Bus Route – 5
Braniel to City Hall
All this running around Belfast has made me appreciate what
a great place it is to explore.
Tourists, and even us locals, never see the half of it.
Today, thanks to our guide Brian, four of us got stuck into
discovering Braniel and the Castlereagh Hills. 
First stop was at Castlereagh Presbyterian Church, high up
above the city. I certainly never knew
that there was a memorial here to a local man (George Watson) who fought at the Battle of Trafalgar.
We then ran southwards a bit to visit the American Cemetery
at Lisnabreeny. A fascinating place - 148 US servicemen were once buried in this field. See www.Lisnabreeny.com
for the story and a video of the site. |
| Robb's Lane |
I thought that I knew every rural path in Belfast but Robb’s
Lane was a new one to me. Just shows
that, no matter how old you are, there’s always something out there to
discover.
We finally got down from the hills and rather nervously entered the cafe at Orangefield Presbyterian
Church where we joined the well-dressed congregation. In fact, anybody would look ‘well dressed’
compared with us lot. It was a surprise
to meet with Mark Wright (a proper runner); a big thanks to him for making us
welcome and providing the coffee. Must
go back there one day to revisit their nice wee cafe - it's open all week. |
| Lisnasharragh |
Other attractions in Cregagh included the Colony (an usual
group of houses and war memorial built just after WW1), Lisnasharragh School
(where George Best went) and the birthplace of David McWilliams who had a hit
with the song Days of Pearly Spencer (one
of my favourite songs, check it out on YouTube).
 |
| The former Morrison homestead. |
We then toured Orangefield Park, spiritual home of a running club which isn’t going to get free publicity onthis blog! And did the usual tourist trail around Van Morrison’s homeland.
 |
| Avoneil boxing mural |
To end the day, we visited yet another good (ie non-sectarian) wall mural
and spent some time drinking tea and listening to the music at St George’s Market.
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