The Ballance House was the birthplace of John Ballance who was the Prime Minister of New Zealand between 1891-1893, and even though I was born and raised approx 10 miles down the road I didn't even know it existed!!
When we visited they were holding their annual Strawberry Tea Fair, and the three of us were charged £5 each for an entry fee (this included a bowl of strawberries, a bouncy castle, balloon modelling, crafts for the kids and face painting), for an additional £2.50 I got a guided tour of the house itself. While waiting on the tour to start (they were leaving at 1pm, 2pm and 3pm) we had a cuppa and a scone in the Tea Barn (quite reasonable and old fashioned with a biscuit tin for a till).
The guided tour of the house lasted an hour and at times was quite interesting and I never realised that there were so many links between Ireland and New Zealand for example, Ireland provided NZ with 6 Prime Ministers, the original owner of Hunter Wines was from Co Tyrone and the first ever captain of the All Blacks Rugby Team was Irish!!!!!!
John Ballance himself was a very important figure in NZ history both with Maori rights and he was instrumental in ensuring that NZ was the first Country in the world to give women the vote.
The following events are running at Ballance House in the second half of 2015; Anzac Day Ceremony 9th August, Apple day 17th October and Victorian Christmas Market 5th December. On non-event days the entrance prices are as follows: Adult £3, Child under 16 50p.
Disabled accessibility - When we arrived there were no available disabled spaces however on a quiet day it may be possible to get a space closer to the house. The house itself is two stories so if you have problems getting up stairs you won't be able to view the New Zealand exhibition, John Ballance's chair or the NZ reference library.
if you are interested in the NZ connection it may be worth a visit but go on a non-event day so you don't have to pay twice.
Opening hours - April - September, Wednesday, Sundays and Bank Holidays 2-5pm.
On a side note, anyone who knows me knows I love food and cooking and going to Moira gives me a chance to go to the Meat Merchant owned by Hannan's Meat, an excellent wholesale butchers who supply a number of top restaurants in Belfast, definitely worth a visit!!!!!!
Just the one location this weekend, I am now trying to decide whether to join the National Trust, so let me know if you think it's worth it?!
Until next time............
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