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March 28, 2024, 01:17:17 PM

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Getting a bus to Northern Ireland

Started by canadagoose, April 28, 2021, 01:06:01 AM

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canadagoose

Before Covid came about, I kept seeing a bus in Edinburgh bus station with Belfast as the destination, and I thought, hmm, what if I got on that. I imagine it goes via Stranraer, then a ferry, then Larne, then Belfast. Do you reckon I should do it? I'm hoping those riots settle down a bit before I go. I fancy seeing the Giant's Causeway, the Mourne mountains, and having a wee sesh in Belfast or Derry[nb]I promise to use the right term depending on who I speak to. I'm very cautious[/nb]. Has anyone ever done it? I know Neil, our lovely admin, is from there himself, and we have some other members from there too. What would you recommend?

Dex Sawash

A school friend's dad packed some guns and a bag in the El Camino[nb]he owned a construction company and in those days an El Camino was THE car for a man who did not have to do any labor at all but could grab a few boards for the crew in a pinch[/nb] and took off to drive to Puerto Rico. Not sure how how that ended but it wasn't PR.

Attila

Quote from: Dex Sawash on April 28, 2021, 01:18:41 AM
A school friend's dad packed some guns and a bag in the El Camino[nb]he owned a construction company and in those days an El Camino was THE car for a man who did not have to do any labor at all but could grab a few boards for the crew in a pinch[/nb] and took off to drive to Puerto Rico. Not sure how how that ended but it wasn't PR.

[El Camino chat: at one point, my dad, non-tosser brother, non-tosser brother's friend, and tosser brother's friend all had El Caminos. Parked up in the driveway it looked like some sort of 1970s redneck convention. Three of them were in pristine condition, two painted shiny black, and the other a baby blue metallic, but Chadwick's primer/prune-coloured vehicle was beat to shit.]

Carry on with bus chat. I miss going by train or transport to someplace new and having a look around. My would-really-like-to trip would be the length of Hadrian's Wall; I think there's busses that do that, too.

Retinend

#3

Shoulders?-Stomach!

Are there any bus stops that say things like 'Barbados' or 'Heaven'?

dissolute ocelot

I've got the train from Edinburgh to Belfast, which involves train to Ayr then bus to Cairnryan and ferry (no train at the other end, just dumped in the docks). It used to be very cheap, not sure right now. But well worth visiting NI. Beautiful scenery and lots of history and good pubs. Although a car is handy to go beyond Belfast, there are coach tours of all the sights.

touchingcloth

The trouble is they don't do buses back from Belfast to Edinburgh, so Belfast bus station is just filled with rash people in kilts looking confused, sad, hungry and cold.

Buelligan

Quote from: Shoulders?-Stomach! on April 28, 2021, 08:11:36 AM
Are there any bus stops that say things like 'Barbados' or 'Heaven'?

My brother had a bus like that.  Art deco it was.  Lived in it for years until the pigs smashed it to shit.

Ham Bap

Quote from: canadagoose on April 28, 2021, 01:06:01 AM
Before Covid came about, I kept seeing a bus in Edinburgh bus station with Belfast as the destination, and I thought, hmm, what if I got on that. I imagine it goes via Stranraer, then a ferry, then Larne, then Belfast. Do you reckon I should do it? I'm hoping those riots settle down a bit before I go. I fancy seeing the Giant's Causeway, the Mourne mountains, and having a wee sesh in Belfast or Derry[nb]I promise to use the right term depending on who I speak to. I'm very cautious[/nb]. Has anyone ever done it? I know Neil, our lovely admin, is from there himself, and we have some other members from there too. What would you recommend?

Im from and live in Derry, if you have any questions let me know.

You could either get the train or bus to Derry.
It would be the 212 bus from Europa Bus station in Belfast, takes around 1 hour 45 minutes. This leaves Belfast every 30 minutes or so, i think.
The train is a lot more scenic, think thats about 2.5 hours.

The train leaves you about 20 minutes walk across the bridge into Derry City Centre.
The bus leaves you in the city centre.

If you're looking to stay a night or 2 theres a few nice hotels all centrally located.
The biggest one would be The City Hotel https://www.cityhotelderry.com/
I had my wedding there.
Its a 2 minute walk from the bus station, has great views of the Peace Bridge and the river.

In the city centre also all centrally located theres also https://www.bishopsgatehotelderry.com/
https://www.maldronhotelderry.com/  https://www.ihg.com/holidayinnexpress/hotels/gb/en/derry/ldydl/hoteldetail https://www.shipquayhotel.com/

Also plenty of AirBnB's and the like.

This is meant to be a good Walking Tour of the city. (Was even thinking about doing it myself this year, for something to do)
http://derrycitytours.com/

Theres plenty of restaurants around the city centre:
https://exchangerestaurant.com/
https://www.quaywestrestaurant.com/
https://www.walledcitybrewery.com/
https://www.fitzroysrestaurant.com/

Theres loads of pubs in and around the city centre. Waterloo St has a few especially Paedar O'Donnells, traditional Irish Bar, and the Gweedore
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g186482-d218869-Reviews-Peadar_O_Donnells_Bar-Derry_County_Londonderry_Northern_Ireland.html

Sandinos is also 30 seconds from the bus stop and would be a very friendly pub as all of them are
http://sandinoscafebar.com/

Badgers which has the Derry Girls mural
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g186482-d2089131-Reviews-Badgers_Bar_and_Restaurant-Derry_County_Londonderry_Northern_Ireland.html

Guidhall Taphouse
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g186482-d11656216-Reviews-Guildhall_Taphouse-Derry_County_Londonderry_Northern_Ireland.html

Derry is also a good place to hire a car and drive into Donegal, with all the beaches and countryside if thats what you're looking too.

Also, in Derry id say about 99.99% of people call it Derry and not Londonderry, so youre best to call it that ;)

Anything else let me know.

sevendaughters

I went to Belfast (not by bus) just before lockdown (NI had its first case on the last day we were there) and it was a lot of fun. My one bit of advice is when you go to Giants Causeway, take food and drink, because the visitor centre charges you to get in, even if your intent is just to get a cup of tea and look at the novelty tat. Highwayman mentality and you don't even need to be in there to see the actual attraction.

Sebastian Cobb

Quote from: touchingcloth on April 28, 2021, 08:50:29 AM
The trouble is they don't do buses back from Belfast to Edinburgh, so Belfast bus station is just filled with rash people in kilts looking confused, sad, hungry and cold.

Do the buses just pile up at Belfast? That seems very inefficient.

Sebastian Cobb

Quote from: Shoulders?-Stomach! on April 28, 2021, 08:11:36 AM
Are there any bus stops that say things like 'Barbados' or 'Heaven'?

If it's anything like Glasgow the best you can do is Amsterdam, which sounds nice but may involve going through Hull.

Icehaven

Quote from: Shoulders?-Stomach! on April 28, 2021, 08:11:36 AM
Are there any bus stops that say things like 'Barbados' or 'Heaven'?

There's a Hollywood somewhere in or around Birmingham because I've seen a few buses with it on as the destination, but I've never once heard or seen the area mentioned in any other context or known anyone say they live or work there. Maps confirm it exists but is in Worcestershire, so suspect Brigadoon type situation.

Barry Admin

We've got a Hollywood here as well; lovely little place, along the coast.

goose, I'll have a think, but I dunno what to suggest tbh. I haven't got on a bus for over a year and just try to stay away from everyone now. I've no idea what's open and what isn't.

My favourite thing before the pandemic would have been cycling around the coast; going to Strangford Lough and just gazing out at the beautiful water and clear skies. Or I'd go to a duck pond and watch the sorted wildlife waddling about. 

Titanic is great actually; just that whole area. The further you walk down towards the HMS Caroline etc, the more quiet and serene it gets, especially at night time.

bgmnts

Dont think I'd want to be on a bus in Northern Ireland at the moment.

An tSaoi

There's a statue of a big fish. You should look at that.

Sebastian Cobb

Quote from: icehaven on April 28, 2021, 03:12:05 PM
There's a Hollywood somewhere in or around Birmingham because I've seen a few buses with it on as the destination, but I've never once heard or seen the area mentioned in any other context or known anyone say they live or work there. Maps confirm it exists but is in Worcestershire, so suspect Brigadoon type situation.

Yeah and towards the south end of Worcester, there's also a Broadway. Got a bit confusing when I was a stupid child tbh.

Shoulders?-Stomach!

Quote from: Sebastian Cobb on April 28, 2021, 09:53:14 AM
If it's anything like Glasgow the best you can do is Amsterdam, which sounds nice but may involve going through Hull.

Cheers, might just go to Hull then for that one.

canadagoose

Thanks for all the advice and recommendations, I will have to keep this topic bookmarked so I can refer to it at a later date. I may look at the big fish statue. We have a couple of those over here, adorning the entrance to Commercial Quay, but they won't be as significant.

touchingcloth

Quote from: Sebastian Cobb on April 28, 2021, 09:47:44 AM
Do the buses just pile up at Belfast? That seems very inefficient.

Not Belfast as such. Why do you think Giant's Causeway is so angular?

robotam

An Italian guy I met was very excited when I pointed out the AC-12 building from line of duty. Not sure if he'd seen the show.

no_offenc

If you're visiting the Giant's Causeway why not make a full day of it and visit Barry's in Portrush for all your shonky fairground needs

sevendaughters

I really loved Portrush, had a cracking Ulster fry in a cafe before walking down the beach to Dunluce Castle and then on to Portballintrae. Weather changed like 5 times in 40 minutes.

Glebe

Its only up the road from me but I've never been over the border. More likely to get a train than a bus tbh.

An tSaoi

It always amazes me when Southerners haven't been to the North, and Nordies haven't been to the South. A whole other country that you can just drive into and have a look around for a few hours.

I've lived in both Belfast and Dublin, and Belfast is the nicer city. It has bad areas, but they're clearly marked, and you can see them a mile off. In Dublin, the good and bad areas are right around the corner from each other. Shithole.

buzby

Lots of buses come from Northern Ireland - Wrightbus, one of the UK's biggest bus manufacturers is based in Ballymena (unfortunately owned by the JCB brexit cunt now, after they went bankrupt in 2019). Most of their buses are delivered via the ferry to Heysham docks and occasionally Birkenhead, which a few years ago led to the odd sight of those stupid New Routemasters driving through Liverpool heading to the M6 for delivery to TfL.

Dex Sawash


Shoulders?-Stomach!