The Giant's Lair - Slieve Gullion

I had initially planned a lazy Sunday but when mum suggested a trip to Slieve Gullion to hunt for fairies I jumped at the chance! All 7 of us gathered together (in a two car convoy) and headed down the motorway towards Newry. Just over an hour later and a nervous moment when I thought I had missed the turning (for any of you driving from Belfast it is the last exit before you cross the border sign posted Slieve Gullion Forest Park) we arrived at the car park which was extremely busy but there were two available disabled spaces beside each other, handy as we had mum and granny with us; if the car park is full there is a park and ride facility available from Johnny Murphy's Bar and Restaurant (clearly signposted).
First stop for me was the public toilet, unfortunately I was out of luck because the ladies were all out of order, there were two available porta-loos and a disabled toilet but as you can imagine the queue was rather long!!!
After a pit stop at the ice cream van for a 99 we headed off to start the Fairy Trail through the Giant's Lair.

After walking through the Big Red Door you arrive in Fairy Land with various little houses, a washing line and even a rope bridge! The houses are cleverly themed with the Tooth fairies house shaped like a tooth, the cobblers a boot, the music fairy a guitar and so on.  There are lots of little houses and doors to explore and other visitors have left the fairies dummies and coins as gifts! Unfortunately the fairies were shy so we continued on with the trail, which took us past more wee houses, a huge metal storybook, a giant witch carved from a tree, and a giant table and chair (the chair is overturned so I think the giant heard us coming and ran away).  At one point we heard wind chimes but couldn't tell where they were coming from, so we were all convinced that the fairies were having a party (we found a large set of wind chimes further on up the trail). The path is pretty steep in places and as you are exploring in and around the trees I would advise wearing wellies or shoes you don't mind getting dirty as it is very muddy underfoot!
I also noticed that halfway round the path my phone changed to a Southern network (Meteor) so be careful of roaming charges.
The path is about a mile long and I would advise starting at the path closest to the courtyard (there is an information board here) as it is a more gradual climb, the other end is much steeper and a family we met on the way down were struggling with their buggy!
We had two disabled visitors with us and there was no way any of us could have pushed them around the trail on their manual wheelchairs, luckily they are happy to wait in the car and read their kindles.
At the end of the trail there is a large play park which my nephew would have happily stayed in for hours, instead he got 20 mins before we had to head back home.
(Selection of photos below)

As well as the Giant's Lair there is a Scenic Forest drive and various other walking trails which we didn't do! This a free day out and if you got the weather you could easily spend a few hours here with a picnic, just be wary of the mud and the steep paths if bringing a buggy!!

 Now its time to plan my next trip, until next time....

SS Nomadic - Belfast

After a trip to Build a Bear in Belfast City Centre, me and my 6 year old nephew decided we weren't quite ready to go home yet so we decided to go and visit the SS Nomadic the last remaining White Star Vessel which is housed in the Hamilton Dry dock adjacent to Titanic Belfast.
We tried to book online (while having lunch in KFC) but unfortunately their internet site was down so we got back in the car and headed to the Titanic Quarter hoping that there were still tickets available.
When we arrived we parked in the underground car park at Titanic Belfast and headed over to the dry dock to see if there were any tickets available; as luck would have it the next tour was due to start in 5 mins and at that point we were the only visitors so we paid for our tickets (£7 Adult, £5 Child) and my nephew was given an activity sheet to complete during the Tour (he had to look for certain characters, and answer various questions on the Nomadic).

We sat down in the 1st class reception area and the Tour Guide introduced himself (Tom) and gave us a bit of background to the Nomadic, at this point we were joined by a family from Chicago and we started our Tour of the ship.
Tom was very friendly and knowledgeable and made a real effort to learn my nephews name and include him in all aspects of the Tour.
The Nomadic was built by Harland and Wolff by the same men who built the Titanic, and she was used to ferry First and Second class passengers from Cherbourg out to Titanic, including The Unsinkable Molly Brown (character played by Kathy Bates in Titanic). As you can imagine the Titanic story does play its part in the Tour but it is only a very small part of the the Nomadic's history which saw action in both World Wars and ferried some very famous faces (including Charlie Chaplin,  Marie Curie and Elizabeth Taylor) out to ships like the Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth.
The Guided Tour lasts approx 55 mins and afterwards you get as much time as you like to explore the ship (you don't have to complete the Guided Tour and audio guides are available). The Nomadic is restored to how it would have looked in 1912 and contains various interactive exhibits including a holographic barman and various dressing up costumes (for adults and children).
My nephew really enjoyed the trail (searching for characters) and spent a good amount of time playing a computer game attempting to line up the Nomadic with the Titanic (I found it quite difficult). After trying on various costumes, life jackets and playing games we decided to head home and my nephew received a personalised certificate for successfully completing the trail.
The staff were absolutely brilliant with my nephew and he came away amazed that they knew his name; Tom was a brilliant Guide and really brought the story to life.
(selection of pics below)

On the way back to the car we decided to do the Robots exhibition (an exhibition of various robots from TV and Film) in Titanic Belfast (on to 13th September), the admission price is £6 Adult and £3 Child, but because we visited the Nomadic on the same day we got a £2 discount, and my nephew received a small robot toy as a gift. As with the Nomadic he was given an activity sheet for which he needed to find various different robots, including C3PO and the Terminator. It took us around 15 mins to view the exhibition and on exit we were presented with yet another personalised certificate for completing the Trail!
It was back to the car (which cost £3.50 for 2.5 hrs) where my nephew promptly passed out and allowed me to drive home in peace!!
We really enjoyed our day at the Nomadic and the staff helped make it very special, if anyone from the Nomadic is reading this - Thank You!
Admission Price - £7 (Adult) £5 (Child 5-16) £5 (Concession) £20 (Family)
Disabled Access - The Nomadic is geared up for disabled access however there are some areas which will not be accessible including the Flying Bridge Deck, those with limited mobility may find access to some areas difficult as there are steps and uneven flooring.
Children's Activity - Character Trail (look for characters places around the ship) and trivia questions, certificate received on successful completion.

Crumlin Road Gaol - Belfast

It was Auntie and Nephew day on Saturday so he got to choose where to go, and on this occasion it was Crumlin Road Gaol!
I pre-booked the tickets online and got them for £7.50 (adult) and £5.50 (child) which worked out at a discount of £1 per ticket, mind you I was charged a £1 booking fee so the discount was more like 50p each.
When we arrived we headed to the car park which was very large and had plenty of disabled parking available (we went on an early tour so as the only car there we had plenty of choice).  We arrived early and had a little time before our 10am tour so we took advantage of the stocks at the front of the building and ended up with some rather interesting photos (stocks shown below - I have spared you from our photos!!!)

Photos taken, we exchanged our printed tickets for red wristbands (which indicated that we were part of the 10am tour) and headed to the gift shop/museum to wait for our Guide.
At 9.55 our Tour guide arrived brought us into a room, where he introduced himself (Gavin), explained how the Tour would work and gave us some background on the Gaol. As the Tour kicked off we started in the reception area where the prisoners were registered, Gavin was very friendly and showed plenty of Belfast banter which the tourists of our group (Americans, Germans, French and Irish) seemed to enjoy; my 6 year old nephew on the other hand got embarrassed when he was jokingly told off for laughing in Gaol and the resulting tears took a while to settle, after apologies from Gavin and reassurances from me that he was fine, the tour moved on to the main building which contains the Governors Office and C-Wing which includes a variety of cells laid out as they would have been from Victorian times right through the 70s/80s, a padded cell, and the Condemned Man's Cell.
The Tour consists of many interesting anecdotes and does include stories of the executions carried out in the Gaol and the hangman's noose is in situ. Gavin did let us know ahead of time that executions would be discussed and gave us the option of skipping this part of the Tour, my 6 year old nephew did visit the Condemned Mans Cell and the 'Execution Chamber'  but opted out of the Drop Cell below, we waited in C-Wing while Gavin took the rest of the Group downstairs.
The Tour continued outside to the Grave site and again there were many interesting stories of the prisoners and their escape attempts throughout the years. The Tour finishes back at the Gift Shop where you can access the Tunnel (which previously linked the Gaol to Crumlin Road Courthouse, which is unfortunately now derelict). We were able to explore the Tunnel by ourselves and we walked as far as we could before turning back and spending our hard earned money on some souvenirs!!
(Selection of photos included below)

 I thoroughly enjoyed my trip to Crumlin Road Gaol but would exercise caution if intending to bring young or sensitive children along!!
Admission Prices if paid on site: £8.50 (Adult) £6.50 (Child) £7 (Concession 60+, student) £25 (Family 2 Adults and 2 Children)
Online Prices: £7.50, £5.50, £6.00 & £22.
Tour Duration - Approx 1 hr 15 minutes
Disabled Access - Plenty of disabled parking available & wheelchairs available for hire with a £10 deposit. The majority of the Tour is wheelchair accessible with the exception of the Tunnel and Drop Cell, Crumlin Road Gaol do say that the Guides will ensure disabled visitors get the most out of their visit.
Coffee Shop available on site
Gift Shop on site
Overall its a thumbs up from me and I would recommend a visit if you can!!!!!