Mainland Brits, how many of you have been to N Ireland?
Discussion
funinhounslow said:
I would like to visit, but stories like this (and the petrol station in a rented car and Derry in the converted ambulance camper) do concern me.
As a tourist doing normal touristy things, what are the chances of a scenario like this taking place i.e. blundering into somewhere you're not welcome. And what would be the consequences? I note the poster above "opted" to leave which suggests nothing drastic took place..,
As a tourist doing normal touristy things you should be ok. It's when you get out of the centre/touristy parts that problems can arise - I always avoid the pubs......As a tourist doing normal touristy things, what are the chances of a scenario like this taking place i.e. blundering into somewhere you're not welcome. And what would be the consequences? I note the poster above "opted" to leave which suggests nothing drastic took place..,
funinhounslow said:
I would like to visit, but stories like this (and the petrol station in a rented car and Derry in the converted ambulance camper) do concern me.
As a tourist doing normal touristy things, what are the chances of a scenario like this taking place i.e. blundering into somewhere you're not welcome. And what would be the consequences? I note the poster above "opted" to leave which suggests nothing drastic took place..,
Minimal odds of you running into any of these situations when doing normal touristy things. As for consequences, they could vary from 'none' to 'some'. There are people who spout the usual rhetoric with absolutely nothing to back it up; no consequences in this situation. Then there are the people who might actually do something, but they're far rarer. We can't overlook the people who simply do not give a fAs a tourist doing normal touristy things, what are the chances of a scenario like this taking place i.e. blundering into somewhere you're not welcome. And what would be the consequences? I note the poster above "opted" to leave which suggests nothing drastic took place..,
k one way or the other - again, no consequences.The main tourist sites like the Giant's Causeway aren't exactly a hotbed of religious intolerance so you should be absolutely grand. Even the city centre of Belfast is far from awful as that sort of thing is confined to the areas where it won't affect profit margins too much. The centre is filled with shops and hotels who'd like your money much, much more than enforcing any cultural division.
If you want to visit, definitely do. I'm not as familiar with the Republic but even there you ought to be fine. There are loads of tourists in Dublin, so you'd be just another face in the crowd if that's what you wanted.
Tourists wandering about northern Ireland should just avoid any areas with an unusually high number of flags especially if attached to lamp posts. Painted kerbstones are also a good indication that you're possibly venturing into a dodgy area. Red,white and blue or green, white and gold indicate which tribe is dominant. 
There's a hell of a lot of tourists visiting Belfast these days. Reports of them getting into harm are few and far between.
There's a hell of a lot of tourists visiting Belfast these days. Reports of them getting into harm are few and far between.
Eric Mc said:
Northern Ireland IS part of the UK - so - for the moment anyway, you can't move from the UK to Northern Ireland. You are just moving from one part of the UK to another part of the UK.
Mainland Brits, how many of you have been to N Ireland?How many people on here realistically didn't know that?
Been a couple of times briefly for work and a longer trip for my sisters wedding as she lives in Ballycastle.
Sitting in a pub with my family and a load of locals I've never met, listening to proper traditional Irish music by a band that had been playing and meeting weekly since the 60's is a memory that will stay with me.
A lovely place and lovely people. I can't wait to go back tbh
Sitting in a pub with my family and a load of locals I've never met, listening to proper traditional Irish music by a band that had been playing and meeting weekly since the 60's is a memory that will stay with me.
A lovely place and lovely people. I can't wait to go back tbh
ooo000ooo said:
Tourists wandering about northern Ireland should just avoid any areas with an unusually? high number of flags especially if attached to lamp posts. Painted kerbstones are also a good indication that you're possibly venturing into a dodgy area. Red,white and blue or green, white and gold indicate which tribe is dominant.
There's a hell of a lot of tourists visiting Belfast these days. Reports of them getting into harm are few and far between.
I was talking to my daughter at the weekend about this. She works for one of the local hotel chains (Europa amongst them) and she says tourism is booming. Cruise ships coming to Belfast, lots of people wanting the Game of Thrones Tour (each to their own.......). The answer is not to walk too far away from the usual touristy spots - because of its proximity to the docks, the city's Cathedral Quarter is now the place to be, lots of good bars and restaurants which simply wouldn't be attractive to the louts and thugs of loyalism or republicanism. Safe as houses.There's a hell of a lot of tourists visiting Belfast these days. Reports of them getting into harm are few and far between.
The odd thing about Belfast is that you can walk just a hundred yards away from one spot, and find yourself in bother. When I was younger the main night spot was Gt Victoria Street, the Golden Mile. Well-established bars and entertainment, but if you walked round the corner you were on Sandy Row, where the bars would be full of oiks in Rangers shirts who wouldn't care less if you were British, just get out of our bar UNDERSTAND! Similarly, near the Court campus there are bars which cater for the barristers, solicitors and other professions of the area, yet if you walk to the end of the block there's a bar frequented by nationalists who would take you outside into the adjacent alley and leave a knife in your gut if you crossed them.
Warm and friendly people, they can drink you under the table. Just stay where your hosts suggest if you're with family or a tourist party. Plus it's always been, and still is, all about class. The cultures of both sides is upheld by the working classes, and if you stay away from the estates and back streets you'll find everyone else is very easy-going.
nicanary said:
I was talking to my daughter at the weekend about this. She works for one of the local hotel chains (Europa amongst them) and she says tourism is booming. Cruise ships coming to Belfast, lots of people wanting the Game of Thrones Tour (each to their own.......). The answer is not to walk too far away from the usual touristy spots - because of its proximity to the docks, the city's Cathedral Quarter is now the place to be, lots of good bars and restaurants which simply wouldn't be attractive to the louts and thugs of loyalism or republicanism. Safe as houses.
The odd thing about Belfast is that you can walk just a hundred yards away from one spot, and find yourself in bother. When I was younger the main night spot was Gt Victoria Street, the Golden Mile. Well-established bars and entertainment, but if you walked round the corner you were on Sandy Row, where the bars would be full of oiks in Rangers shirts who wouldn't care less if you were British, just get out of our bar UNDERSTAND! Similarly, near the Court campus there are bars which cater for the barristers, solicitors and other professions of the area, yet if you walk to the end of the block there's a bar frequented by nationalists who would take you outside into the adjacent alley and leave a knife in your gut if you crossed them.
Warm and friendly people, they can drink you under the table. Just stay where your hosts suggest if you're with family or a tourist party. Plus it's always been, and still is, all about class. The cultures of both sides is upheld by the working classes, and if you stay away from the estates and back streets you'll find everyone else is very easy-going.
I live 6 miles from city centre, wife and I like to book into hotels in Belfast occasionally to get a night away from the kids. Getting harder and harder to get a room in Belfast at the weekend unless you book well in advance. 2 massive big hotels being built at the moment and more on the way.The odd thing about Belfast is that you can walk just a hundred yards away from one spot, and find yourself in bother. When I was younger the main night spot was Gt Victoria Street, the Golden Mile. Well-established bars and entertainment, but if you walked round the corner you were on Sandy Row, where the bars would be full of oiks in Rangers shirts who wouldn't care less if you were British, just get out of our bar UNDERSTAND! Similarly, near the Court campus there are bars which cater for the barristers, solicitors and other professions of the area, yet if you walk to the end of the block there's a bar frequented by nationalists who would take you outside into the adjacent alley and leave a knife in your gut if you crossed them.
Warm and friendly people, they can drink you under the table. Just stay where your hosts suggest if you're with family or a tourist party. Plus it's always been, and still is, all about class. The cultures of both sides is upheld by the working classes, and if you stay away from the estates and back streets you'll find everyone else is very easy-going.
I love the Northern Ireland "experts" on here, most of which haven't ever been here or where here 20+ years ago. Belfast is no more "dangerous" or has no more "no go" areas than any other major city in the UK or the world for that matter.
There is a very small minatory here who are still concerned with the past and they tend to be from similar areas, for the most part people here just want to get on with their lives and leave the past where it belongs.....in the past.
I have been in many cities all over the world and have felt far more concerned about my safety there than I have ever felt in Belfast, I have lived here all my life and ironically the only time I was ever caught up in a bombing incident was when we where in Spain back in the 90s.
When folks see all this rioting and trouble in the news its literally confined to a very small area of Belfast, which no one from here would ever think of going to unless they are from there. You could literally be a few miles away and not even be aware of any "trouble"
There is a very small minatory here who are still concerned with the past and they tend to be from similar areas, for the most part people here just want to get on with their lives and leave the past where it belongs.....in the past.
I have been in many cities all over the world and have felt far more concerned about my safety there than I have ever felt in Belfast, I have lived here all my life and ironically the only time I was ever caught up in a bombing incident was when we where in Spain back in the 90s.
When folks see all this rioting and trouble in the news its literally confined to a very small area of Belfast, which no one from here would ever think of going to unless they are from there. You could literally be a few miles away and not even be aware of any "trouble"
Chris4410 said:
I love the Northern Ireland "experts" on here, most of which haven't ever been here or where here 20+ years ago. Belfast is no more "dangerous" or has no more "no go" areas than any other major city in the UK or the world for that matter.
There is a very small minatory here who are still concerned with the past and they tend to be from similar areas, for the most part people here just want to get on with their lives and leave the past where it belongs.....in the past.
I have been in many cities all over the world and have felt far more concerned about my safety there than I have ever felt in Belfast, I have lived here all my life and ironically the only time I was ever caught up in a bombing incident was when we where in Spain back in the 90s.
When folks see all this rioting and trouble in the news its literally confined to a very small area of Belfast, which no one from here would ever think of going to unless they are from there. You could literally be a few miles away and not even be aware of any "trouble"
As you say you've lived there all your life. That's very different to visitors arriving in an unknown city (with a poor reputation). You will know what to look out for, they won't. My experiences of Belfast have been that visitors are only really safe in a limited number of areas. There is a very small minatory here who are still concerned with the past and they tend to be from similar areas, for the most part people here just want to get on with their lives and leave the past where it belongs.....in the past.
I have been in many cities all over the world and have felt far more concerned about my safety there than I have ever felt in Belfast, I have lived here all my life and ironically the only time I was ever caught up in a bombing incident was when we where in Spain back in the 90s.
When folks see all this rioting and trouble in the news its literally confined to a very small area of Belfast, which no one from here would ever think of going to unless they are from there. You could literally be a few miles away and not even be aware of any "trouble"
I have also been to many cities all over the world, few are as poor as Belfast for likely problems.
The Vambo said:
Eric Mc said:
Northern Ireland IS part of the UK - so - for the moment anyway, you can't move from the UK to Northern Ireland. You are just moving from one part of the UK to another part of the UK.
Mainland Brits, how many of you have been to N Ireland?How many people on here realistically didn't know that?
Levin said:
funinhounslow said:
I would like to visit, but stories like this (and the petrol station in a rented car and Derry in the converted ambulance camper) do concern me.
As a tourist doing normal touristy things, what are the chances of a scenario like this taking place i.e. blundering into somewhere you're not welcome. And what would be the consequences? I note the poster above "opted" to leave which suggests nothing drastic took place..,
Minimal odds of you running into any of these situations when doing normal touristy things. As for consequences, they could vary from 'none' to 'some'. There are people who spout the usual rhetoric with absolutely nothing to back it up; no consequences in this situation. Then there are the people who might actually do something, but they're far rarer. We can't overlook the people who simply do not give a fAs a tourist doing normal touristy things, what are the chances of a scenario like this taking place i.e. blundering into somewhere you're not welcome. And what would be the consequences? I note the poster above "opted" to leave which suggests nothing drastic took place..,
k one way or the other - again, no consequences.The main tourist sites like the Giant's Causeway aren't exactly a hotbed of religious intolerance so you should be absolutely grand. Even the city centre of Belfast is far from awful as that sort of thing is confined to the areas where it won't affect profit margins too much. The centre is filled with shops and hotels who'd like your money much, much more than enforcing any cultural division.
If you want to visit, definitely do. I'm not as familiar with the Republic but even there you ought to be fine. There are loads of tourists in Dublin, so you'd be just another face in the crowd if that's what you wanted.
At no time did I feel in danger or unsafe whilst walking the streets of Derry or Belfast. I also killed a few hours in Belfast whilst waiting on my boat home. Now I'm sure had I gone poking about in a rough council estate, or a rough looking pub then I might have had a different experience! But that could be true of any large UK city. I don't go wandering about rough council estates in Glasgow, or wandering into dodgy looking pubs when at home in Scotland, so why would I when visiting an unfamiliar place? A bit of commonsense as you would apply to any holiday, and any visitor should be fine.
Regarding the Republic of Ireland, I've been to Dublin a couple of times for a break, and numerous times through work to Dublin and Naas areas. I've never had an issue there and Dublin is a good place for a citybreak. Probably more so than Belfast, mainly due to Dublin being bigger and therefore having more to see and do.
I'd say if you want to visit, then do so and not let what has happened in the past put you off.
Robertj21a said:
As you say you've lived there all your life. That's very different to visitors arriving in an unknown city (with a poor reputation). You will know what to look out for, they won't. My experiences of Belfast have been that visitors are only really safe in a limited number of areas.
I have also been to many cities all over the world, few are as poor as Belfast for likely problems.
99.9% of Belfast (Northern Ireland in general) is perfectly save for anyone including tourists, there are parts of any major cities around the world that a person not local to that area is going to be unsafe in if they happen to venture into them.I have also been to many cities all over the world, few are as poor as Belfast for likely problems.
There are many tourists arriving here daily with large cruise ships from all over the world arriving quite frequently and I'm pretty sure that if they were all being robbed and/or attacked in this "dangerous" place we would soon hear about and the tourists would dry up.
Thanks for all the replies- most helpful. Just to clarify, I wasn't concerned about being attacked or injured or anything, just wandering into the "wrong place" and getting a bit of grief - like the bloke who mentioned getting a bit of attitude in a petrol station because his rental car had Eire plates.
oldbanger said:
The Vambo said:
Eric Mc said:
Northern Ireland IS part of the UK - so - for the moment anyway, you can't move from the UK to Northern Ireland. You are just moving from one part of the UK to another part of the UK.
Mainland Brits, how many of you have been to N Ireland?How many people on here realistically didn't know that?
When I contacted the Home Office about applying for UK Citizenship, I was told by the person at the end of the phone that, as I was born in the Republic of Ireland, I could apply automatically without any need to sit citizenship tests etc. She was absolutely, 100%, wrong.
talksthetorque said:
Been three or four times with work, including one place that had lots of unionist paraphenalia on the streets ( bunting, etc)
Felt perfectly safe each time and would not hesitiate to go back.
Although they should stop putting other stuff in mash potatoes.
That's champ, it's a "delicacy"Felt perfectly safe each time and would not hesitiate to go back.
Although they should stop putting other stuff in mash potatoes.
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