Thursday, May 14th, 2026

This morning we checked out of our hotel in Dublin to head toward Belfast. We met our driver Martin and the van we would be riding in for the rest of our trip.

Our first stop was to tour Newgrange. We had tickets for the first tour of the day.

We had time to explore the visitor center, Brú na Bóinne before heading out to catch our bus that would take us to Newgrange.

We crossed the River Boyne on our way to the site.

Newgrange is a world heritage site. It is a 5,200 year old Neolithic passage tomb in the Boyne Valley. It was built by Stone Age farmers.

The circular mound was 279 feet in diameter and 43 feet high. The stone built passage leads to an inner chamber with three recesses.

The stone built passage was 62 feet in length that leads to the inner chamber. The passage and chamber are precisely aligned with the rising sun at the Winter Solstice. This has made Newgrange famous worldwide. We were able to go into the chamber which was tight in some places but while we were in there our guide simulated the light from the sun coming through the 62 foot passage and lighting up the small inner chamber. No photos were allowed in the chamber.

Notice the stick fencing that was used in the valley. We thought it was really cool.

After Newgrange we visited Monasterboice Cemetery.

Here we saw the Muiredach’s High Cross or also known as the South Cross from the 10th or maybe the 9th century. It was located at the ruined monastic site. It was an example of early medieval Irish stonework.

On our drive to Belfast we passed by several bright yellow fields of Canola. These yellow flowers are used to create canola oil and high-protein livestock oil.

We are now in Northern Ireland and on our way to Belfast, the capital city. Its name came from Beile Feirst (Gaelic) which means “the mouth of the sandy ford”. It is the largest city in Northern Ireland and known as the birthplace of RMS Titanic.

Our next stop was to tour the Titanic Experience in Belfast.

It was a well organized and self-guided tour as it retold the story of the Titanic.

Below is the slipway where the Titanic was first launched. A slipway is a sloped ramp leading into the water. It is used to get a ship in and out of the water.

Our first gallery was “Boomtown Belfast”. We saw how the city was thriving and why the Titanic was built here. We didn’t take many pictures in the museum because we were taking in all of the interactive activities and reading the descriptions in each area.

We then visited “The Shipyard”. We saw Titanic’s blueprints and saw artifacts from there.

“The Launch” was where Titanic was built. We saw a ticket of the official launch among other items.

“The Fit Out” was where we explored the ship from the boiler room to the staircase and up to the bridge on the 3D tour. It was really cool. We then walked to “The Maiden Voyage” where we followed Titanic’s route and also what life was like on board.

“The Sinking” was when Titanic hit the iceberg and we heard survivor stories and also saw the list of names of those who were lost and those who survived. We saw an original life jacket.

“Never Again” discussed the measures put into place to prevent this from happening again. We read and saw the inquiries that took place as to what happened on board.

“Ballard’s Quest” was about the period of years when Dr. Ballard searched to find the wreckage of the Titanic. “The Ship of Dreams” had the scaled model of the ship and more artifacts. The suspended model was located on the exact site where the RMS Titanic was built.

“The Lasting Legacy” explored how the Titanic impacted Belfast and future maritime safeguards. You can also pose as Jack and Rose from the movie Titanic. We didn’t plan on taking any photos but as we were walking by a couple asked us to take their pictures and then they said they would take a picture of us. How could we say no?

We walked across to tour the SS Nomadic. It was a tender ship of the RMS Titanic and the last vessel of the White Star Line in existence.

The ship was built by Harland & Wolff in Belfast. It is 230 feet long and 37 feet wide. It was specifically crafted to carry passengers and cargo between the shore and larger ships. It carried 142 first-class and 30 second-class passengers to the RMS Titanic at Cherbourg on April 10th, 1912. It was in service for 57 years. Besides carrying passengers and cargo to larger liners it also served as a tender carrying troops during both World Wars and was a minesweeper. Its last 30 years was spent as a floating restaurant and party venue in Paris. Then she went into disrepair and was returned to Belfast for scrapping in 2006. Instead of being scrapped she was fully restored!

After our time at the Titanic Experience we checked into our hotel and our group met up at the hotel’s bar on the 23rd floor. Today was one of our couple’s anniversary so we toasted them with a drink. The views below are from the bar looking out at the capital city of Belfast.

Tomorrow we are heading to Derry with stops along the way.