Narnia isn't all that far away - it's in Belfast!

A Voyage of Discovery in Belfast with CS Lewis

Nicole with the searcher statue dedicated to CS Lewis, do you spot a certain wardrobe?

Every city has its literary giants and Belfast is no exception. Authentic Ulster promotes a tailormade CS Lewis tour which takes a fascinating three hours.  While my 11 year old daughter, her friend and I enjoy the wisdom of our entertaining guide Sandy Smith, we discover that the mountains at Cavehill provided the inspiration for one of the most famous giants in literature. 

Cavehill is visible from several parts of the city and resembles the profile of a giant lying on his back. Sandy informs us that while Jonathan Swift was visiting Belfast and looking at the same mountain he found inspiration to create the character Gulliver. It's the perfect start to the tour, as we stand at the site where the young Clive Staples Lewis spent his early childhood. My daughter is already enthralled without the need of a flashing screen or interactive exhibit. The Chronicles of Narnia is undoubtedly the series that CS Lewis is best known for and Sandy is quick to question the children in our group about The Lion the Witch and The Wardrobe. He then takes us to Lewis's Grandfather's house which was the rectory attached to St Marks Church. 

We stand at the front door and see that the young Lewis would have been at eye level to the beautifully moulded door knob − the head of a lion. The wardrobe story is next and we are taken to Belmont Tower which is only around the corner. A permanent exhibition holds all the information needed to become proficient in the CS Lewis story. Here we learn it was Lewis's other grandfather, who worked at the Harland and Wolfe shipyards, that crafted the famous wardrobe where he used to play hide-and-seek as a child.

I'm surprised the girls enjoy the educational part of our trip so much but it's time for something completely different. We Are Vertigo is an adventure zone with trampolines and ski to keep kids busy on a rainy day. All that jumping gives the girls huge appetites and we are ready to taste some of the best cuisine in Belfast. Graze restaurant on the Newtownards Road is a gem with a menu to suit all tastes. The girls opt for a steak and mini burgers while I'm sent to nirvanha as the scallops melt in my mouth. Graze has a really good wine list and they play excellent music too.

We spend the night in the Hastings Stormont Hotel on plump pillows and mattresses. After our hearty breakfast, where I pop a drop of Bushmills in my porridge, we set off for W5. The girls scale the new Climbit exhibit a little too quickly but they have to be dragged out of the Go exhibits. If you're thinking of taking the kids up to Belfast for the day to see the Titanic or W5 I recommend staying the night and finding the other attractions unique to the city. The Mac at St Annes Square is another cultural experience which just might surprise and you won't go wrong by eating in 4th Wall − a funky restaurant with great service, it's good for lunch and only across the square from the MAC. But the real takeaway is that the girls want to call to the library on the way home to find a certain book!  

Michelle Jackson is the author of Six Postcards Home published by Poolbeg Press. For more information see www.michellejackson.ie follow @mjacksonauthor

To experience the CS Lewis Tour visit www.authenticulster.co.uk ,

For activities see www.wearevertigo.com, www.w5online.co.uk Follow the Northern Ireland tourist @DiscoverNI  or see www.discovernorthernireland.com

Belfast is great for a mid-term break and only up the road!

I've been to Belfast a few times in the last couple of years and it's a great place to bring the kids. 
This article was published in 2013 in the Sunday World, The whole family visited the Giants Causeway and carrick-a-rede bridge but I'd wait until the weather warms up before going so far - there's lots to do in Belfast and the Titanic and W5 are a must with the kids!

Like many southerners, I used to think that Northern Ireland was somewhere you went to get cheap booze before Christmas. However, after our holiday plans were changed I needed to find a good destination for a last minute family break.

And after packing in a lot of family activities on our whistlestop tour, our abiding memory is the sheer beauty of the place.

We had packed up the car and took the short journey from Dublin up the M1 to Belfast.  stop was at the Titanic exhibition set in the Harland and Wolfe quarter of the newly revamped docks. 

I was on to a winner with my nine-year-old, Nicole, who loves anything 

to do with history and lapped up the gory details. There are plenty of buttons to press and interactive exhibits to keep the kids moving at a steady pace through the exhibition without getting bored. 

Our first stop was at the Titanic exhibition set in the Harland and Wolfe quarter of the newly revamped docks. This is truly a wonderful experience and do not go to Belfast without visiting it.

We continued with the theme a few meters away on board the SS Nomadic and if you are taking the trip to the Titanic Quarter the Nomadic is a must see. 

Admission is £22 for a family of two adults and two children. It is the actual vessel that took the first and second class passengers from the port of Cherbourg before they boarded the Titanic.

There were period clothes and uniforms for the kids to dress up in and the staff were very hands on and keen to impart information.

We finished the day off in W5 which is an interactive science museum that will amuse kids of all ages for hours. However after our trip to the Air and Space museum in

Washington earlier this year my twelve-year-old son was hard to impress but Nicole had to be dragged out the door with Dad in tow at closing time! At £23.50 for a family of four you could fill an entire day here.

About twenty minutes outside the city, the family run LaMon Hotel and Country Club was the perfect place to relax after a busy days sightseeing. The friendly staff cater well for kids and the food was excellent and reasonably priced.

We had two other must sees on our bucket list next day and we headed for Portrush, a busy seaside town. 

Our hotel was the Ramada set on the main street and in a great location for all that the town has to offer. We had just missed the 

International Police and Fire games on the beach the previous day – but we had more pressing commitments – we had to go see a giant. 

The causeway interpretive centre is designed to blend into the natural landscape and built using local materials. 

The Giant left his shoe behind at the Giants Causeway

My son and I had to hurry the other pair along as they got caught up colouring at one of the many exhibits. Entry into the centre is £21 for a family ticket.

We took audio guides but you can get a real 3D person if you want and the causeway guides are famous for their navigating skills and wit over the centuries. These rock formations have become mystical and the inspiration for stories and legends as the years have passed. 

We lunched on homemade soup and scones outside the centre in ‘The Nook’ which is a converted schoolhouse, then took the winding road to Carrick-a-Rede. The scenery became more stunning with each mile and it was easy to see why this route is classified as one of the most beautiful in the world. 

The Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge, like the Giants Causeway, is part of the national trust and the staff were all local and genuinely welcoming.

 A family ticket is £14 and took us on a long walk through beautiful scenery – there were lots of steps to negotiate before reaching the rope bridge to the fishing island so not suitable for buggies or wheelchairs. The bridge was flimsy on first impressions, but the crossing was exhilarating leaving us all feeling a great sense of accomplishment. 

Once on the tiny rock island it became clear what all the fuss was about. Below, the water was a crystal turquoise and with stunning chalk-cliffs in the distance we could have been on a film set. 

And to think that it was up the road from us in Dublin all this time made us wish we had visited our northern friends sooner.

for more information visit www.discovernorthernireland.com/

Christmas Markets Belfast

My nine-year-old daughter is a big shopper and she wanted to know more about Christmas Markets so I decided to search out some yuletide cheer close to home. We cajoled my friend Catherine and her daughter Alice into taking the trip with us across the border for a night to see what Belfast had to offer.
We were pleasantly surprised with the continental market finding all the atmosphere and ambiance that a trip to Cologne or Prague would usually require. But we had it all only two hours drive from Dublin. Beerkellers and stalls selling traditional German sausage and French Tarteflette sat next to handcrafted French soap and Italian chocolates.

The girls had even more fun next day when we visited Winter Wonderland. With a real ice-rink and enough fairground rides to amuse the girls for the afternoon it was a massive hit.

The girls with penguin friends took easily to the ice and below with Santa on the rollercoaster!

The entire article is available to read on the Sunday World website by clicking here www.sundayworld.com

Christmas markets proved a big hit with our pair and I can't wait to see where we end up next year!

Hope your Christmas was wonderful and here's to many happy adventures in 2014!

Happy travels

Michelle x