Belfast, Co. Antrim (2019-09-30)

We moved a little faster this morning, as we wanted to be in town well before 10 o’clock, hoping to get tickets for the 10:30 am tour at the Linenhall Library.  We arrived at the library before 9:45 and bought our tickets.  As it turned out, we needn’t have rushed as we were the only ones on the tour.

The Linenhall Library originated in 1788 as a subscription library and still operates the same way today.  It is very conveniently located on Donegall Square, directly opposite City Hall in downtown Belfast.  In its 200+ year history, the library has collected a lot of information about all things Irish, and is a good family history resource.

The library is a little like the Tardis....you enter through a small nondescript doorway tucked between two banks, and go straight up stairs, where you find yourself in a large space occupying two floors, crammed with books.

Our guide, Margaret, is a library subscriber, and we spent a very interesting hour with her, learning the history of the library, and about some of the unique items in its collection.

Once the tour was over, Mary at the reference desk helped me find the items that I was interested in reading, and we spent another hour there, reading and looking at microfilm.  Another worthwhile expedition!

The Linenhall Library

After a light lunch in the library cafe, we headed home on the bus, and after bundling up against the cold weather that has arrived overnight, we went out for one last walk in the area, and to pick up food for dinner.

Our accommodation really has been very convenient to grocery stores, bakeries, walking paths and buses, so no regrets about our choice of location.

Our Belfast Home - the unit on the left

Our bags are now reorganized, and we are ready to face the beginning of our journey home tomorrow, so tonight we can relax with an episode of Poirot and exercise the little grey cells.