Landmark sights in Northern Ireland
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Canals
The Newry Canal runs parallel to the river through the town centre, and is a focus for the city's redevelopment. A cycle path runs 30km north to Portadown, following the route of the canal.
Newry Ship Canal runs 6km south towards Carlingford Lough, where the Victoria Lock has been restored to working order as part of a long-term project to reopen the whole canal to leisure traffic. Designed by Sir John Rennie, the civil engineer who designed Waterloo, Southwark and London bridges in London, the ship canal allowed large, sea-going vessels to reach Albert Basin in the centre of Newry.
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Mourne Wall
The dry-stone Mourne Wall was built between 1904 and 1922 to keep livestock out of the catchment area of the Kilkeel and Annalong Rivers, which were to be dammed to provide a water supply for Belfast. (Poor geological conditions meant the Annalong could not be dammed, and its waters were diverted to the Silent Valley Reservoir via a 3.6km-long tunnel beneath Slieve Binnian.) The spectacular wall, 2m high, 1m thick and over 35km long, marches across the summits of 15 of the surrounding peaks including the highest, Slieve Donard (853m).
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A
Odyssey Complex
The Odyssey Complex is a huge sporting and entertainment centre on the eastern side of the river across from Clarendon Dock. The complex features a hands-on science centre, W5; a 10,000-seater sports arena (home to the Belfast Giants ice-hockey team); a multiplex cinema with an IMAX screen; a video-games centre; and a dozen restaurants, cafes and bars.
The Odyssey Complex is a five-minute walk across Lagan Weir from the city centre. Metro bus 26 from Donegall Sq W to Holywood stops outside the complex (5 minutes, hourly Monday to Friday only).
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B
Lagan Weir
Across the street from the Custom House is Bigfish (1999), the most prominent of the many modern artworks that grace the riverbank between Clarendon Dock and Ormeau Bridge. The giant ceramic salmon – a symbol of the regeneration of the River Lagan – is covered with tiles depicting the history of Belfast.
It sits beside Lagan Weir, the first stage of the Laganside Project, completed in 1994. Years of neglect and industrial decline had turned the River Lagan, the original lifeblood of the city, into an open sewer flanked by smelly, unsightly mudflats. The weir, along with a program of dredging and aeration, has improved the water quality so much that salmon, eels and sea…
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C
Albert Memorial Clock Tower
At the east end of High St is Belfast's very own leaning tower. Erected in 1867 in honour of Queen Victoria's dear departed husband, it is not as dramatically out of kilter as the more famously tilted tower in Pisa, but does, nevertheless, lean noticeably to the south – as the locals say, 'Old Albert not only has the time, he also has the inclination.' Restoration work has stabilised its foundations and left its Scrabo sandstone masonry sparkling white.
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