Belfast — Where the Titanic was built

The nightmarish flight from London (avoid Stansted airport, if you can!) to Belfast ensured that we would be dead tired during the day, leaving us just the evening to explore Belfast. After a short trip to Bangor and catching a glimpse of the Long Hole, we landed up here at the yard where Titanic was built.

Now, the major attraction here is the Titanic Belfast museum, which was closed by the time we reached. The glass panels on all the four sides displayed a short history of the making of the vessel. The slipway on which the Titanic was built between 1909 and 1911 is spread out like a vast ground in front of the museum, with pillars still jutting out.

On 31 May 1911, the Titanic, at that time the largest and most luxurious vessel in the whole world, slid down slipway no.3 at the yard here and settled on the waters of the Victoria Channel in Belfast Lough.

Harland and Wolff, the company that built the ship is still located here. The massive yellow cranes, Samson and Goliath, with the H & W initials on it, towers over the Belfast skyline. The White Star Line of Liverpool had awarded the contract to Harland and Wolff to build three massive ships. to go one up on their rival company. Unfortunately, the ill-fated first journey ended when the Titanic hit an iceberg. H & W, which has built over a thousand ships, is now involved in the manufacture of renewable energy facilities.

As with everything Belfast these days, there is a Game of Thrones connection here too. The Titanic Studios, the main studio and post-production facility for GoT is located next door. (the yellow striped building)

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