I Saw (at least) Three Ships…..

Unlike the christmals carol, we in fact saw over 20 tall ships, and not on Christmas Day but in August in Belfast harbour, where amongst other things, they built the Titanic!

Yesterday was the day we chose to visit the Tall Ships Maritime Festival in Belfast, along with 100,000 other visitors.

One of the many highlights for my son was probably being on the top deck of a double-decker bus from the car park at Boucher Road to the festival area in the docks.

We arrived at the most westerly end of the event, and somehow managed to avoid being distracted by the fun fair rides.

There were already huge queues to go on board these amazing ships, but we chose the smallest queue and probably the smallest ship open to visitors, and eventually got to board.
The kids loved it – there was lots to see (and photograph!). As this was the only ship we managed to visit, we took our time and made sure our queing was worth it!

After that we slowly made our way along the harbour, getting a close view of all the ships, and stopping every now and then for a head count, and another photo or two. The crowds were huge, and I am sure will only increase as the 4 day festival continues.

There seemed to be lots of other exhibitions and events going on, but we focused on the ships, and not losing anyone. We refueled on hog roast sandwiches (for the adults) and a chocolate waffle and icecream for the kids, and then started to walk to the Lagan Weir foot bride to cross over to see the final area around the Odessy complex.


A few beautiful ships here, but only one open to the public, so NO WAY we were joining that one. We remained land lubbers and stayed ashore.

Finally there were a collection of much smaller and modern sailing boats/vessels to view, and photograph.

The large yellow crane is part of the Harland and Wolfe Shipyard where many ships, including the Titanic, were built.

By this stage we were all tired and hungry so headed for pizza and a break. Once fed and watered, we decided to quit while we were ahead, and took the shuttle bus(es) back to the car.

Just as we were nearly at the car park, my 4 year old had a tantrum befitting his age and hair colour (!) I think because one of his sisters had accidentally burst HER free red balloon, his having popped long ago.

One of my daughters turned to me calmly, and with wisdom beyond her years and a roll of her eyes said

“Mum……… I think he has some anger issues”

You know, I think she might be right!

So today we are HOOKED on Tall Ships, and are Inspired by a Beautiful Life to take time to do things together as a family, because despite the tired feet and tantrums, it was worth it!

Check out Hooked on Houses and The Inspired Room for some great posts.

Hope you made it right to the end of this post. So, has there been any significant festivals that have been close to where you live?

Take care until my next post.