Cruising the British Isles in September is proving to be a delightful experience! I hope you are noticing the beautiful skies and mild weather that we are enjoying. When we returned from our tour of northeastern Wales, no time remained to explore Liverpool as much as we wished we could. However, we were able to get a good look at the Liverpool harbor from our ship. The smaller profile of our Seabourn Ovation often gets us in places the large cruisers cannot go. The UNESCO organization describes Liverpool as a Maritime Mercantile City. The city’s port area constitutes much of what distinguishes Liverpool in that manner.

First, A Fleeting Glimpse of Liverpool

Port Area

The three buildings in the picture above are the centerpiece of the Pier Head area of Liverpool, an area of tremendous importance to the growth of the seafaring British Empire in the 18th and 19th centuries. Namely, the three buildings (l to r) are the Royal Liver (ī as in diver) Building, the Cunard Building, and Port of Liverpool Building.

Liver Birds

You cannot miss the the Liver birds on their clock tower perches. (They also serve as justification for my choosing to tote along my heavy 200-500 mm telephoto lens!) These mythological creatures are the omnipresent symbols of Liverpool and are prominent on the logo of the Liverpool football club. And because of this, the people of Liverpool affectionately know the birds on the Liver Building as Bertie and Bella. Bertie is a male looking landward watching over the families of seamen. I understand the cynics claim he is watching to make sure the bars are kept open! Bella is a female looking over the Mersey River out to sea for returning seamen. As you might expect, there is quite a lot to tell about these famous birds. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liver_bird.

There is so much to see in the Liverpool harbor area, and I wish we had time to explore so many architectural delights. For example, prominent on the waterfront is the Church of our Lady and St. Nicholas with the St. John’s Tower in the background. The tower is a terrific place to enjoy a 360 degree view of the city. The church has been a house of worship since 1257 AD. Since St. Nicholas is the patron saint of seamen, the church attests to Liverpool’s historic association with the seas.

Dazzle Boats

My eye caught this brightly painted ferry boat, and it was only after I returned home that I learned “the rest of the story.” To expound, as part of the Liverpool centennial celebration of World War I, major pop artist Sir Peter Blake partnered with National Museums Liverpool and Mersey Travel to “dazzle” a Mersey ferry. That is, he transformed a drab ferry boat with a wild palette of color and patterns.

During World War I, there was a military purpose to this wildly painted, irregular pattern. The dazzle, similar to camouflage, confused the enemy’s sight assessment of the range, speed and direction of these wildly-patterned ships. Hence this painting technique provided passive protection for the boats from U-boat and aircraft gunners. Each ship wore a different pattern to confuse enemy gunners. Well, how about that! For more, see https://www.visitliverpool.com/whats-on/dazzle-ferry-p372041

We sailed overnight from Liverpool northwest to Belfast, Northern Ireland. Whereupon our itinerary called for us to remain in the port of Belfast overnight and sail Thursday afternoon. Again, we decided to skip town. Wednesday morning, we boarded a 55-passenger bus and traveled northward along Northern Ireland’s eastern coastline, known as the Antrim Coast.

Belfast

Antrim Coast

As we set our itinerary of excursion as we planned for cruising the British Isles, we were torn about Belfast. Belfast features Titanic history, but we experienced that in Cobh. We want to see countryside, so we set our sights on the Antrim Coast and the Giant’s Causeway. We made a good call. There was so much to see along the way in the form of a stunning coastline of windswept beaches and forests blanketing the hills down to the water’s edge. Also, pastoral farms and quaint small towns such as Glencoy and its Carnlough Harbor dotted the coastline.

Moving along the coast, we stopped at Ballycastle to see the Carrick A Rede Rope Bridge. And a rope bridge it was! This suspension foot bridge spans an 80-foot chasm. Fishermen with their salmon catches once trod a single rope span with missing boards. Fortunately, it is a little safer to traverse today, but we did not make time for it. And I am okay with that. As we continued our journey westward under cloudy skies, the wild Rathlin Island and Scotland’s Mull of Kintyre came into view.

We made a brief stop to view the ruins of the Donluce Castle. This 13th century castle, precariously perched on a basalt outcropping, was once the home of Irish Clan McDonnell and Scottish Clan MacDonald. Per chance you may have seen this castle before since it is the film location of the Game of Thrones Seat of House Greyjoy, the great castle of Pyke. No doubt I need to watch more television, as this is all new information for me.

Giant’s Causeway

As they say, Giant’s Causeway is the place that truly rocks. No doubt there are a lot of them. Seriously, this is one of the world’s amazing rock formations with about 40,000 basalt columns here, the product of a volcanic eruption. And as I understand it, the varying heights of the columns form giant-sized stepping stones into the sea which undergirds the name Giant’s Causeway. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant%27s_Causeway

Believe it or not, it was finally time to stop for lunch. This was some kind of morning, don’t you think? After all this sensory overload, can you guess what the nearby golf club served for lunch? You are correct…..chicken breast, potatoes and carrots! It must be the national dinner!

After lunch, we headed back to Belfast. Our guide, as with all guides, seemed deathly fearful of silence. Accordingly his nonstop monologue was informative, but nonstop. Unique, I believe to Belfast, is a huge interest in things political. And, he described Belfast politics in way that I thought was balanced if too much information. But the gray-haired old fellow across the aisle of the bus with a very attractive wife, 20 years (at least) his junior got a little grumpy about the guide’s politics. I think he left his red MAGA Trump hat at home. Kinda funny!

Belfast on the Run

Our ship remained in Belfast overnight, so we would have a morning in Belfast before departing at noon. Having lost our chance to shop the Liverpool Football Club store in Liverpool we were feeling the pressure. We were on the hook for soccer jerseys to take home. As Susie bemoaned our missed opportunity with the Seabourn staff, she was told not to worry. Belfast has a Liverpool FC store. The staff member even printed a map to the store. So, with a sigh of relief, Susie was set to shop.

After breakfast, we cleared the ship and took a shuttle bus downtown. We quickly found the Liverpool FC store and sat down in the Starbucks across the street and waited 15 minutes for the store to open. So, when the doors opened, Susie quickly purchased jerseys, emblazoned with #4 Virgil Van Djik for our son Greg and #11 Mo Saleh for granddaughter Lydia. Breathing a sigh of relief, we still had time to do some exploring.

“Cliff Notes” Look at Belfast

Across the street from Liverpool FC was the Victoria Square Mall. It looked just like a US flagship mall. However, a huge observation dome caps the mall. No doubt we had to check it out. From there we could see the city, and Gary, the guide on duty, was really helpful. We loved the Albert Memorial Clock. The tower was built in 1869 in honor of Prince Albert, consort to Queen Victoria. It stood on pilings in reclaimed marshland along the River Farset (now underground), and as you might guess, it began to lean as the pilings decayed. This led to the expression, “has the time and the inclination,” a phrase I have frequently employed.

Leaving the mall, we headed to the shuttle bus stop to return to the ship. We passed the stately City Hall, another Belfast landmark.

Back on Board

Our show tonight is “Counting Stars”. Our Seabourn singers and dancers put on a lively show of contemporary and classic country hits. Ukranian dancers Ilona Grechka and Yurii Chebakov are delightful newlyweds and special friends of ours from a previous cruise. Their performance always makes a fun evening!

As we dressed for breakfast this morning, I remarked to Susie that I really like the wine bottle opener in our suite and wondered where we might purchase one. And, in turn Susie mentioned my remark to our housekeeper. Guess what awaited us in our room that evening with a bottle of wine? Thank you, Seabourn!

So we sail tonight for Scotland. Our time cruising the British Isles has been packed with amazing sights. We have been in the countryside of Ireland, in Dublin and Cobh. We filled two days embracing the history and countryside of Wales. Our time in Liverpool was fleeting but action-packed. And now, we have tasted Northern Ireland, its splendid Antrim Coast, Giant’s Causeway, and Belfast. Now, we are off to Scotland, and we will cruise its outer islands, the Outer Hebrides and Orkney Islands. Then we will sample the Scottish mainland. I have lots of Scottish roots to talk about. Hang on!