glider G1 to Stormont Estate and then walked back towards the city centre as far as Holywood Road and then visited CS Lewis Square. The Newtownards Road runs from close to Belfast city centre all the way to Newtownards about 13km away and that is what too long for me to explore in detail.
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.
BLOOMFIELD AREA NEAR THE CONNSWATER SHOPPING CENTRE AND CS LEWIS SQUARE
I am not fully sure how to described the area featured in this series of photographs but, basically, I got a Glider Bus to Connswater and visited the CS Lewis Square. Then I walked along the river as far as the Connswater Shopping Centre and then returned to the Newtownards Road and the on to the Holywood Arches bus stop in order to return to the city centre. To be honest I found the area to be less that attractive but I must admit that I have little interest in shopping centres. CS Lewis Square is well worth a visit.
Bloomfield is contained within the area bounded by the North Road, the Knock River, Connswater River, the top of the Newtownards Road and the Upper Newtownards Road. Modern-day Bloomfield is a ward within Pottinger, one of Belfast City Council’s nine district electoral areas.
The Holywood Arches referred to railway bridges that carried the Belfast & County Down Railway (BCDR) line across the Holywood Road and Upper Newtownards Road to Newtownards via Comber from May 1850. I have been advised that the bridges were not actually located in Holywood and were not arches. The railway line was closed in 1950 after nearly one hundred years in serving the community and the railway bridges were later demolished. However, the stone pillars remained for several years before being demolished in the 1960s.
Connswater Shopping Centre features many discount retailers. The complex was built in east Belfast with work starting in 1983 and being finished by 1994, making it one of Northern Ireland’s oldest shopping centres. It pre-dates CastleCourt in the city centre and the Buttercrane Centre in Newry.
CS Lewis Square is located at the intersection of the Connswater and Comber Greenways, beside the EastSide Visitor Centre, where visitors can access information on the city’s attractions from interactive screens, interpretative panels and a wall map, connecting people to EastSide’s famous faces, places and industries.
CS Lewis Square is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and are fully illuminated. It features seven bronze sculptures from ‘The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe’, including Aslan, The White Witch, Mr Tumnus, The Beavers, The Robin and The Stone Table, it is a stunning display of public art.
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