H&W Cranes
Cycle or walk in the footsteps of ship builders and sailors
The Harland and Wolff shipyard was founded in 1861 by Edward James Harland and Gustav Wilhelm Wolff. The shipyard was historically one of the biggest employers in the country.
Maritime Heritage Trail
“Learn about the history and heritage; what these places used to look like and the people who used to live and work there.”
The most famous symbols of the shipyard are the yellow cranes, Samson and Goliath, which dominate the Belfast skyline and can be seen from anywhere in the city. More than 1,700 vessels have been fully or partially built at the Shipyard, the most famous being the RMS Titanic. The last ship to sail from the yard left in 2003, with the shipyard now mainly used for design and structural engineering.
The ‘Big Fish’ Although most locals will know it as the ‘Big Fish’, the mosaic sculpture’s true name is the Salmon of Knowledge. It was commissioned in 1999 to celebrate the regeneration of the Laganside area. Created by artist John Kindness, the sculpture is 10 metres long and clad in ceramic tiles. Each tile tells a story about the city using pictures, text and newspaper cuttings. According to John Kindness: “The Big Fish contains a time capsule storing information, images and poetry of the city”.
St Joseph’s Church
Introduction The Maritime Heritage Trail has been developed through Cycling UK’s Routes and Roots project. Funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund as part of the Community Heritage Fund in early 2021, the project aims to connect the communities of East Belfast and Sailortown through a journey across the city. The route takes in the Maritime Mile and features many landmarks synonymous with Belfast, including C.S Lewis Square, the Harland and Wolff cranes, Titanic Quarter, Queen’s Quay, Clarendon Graving Docks and St. Joseph’s Church.
image by Peter Ellison
SS Nomadic
Whilst connecting the two communities, the project highlights how industries of the past shaped places and people – ropeworks, shipyards, linen mills, distilleries and tobacco factories to name just a few. These places and this journey are very different to how they would have looked 30 to 40 years ago. The vast majority of these industries are now closed, with those remaining majorly scaled back. Many of the buildings have been knocked down and replaced by commercial outlets. However, we hope that riding or walking this trail will inspire you to imagine what these places would have once been like.
The SS Nomadic was the original tender ship for the RMS Titanic. It was built alongside the Titanic in Belfast in 1911. Inside the SS Nomadic you will find similar luxurious features and interior to the Titanic itself. The ship contains over 100 years of history and is now docked in its birthplace of Belfast after many years of service.
HMS Caroline Another famous ship now docked in Belfast’s Titanic area. Built in Birkenhead in 1914, the HMS Caroline is the last surviving ship of the Battle of Jutland in 1916. The HMS Caroline arrived in Belfast in 1924 when it became a static floating headquarters for Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve. The ship was decommissioned in 2011 and was restored to become a museum in 2016 thanks to support from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Situated in Sailortown, an area of Belfast that has been transformed since the 1960s. It was formerly a community that housed over 5,000 people; the men working as sailors or in the docks and the women at home looking after young families or finding work in the local mills. The population is now vastly diminished as the old terraced housing was bulldozed to make way for the M2 motorway. However, a remaining gem of the area is St. Joseph’s Church, although even this has had its struggles, and has nearly been flattened on numerous occasions. In 2000 the church was officially closed to be deconsecrated. This led to a major campaign and protests from local people until in 2006, campaigners managed to secure a 150-year lease for the Church to be handed back to them. The church was in a terrible state, barely salvageable, but after the creation of the Sailortown Regeneration Project and fantastic work by those involved, the church is being restored back to its former glory. It has now been repurposed as a community hub for activities for young people in the local area as well as hosting other events.
The trail and project have been put together in conjunction with a number of partners, including Eastside Partnership, Sailortown Regeneration, Queen’s Heritage Hub and Maritime Belfast Trust.
Take an interactive tour of the trail
cyclinguk.org/routes-and-roots
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5. Who was the captain of the HMS Caroline?
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6. What year did the SS Nomadic return to Belfast?
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7. What do the Belfast buoys mark out?
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8. Which Clarendon graving dock is bigger: 1 or 2?
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2. What did Ballymacarrett walkway used to be?
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The answers to these questions are dotted throughout the Maritime Heritage Trail. Can you find the answers to them all?
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Test Your Knowledge
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