Weekend away in Belfast

When a few friends suggested we go away with our oldest kids, I thought maybe we’d have a weekend away somewhere warm and sunny. One of my friends came up with the idea of Belfast which I had never even considered for a weekend away. It turned out to be a fabulous suggestion and one I can now wholeheartedly recommend. Belfast has everything you could want from a weekend break (apart from maybe the sun!) and we filled the two days easily.

On the first day, we toured the surroundings of the city and visited The Dark Hedges (fans of G.O.T. may find this familiar), Giants Causeway and Carrick a Rede rope bridge. The latter was somewhere I had been dreading as I’m not a fan of heights and wobbly bridges. However, as my son was keen to cross it, I had to really. Verdict: Not as bad as I thought and seeing the kids’ excited faces after they’d crossed the bridge was worth it!

We spent the next day exploring Belfast itself. We pre-booked entry to the Titanic Museum for 10am, so had a pleasant walk across the city to reach the museum by our allotted time. Belfast is an easy to navigate city and very continental in places with wide streets, cafes and promenades hugging the river. The Titanic Museum is an imposing but beautiful modern structure, my son decided it resembled an arrowhead whilst I thought it was perhaps more like an angular ship. I’m guessing the ship would make sense seeing the subject matter, but it’s bad form to argue with a ten-year-old! The museum was well laid out and especially enticing to children, they provided the kids with a quiz sheet which they took great delight in filling out over the next few hours and excitedly finding the answers.

We ended our weekend with a visit to Belfast’s St Georges Market, a Victorian covered market in the heart of the city. There are lots of food stalls as well as some really lovely local art and crafts. On weekends there is even live music to entertain you as you eat and browse.

I would highly recommend Belfast for a short break, especially with children. I really didn’t think I’d enjoy the stay as much as I did. It’s an easy and quick flight from most of the UK and the airport is not far from the centre, making it an ideal weekend, after school destination.