Liverpool FC Forum

[Bad Bob]

Come to Lisburn Bob! Ill get ya sorted out with a Liverpool top and a nice Liverpool badge tattoo as well
Plus -youll have the pleasure of meeting me , what else could anyone want really lol

No matter where ya go brother, north or south-youll be made most welcome

No offence, brother, but I envision a trip to Lisburn to meet you thusly:

1) I show up and ask around for Mikz (aka Desmond)
2) I'm directed to some strange "hatch" embedded in the ground on the outskirts of town
3) You hold me at gunpoint long enough to teach me how to enter the numbers and push the button every 103 minutes
4) Then you feck off out of there and I'm stuck in your hatch watching Dharma Initiative training films until some other sucker comes along

   

[Mikz]

Its already planned then , maybe the plane will drop pretty close to here .

See ya in another life then brother 

[kazza 1]

Welcome to Northern Ireland Bob (although your not here yet!!)
There are so many things to do in our wee country. There are bus tours that take in many of places of interest in and around the City, including the City Hall and Parliament Buildings. The leave the city centre every hour and take apporx 3 hours, but you can jump of and on at different bus stops. As Mikz and Barry have said the Gaints Causeway is worth a look and also the Carrick- a -rede rope bridge (not for the faint hearted)

And also Dunluce Castle. Oh and theres also Rathlin Island. The boat trip to the island is adventure in its own right, and the island its self is beautiful. I think its a bird santury now, to many of the sea birds that vist!! These places all all in the north west of the island
If your looking for nite life in Belfast, here are a few places that you might like.
Bars...
Aunty Annies, The Basement, Benedict's, The John Hewitt and Lavery's. There are plenty of other bars to go to (to many to list) so if anyonelse can think of a good one, post it on here. One you have to and see is The Crown Bar. Its the oldest bar in Belfast and most visitors come to see it and have a pint of the black stuff and a bowl of stew There are plenty of clubs to. The M club, the Beach club, Mint, Thompson's Garage and Precious, to name a few. They are open to the wee hours, but get there early as they tend to get very busy!!!

Theres plenty of sport too.  Theres Irish League footy, thats played on Saturdays. If you fancy seeing a game, let me know and let you know whos playing who and where. We have our own ice hockey team. They are called the Belfast Giants and they play at the Odyssey. Its very popular and the games are usually sold out quite quickly.
We also have GAA and Hurling, but I dont know much about these as I have never been to any games. All I know is they are played at Casement Park and are played on Sundays.

Donegal is a beautiful part of the world and well worth a trip. Malin Head is a lovely spot. Have been there many times and never get bored of the views. I think it was jkop who said about the Marble Rach Caves in Florencecourt near Enniskillen.  I have never been there (image I'm 36 and have never been!!) But also on that part of the world is Lusty Beg. Its a small island that has one bar and a shop on it, but loads of wooden cabins that you can rent for a night esp if you like fishing. The Island is in the middle of Upper and lower Lough Erne. You can also hire cruise boats and sail up and down them at your leisure.
Sorry about this being so long, but as I said theres plenty to do. I hope you enjoy your stay here and come back again!!!

Cheers Kazza, you're a font of knowledge!  I think we're gonna have a challenge jamming it all in but it should be a belter of a trip.  Can't wait! 

I do have a follow-up for those of you who have spent time in Donegal...Would you recommend basing ourselves in Derry for a few days and doing the Donegal coast as a day trip (or trips) or would you advise staying in Donegal?

Your welcome bob. I work as a taxi driver, so I have to know these things. Visitors ask all the time about the best bars and clubs and places to vist. But I'm sure the people you are staying with will sort a lot of that out for you.
As I said enjoy your stay and if you need to know anything else, just let me know

[Big Niall]

you MUST watch a hurling match. The standard in Northern Ireland isn't great but it is a mad game. being Canadian you'll appreciate that a tourist I met before said that it is "like ice hockey for lunatics" . a pitch the size of a football pitch, with posts like an american football pitch, sticks the size of ice hockey sticks, a ball the size of a tennis ball and then they beat the cr*p out of each other.

very fast game and none of that diving rubbish.

[Bad Bob]

Alright lads and lassies...just back from my trip to Norn Iron and I must say we had a blast!  Lovely little place, Northern Ireland, and the people were top drawer...very friendly!

Some highlights, in order of occurrence:

1) A cracking "Scots-Irish" wedding/p!ss-up to kick the week off!
2) Hiking in the Mourns...simply breathtaking
3) Driving the Antrim Coast and exploring Glenariff
4) Giant's Causeway...this tourist attraction did not disappoint
5) A wonderful night of traditional music at a cracking little pub in Culdaff, County Donegal on the Republic side of the "border"!
6) A meandering drive through the Sperrins and some of the countryside of County Tyrone

We had wonderful weather virtually every day, I was able to lay my hands on a brand-spankin' new Liverpool strip for well below what it would cost me here in Canada and I've managed to get hold of a copy of Robbie's autobiography which I'm in the process of devouring.  If I hadn't gained 2 stone from the daily dose of a full Ulster/English breakfast I'd say it was the perfect trip!

Many thanks to all of the Norn Iron newkitters who recommended places to visit: your advice was most helpful and it made the trip all the more special knowing we had "insider knowledge" guiding us!

Right, time to talk football...

[fivecups]

Happy days Bob - glad you enjoyed your trip! Post up some photos and tell us more if you get the chance.

[Bad Bob]

Happy days Bob - glad you enjoyed your trip! Post up some photos and tell us more if you get the chance.

Will do, mate! 

[jkop]

Glad to read you enjoyed your stay, and your so right you cant beat an Ulster fry !    

[Mikz]

Sounds so exciting Bob 

  Bad Bob was ere    come back real soon brother!

[account deleted by request]

Alright lads and lassies...just back from my trip to Norn Iron and I must say we had a blast!  Lovely little place, Northern Ireland, and the people were top drawer...very friendly!

Some highlights, in order of occurrence:

1) A cracking "Scots-Irish" wedding/p!ss-up to kick the week off!
2) Hiking in the Mourns...simply breathtaking
3) Driving the Antrim Coast and exploring Glenariff
4) Giant's Causeway...this tourist attraction did not disappoint
5) A wonderful night of traditional music at a cracking little pub in Culdaff, County Donegal on the Republic side of the "border"!
6) A meandering drive through the Sperrins and some of the countryside of County Tyrone

We had wonderful weather virtually every day, I was able to lay my hands on a brand-spankin' new Liverpool strip for well below what it would cost me here in Canada and I've managed to get hold of a copy of Robbie's autobiography which I'm in the process of devouring.  If I hadn't gained 2 stone from the daily dose of a full Ulster/English breakfast I'd say it was the perfect trip!

Many thanks to all of the Norn Iron newkitters who recommended places to visit: your advice was most helpful and it made the trip all the more special knowing we had "insider knowledge" guiding us!

Right, time to talk football...

Welcome back. Sounds like you had a great time Badbob. I think we would prefer talking about your trip than football at the moment though mate 

[red37]

welcome back Bob lad. i hope you had a fantastic time there.

[Bad Bob]

Alright folks, as promised, a few snaps from our recent visit to Norn Iron.  Feckin' beautiful part of the world it was too!



A dry stone wall overlooking the Silent Valley Reservoir, in the Mourne Mts.



The breathtaking scenery of Glenariff, on the Antrim Coast.



Me striking a manly pose at Giant's Causeway.



The hidden gem that is Kinnagoe Bay, in County Donegal over in the Republic.

So, in total we were there 8 days and saw virtually every corner of Northern Ireland except for County Fermenagh.  Belfast and Derry were both fantastic cities to explore but my wife and I were more interested in exploring the countryside.  Our day trip to Armagh was a real highlight, as we were able to stand atop Navan--a bronze age hill fort with a truly magical vibe to the place.

Our hike in the Mournes was a real thrill and we were disappointed that we burned through the daylight far too quickly that day.  We hiked up the Silent Valley trail to the Ben Crom dam and then went rambling along the sheep trails of Ott Mt.  Definitely an area to return to if we're back that way.

The drive up the Antrim Coast the next day was glorious--everything bathed in sunlight and the fields as emerald green as can be on the Emerald Isle.  We loved the monumental landscapes of Glenariff and spent a couple of hours walking the waterfalls trail in the Forest Park at its head.  Then it was on to Giant's Causeway (the rope bridge being closed for the season)...which was every inch as impressive as the countless photos suggested.

Our trip into the Republic was another highlight: we had a cracking meal and a fine evening of traditional music at McGrory's pub in Culdaff.  The next day, it was off around the coast to Malin Head, dodging rain clouds along the way but enjoying the scenes all the same.  The drive down to Buncrana was fantastic and the views from the Griannan of Aileach hill west of Derry were phenomenal.

In Derry we had a great time exploring the walled city and, equally, the muraled landscapes of Bogside.  Very sobering.

A final day trip through the Sperrin Mts and around the bronze age stone circles and wedge tombs of County Tyrone was an amazing experience, although the so-called Court Tomb near Cookstown was little more than some semi-submerged rocks at the edge of a cow pasture!

All in all, a cracking trip and a place we would definitely visit again.  Everyone thought we were absolutely daft to spend our short vacation entirely in Norn Iron, given the nearby charms of southern Ireland, Scotland, and indeed, Liverpool but we don't regret our decision for a moment! 

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Did you notice the walls on the mountains on your way up Silent Valley Bob?

Always makes me laugh....i mean the mountains are almost vertical but some silly bugger went to the bother of hogging tons of massive boulders up there to seperate parts of the mountain!
Its not as if you could even walk up there...never mind trespass onto someones field!

[Bad Bob]

Did you notice the walls on the mountains on your way up Silent Valley Bob?

Always makes me laugh....i mean the mountains are almost vertical but some silly bugger went to the bother of hogging tons of massive boulders up there to seperate parts of the mountain!
Its not as if you could even walk up there...never mind trespass onto someones field!

Noticed it for sure, Barry...I sat there staring at one wall for a good few minutes wondering how and why the feck anyone would do that!

In fact, that first picture I posted above is taken a short ways up the side of one of them slopes.  I've another picture looking up-slope, with the wall meandering up the mountain side all the way to the summit.  How the whole thing doesn't just come crashing down is beyond me and, truth be told, I was a bit worried getting as close as I did--thought I might bring the fecker down myself! 

[jkop]

Glad you and your better half enjoyed your stay Bad Bob, and with your wise words after the photos you may have done wonders with the tourism to Norn Iron.