AlessandraZoe

Since my first post disappeared, I'm going to give it another go. Let's see if this one "takes."

--Basically, the most important thing you need to know: NO RENTAL CAR! Hate the things. We're confident we can do 99% of what we want to do by public transport, filling in gaps with taxis and our aging feet.
--Second, this will be the second half of our trip in June. The first half will have been spent in Cornwall.
--Third, we are flying direct from Newquay to Belfast on June 19. Flight is booked.
--Fourth, we plan to stay two nights in Belfast. Hotel is booked.
--Fifth, we will head out north by train towards the Giant's Causeway and other parts on June 21.
--Sixth, we'd like to return for ONE LAST NIGHT in Dublin on either June 26 or June 27, a town in which we had previously spent a week. While we probably should head for Heathrow BEFORE June 28, when our flight leaves at 3:40 PM, I'd hate to waste a last night at the airport. So that flight is not booked yet.
--Seventh, we plan on spending all of our evening hours listening to trad music if possible.

So here's where I need the input: I have to decide how we'll spend, distribute June 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26.

I have "wants":
--Yeah, Giant's Causeway is a layup.
--But I would like to fit in Donegal (no duh--not in NI). Am I crazy for trying to include it?
--Londonderry is a layup. My 3rd great grandfather (and his wife's family) came from here. I'm thinking I'm walking that darn wall.
--We're from Western PA, so the Ulster American Folk Park probably SHOULD be in our itinerary. But I will listen to arguments against.
--Where we stay in this timespan should be predicated on the trad music we can find (I do have some good links for this).

FYI--I have all the public transport websites, links, etc. However, I'm very interested in how other people used any passes and/or public transport. The search capability on this website has degraded, and I know I've read Trip Reports that held some key info that I can no longer find. GRRR

Thank you for any experiences you can share.

AZ

Macross

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=3&theater . Many from NI. I love that you are doing public transportation. We bought a rail ticket that allowed us to get on and off the train. We bought in Belfast as a return ticket but got off and on the train all day. I see you can take train to Coleraine and then the Ulsterbus 172 to causeway. I can easily spend half a day there. The hotel has a great dining room. I also have a Grandfather that came to the US via Derry. I would love to do the park.

AlessandraZoe

Macross, If I remember correctly, you were one of the people cheering me on as we "dared" to take on Cornwall sans car last summer. Thanks for the input.

I am wondering if we should tweak our plans, eliminating Belfast as our FIRST stop, saving it for later. It's possible for us to head straight to Londonderry (Derry) once we land in Belfast, spend a few nights there,using it as a base to do day trips up to Coloraine and over to Donegal, then wend our way back via the Folk Park, spend our time in Belfast, and then head for Dublin.

I'm just so undecided. However, as my husband and I approach the downhill slope of life and have to make way too many decisions we don't want to make, we are adopting the mantra, "Certain things shall become self evident."

Thanks again.

AZ

Songdoc

First, I’ll suggest you move this thread to Great Britain because Northern Ireland is part of Great Britain—not the Republic of Ireland (although they share an island).

I’m lucky enough to work at a wonderful music festival in Belfast, so I’ve been to Belfast and the Antrim Coast (where the Giant’s Causeway is located) more than ten times. I’ll be returning next month. The Antrim Coast is a truly magical place, and there is so much more to see there than the Causeway.

I can’t imagine being able to do the things I’m suggesting without either a rental car, a private guide (with a car), or taking a guided bus tour. Many bus tours leave from Belfast. In addition to the Causeway, for me, the “must-sees” are Dunluce Castle, Ballintoy Harbour, and Carrick-a-Rede. Away from the coast, but in that general direction, I also love walking at the Glens of Antrim and visiting the Dark Hedges. Ballintoy Harbour and the Dark Hedges are included in some of the tours that advertise “Game of Thrones” filming sites. I don’t care about “Game of Thrones,” but the rugged coast and rock formations at Ballintoy Harbour and the beauty of the Dark Hedges bring me back again and again. If it interests you, the Bushmill’s Distillery is right there.

IMO, Belfast is perfectly fine, but I don’t think you need to be there more than a night, unless you are using it as a base. My favorite Belfast things are a Black Taxi tour, City Hall, and St. George’s Market. With additional time you could walk by Queen’s University and the Botanic Gardens. I was underwhelmed with the Titanic Museum. It was fine, but not wow. I might have liked it more if I had expected it to mostly be about the building of the ship, as opposed to the sinking.

So much depends on what you want to see and do. My focus is on natural beauty and walking in scenic areas. I would skip Donegal, unless there are specific things you want to see or do there. I like Derry/Londonderry. There’s an interesting museum dedicated to The Troubles, and I enjoyed walking the wall, with a guide to explain what I was seeing. I also enjoyed visiting the Workhouse Museum.

I haven’t been to the Ulster American Folk Park, so I can’t comment on that. I’ll be curious to learn if you are able to find trad music every night.

I don’t know how much this will help because my preferences tend to be nature—as opposed to cities. But I will say that the Antrim Coast is stunning and deserves more than just a visit to the Causeway.

AlessandraZoe

Songdoc--I looked at the bottom of this thread and I'm seeing tags "Ireland" "United Kingdom." I don't remember tagging with either! However, since the concept of what we're trying to do is "Northern Part of Ireland--Both Ireland and UK", I'm not too worried about the semantics. After all, I'm doing both Belfast and Dublin, and the last time I drank my weight in beer there, Dublin wasn't in the UK.

I know for some it's hard to imagine wanting to do entire trips in Ireland without a car, but we've been successful in doing four other Ireland trips without a rental* and we've managed to do so in Cornwall, Puglia, Slovenia--places people insist one has to have a car to see. Sometimes using public transport takes creativity to make it work, but usually, we find a way.
*Full disclaimer: three of those Ireland trips had the use of bikes added into the mix. No, we are not cycling this time!

Actually, so far, I've been pleasantly surprised that almost everything we want to do in the northern portion of the isle is easily accessed by public transport, and the information has not been hard to find at all for either side of the border. For example, the NI Railways 3-5 Train Tables have already taken care of most of our touring groundwork for the Antrim Coast; the Ulsterbus #402 (aka--"The Coastal Rambler") can take us to the specifics on the coast; Bus Eireann #64 will take us from Londonderry over to Donegal; the NI Goldlink Bus 273 would take us from Londonderry to the Ulster Folk Park if we are so inclined.

Since I first posted, I've spent a lot of time adding and subtracting what we want to see. The Donegal area is still in the mix, believe it or not. Yeah, it's only in my dreams, believing we are still miraculously frisky, that we can manage the Slieve League Cliffs. But we probably make do with a few local tours from Donegal Town to see much of the local beauty.

The Ulster American Folk Park is still a maybe--but that stop can be on the way back to or from Belfast or part of our "onwards to Dublin" leg; we can decide that one on the ground.

So I just have to decide where to station ourselves over 6-8 days--and in what order--making sure we're not carting our luggage up hill and dell, and that's my real trip puzzle.

Again, we'll land in Belfast from Newquay at 3 pm on June 19 and we fly out of Heathrow to the US at 3 pm on June 28, so that gives me at least June 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, and 26 to sort out. And again, I have no idea if I'll chance flying to London on the morning of the 28th from Dublin, so June 27th is sort of iffey. Forgot to add that my husband is fine with being in motion 24/7, but he hates packing and repacking, so I try to design our trips according to "base camps" with stays no less than two nights. That's why I'm thinking about the order in which we should do things--and which town bases I should use. Except for Donegal, Belfast just isn't that far away from most of the sights on my wishlist, so it sure would be a workable base for four nights. But do I want to? I don't think so. Decisions, decisions.

Finding trad music? Well, not every night, I'm sure. But I have high hopes for this one, especially because a few bluegrass sessions have already shown up in the research, too. Yeah! I started an NI trad database today, and once we're on the ground, I'll update it by asking local musicians, which has always been helpful. At least I already know which pubs will be serving us in Dublin, that's for sure.

Thanks for your suggestions, Songdoc.

Macross

I think saving Belfast for last is smart thinking. We land and head out most trips now since we arrive so early for checking in at apartments. We are doing two weeks in May using public transportation. Our only hiccup will be staying in remote Ballycotton but we have it figured out and will use a taxi from Midleton if we miss the two daily buses. We enjoy our beer and no one wants to be the designated driver.

It is a challenge but my husband loves figuring out the bus and trains, It sounds like you have it down also. Dublin trad. We love Cobblestone but we have a pub close by our apartment that has great music on weekends. It is by Harding hotel. Darky Kelly's. We are taking the early train up and back to Belfast one of our Dublin days. I have yet to see the inside of City Hall. It was built by the same craftsmen that built the Titanic. See how I mixed up Dublin and NI? I am really keeping a close eye on Brexit. I still have some Ulster bucks. Donegal, go for it. I would love to see those cliffs.

AlessandraZoe

Thanks for weighing in, Macross. How funny that your husband gets a kick out of checking out timetables, too. Now I'm for sure keeping Donegal, and I am going to play around with the "Belfast last" schedule.

As to Belfast, City Hall is a biggie on my "to see" list. The Titanic Exhibit I'm not so sure about. We did a Titanic exhibit in Cornwall last year that I thought was "meh", mainly because I had read so many books on the sinking that very little about the exhibit came across as new. Perhaps with the Belfast emphasis on the building of the ship, I might like this exhibit better. I toured the Queen Mary when it docked in New York when I was a little girl, and I loved exploring every nook and cranny of it.

Of course our real last stop will be Dublin. Yes, we'll stop in at the Cobblestone, but it's highly likely we'll exit fast. Once one is six feet away from the corner, hearing any music there becomes impossible. Thank goodness we have other favorites on our list, and I'm delighted with your suggestion about Darkey Kelly's. I just looked up DK's entertainment schedule for this week alone and it's divine. On our list now for sure.

By the way, Ballycotton looks beautiful!

bvlenci

I have relatives in Northern Ireland, and I visit them every so often. I'm thinking of returning this spring, as a matter of fact. We've usually rented a car, but I was actually thinking of using buses on this visit, because it will be a short visit and we'll mostly be staying put in one place. I haven't decided that yet.

The northern coast is lovely, and Giant's Causeway was better than I had imagined. I saw it for the first time on our last visit, two years ago, The Bushwick's distillery was also interesting, even to my husband and me, both tee-totalers. Our adult children enjoyed it even more.

We also very much enjoyed a visit to the Belleek pottery, in Northern Ireland, but not far from Donegal. I also highly recommend the Studio Donegal Spinners and Handweavers workshop, in Kilcar, along the coast about 45 minutes west of Donegal. I'm not a big shopper, but I bought two wonderful hats and a handwoven blanket that I enjoy every day from the first nippy air to the last daffodil.

In my tentative planning for an upcoming trip, I've seen that we can get buses to nearly everywhere we want to go. I have relatives who live near Omagh, which is not a bad hub for getting around the area. There are direct buses from Dublin airport to Omagh, and from Omagh to Belfast. The Ulster American Folk park is a stop on a local bus route that I would be using to visit my relatives.

I visited the Folk Park for the first time the last time I was there; we did a lot more sightseeing than usual on that visit, because we had my granddaughter (age 10 at the time) with us. The Park was very well done, with good historical exhibits of the village life in County Tyrone at the time of the peak emigration, and of the pioneer communities that the emigrants built in the US. They had imported pioneer houses and reassembled them on the site. They also have a "dock" for the departure to the US, and an emigrant ship you can visit. It was apparent that a lot of careful research was done in the creation of the park, and they have a well-furnished bookshop. The visit would be especially interesting and informative for children. My granddaughter took part in a "class" in a reassembled village school house. I'm not sure I would make a long detour to see it, but the area is worth visiting in its own right. The Sperrin Mountains, where my greatgrandfather was a shepherd, and the beautful Glenelly Valley (where my grandfather was born and raised) make me wonder what hardship would have made people leave this land.

There are two other very interesting things to see in County Tyrone, that are little known and very near each other. The Wellbrook Beetling Mill, powered by a functioning water mill, is a National Trust site near Cookstown. They have rather infrequent demonstrations of the ear-splitting process (beetling) of turning flax into linen thread. In fact, they can't run all of the machinery in their exhibits, because it could cause hearing loss. Linen was once a flourishing industry in these parts. Very interesting, if you go when they're doing a demonstration. Also near Cookstown, you can visit the Beaghmore stone circles. It's not Stonehenge, but, to be perfectly honest the sheer number of stone circles there and the empty, silent landscape made a bigger impression on me.

Other relatives of mine live near Enniskillen, which is a somewhat more developed, but still rural, area in County Fermanagh. Upper and Lower Lough Erne are very large lakes that bring a fair number of tourists there in the summer. There are little (and big) islands in the lake, some of which have ruins of early medieval churches. You can take boat trips to many of these islands. Lusty Beg Island has a cemetery where there are both Christian and pre-Christian grave monuments, White Island has the ruins of an ancient monastic church with, once again, sculptures that have a mix of Christian and pre-Christian elements. Devenish Island has ruins of an ancient monastery and church. There is supposed to be great fishing on the two Lough Ernes. Hardly any place in County Fermanagh is far from the water. (In fact, they say that six months of the year, the lakes are in Fermanagh and the other six months, Fermanagh in in the lakes.)

Some other things to see near Enniskillen include the Marble Arch caves, which you visit in a boat, and the Florence Court house National Trust site, a stately mansion where some of my ancestors were servants. I've never been to the caves, but I've been told they're very beautiful.

Enniskillen is also on a direct bus line from Dublin airport, and has direct buses to Belfast.

I know you don't have much time, and I'm not sure all of these places can be reached by public transportation, but I hope I've given you some ideas of things to see.

bvlenci

An addendum: on our last visit, we stayed in two very different, but equally pleasant, self-catering cottages. One was near Omagh, at the An Creagán cottages, which are located in a sort of heritage center, surrounded by a park with walking trails. They prepare an excellent Sunday dinner in their restaurant, and have lunch there every day. On some weekends they offer craft courses or nature walks.

County Tyrone Ireland | An Creagan Visitor Centre

We also stayed at the Tully Mill Cottages near Enniskillen, just outside the Florence Court National Heritage site. They have a superb restaurant there, where we ate twice. I think they're only open at the weekend.

Tully Mill Cottages - Self Catering Accommodation County Fermanagh

AlessandraZoe

bvlenci--Thanks for the input! This has been helpful.

I guess my hesitation in going to the Folk Park is that we did the one linked with Bunratty Castle years ago and I was wondering if I would be seeing more of the same. HOWEVER, here's why the Omagh version, based on the Mellon family, probably should be included in our itinerary: this park probably tells more of the story of my own Irish family roots than did the Bunratty version.

I have one early set of Irish immigrants, pre French and Indian War (1754–1763) , who were already settled in Western Pennsylvania, operating a gristmill around the time George Washington was surveying Western Pennsylvania creeks and rivers for the British Army. They probably originated from Rostrevor, a village in County Down.

An entire other branch of my family got its start with my 3rd great grandfather, born in 1791, who left Londonderry as a young man on a ship probably headed towards New Brunswick, Canada. However, he never got there because he was shipwrecked in Nova Scotia in around 1819. He worked his way down to Philadelphia, and from there, he worked his way across the Appalachians to Western Pennsylvania, where he met another family from Londonderry and married their young daughter. I suspect the log cabin pictured at the park is very much what they would have lived in. One of his sons interacted daily with the Mellon family in the building of Pittsburgh landmarks and institutions.

I'd love to spend time in the park's associated Centre for Migration Studies (CMS), and I should post a question eventually here asking if anyone has done so.

Again, thank you.
AZ

bvlenci

One of my great-aunts always said we were related to the Mellons, but I've never found any evidence of that. She once went to their office in Pittsburgh to introduce herself, but she didn't get past the receptionist. They certainly grew up in the same area, where maybe everyone's related.

Given your family history, I'm quite sure you'd enjoy the Folk Park. My family all came to the US in the 20th century. All four of my grandparents were born in Ireland, as was my father. My mother was born in the US, but her family were very new arrivals.

AlessandraZoe

Bvlenci--I love the story of your great aunt, especially knowing how the next few generations of the Mellons were not exactly known for their warmth. I can't wait to tell my husband this story.

tera_denten

Re: The Ulster American Folk Park... we were just there in October and enjoyed it very much. It was a beautiful fall day and had a lovely (long) walk outside through the park. Some parts were a little juvenile (we didn't have any kids with us) but overall we liked it. It broke up our drive from Derry to Enniskillen (Finn Lough) nicely. Don't know I would go out of my way, and definitely skip if the weather isn't cooperating.

ted_hagan

Northern Ireland is not part of Great Britain. It is part of the United Kingdom, which comprises Great Britain (Wales, Scotland, England) and Northern Ireland.
Many people make this mistake.

AlessandraZoe

Ted--I got worried that I had labelled the post "Great Britain." Then I checked through the thread and saw that it was not my error. Phew! I can still show my face.

For those that endeavored to help me on this thread, I'll post an update.

We've limited our itinerary again, as we often do. We had to cut Donegal. However, if the newer "Troubles" in Derry resurface, I guess we might had to do a switch out. Nevertheless, the hotels have been booked (yeah!), the one rail pass is in hand (yeah!), and all flights are confirmed (yeah!)

So here is the trip as of now:
We head out of Atlanta to Heathrow because I garnered every possible point from every possible source to get me some BA First Class. Damn, I'm good.
Then we do our Heathrow Express to Paddington to start using our Senior Citizen South West Rail Pass.

First stop: Exeter, where we did not get to stay last year.

Our Cornwall half of the trip has been set in stone for some time:
3 nights Exeter, 3 nights Falmouth, 2 nights Newquay.
Exeter will involve visiting my ancestry research pit stops; Falmouth will involve the Sea Shanty Festival and hikes with or without hangovers, and Newquay days will be shortened by travel from Falmouth to Newquay and our flight from there to Belfast.

Once we land in Belfast, we'll head to Bushmill's for two nights, Derry for two nights, and then we'll spend five nights in Belfast with some day trips out of there. We may buy some sort of iLink pass to do all in NI. I'm still sifting tea leaves there.

We'll be taking an early flight to Heathrow from Belfast and then an afternoon flight to Atlanta to complete the trip.

Thanks for the input so far. I'll be on a quest soon for more in-depth questions once we're a month out.
AZ