The Ulster Museum

 I recently visited the Ulster museum within Belfast 

The Christmas Market

During mid-November to December within the town of Belfast, the Christmas market is open to all, which transforms Belfast into a winter wonderland. It's mainly a festive market that offers a variety of delicious food, unique gifts, and a whole lot of fun. This makes it a place that you have to visit during the Christmas season. 

When I arrived at the Christmas market, there were stalls everywhere selling various amounts of products. A lot of them sell uniquely handmade gifts. I was looking at all of the different Christmas decorations and wooden trinkets that someone had made. I saw these were quite expensive, so I decided not to buy anything. I did buy myself some food from one of the stalls, which was a sizzling sausage with hot chocolate, which allowed me to really fall into the festive season. 

They do have a lot of entertainment within the market, as when I visited they had all sorts of live music and choirs, which all sing various Christmas songs to get people into the festive mood. They even have an ice skating rink,, but it wasn't functioning yet, unfortunately. I enjoyed the music as it allowed for a relaxing experience whilst looking around the market. At the end of my experience, I thought this experience was worth doing; however, it can get very busy as it is very popular.

I do have some tips for anybody that's planning on visiting which is to absolutely dress warmly as it is rather cold exploring the market. It is also completely free to visit so if you are looking for a budgeted adventure then this would be perfect.  

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Castle Rock

 I visited Castle Rock for the next location that took me and my friends about 2 hours to travel too from Belfast by train from Lanyon Station.  

When I arrived at Castle Rock, we travelled to a charming seaside shop so that my friends could buy themselves a paddle board that they could use within the water. It was a shop that offered many different types of items to be used by the seaside. The staff was very friendly, so it was well worth the visit. Once we got the paddle board, we headed down to the public changing rooms so that we could change into appropriate swim wear. Once we changed, we headed for the sea and spent a couple hours messing around in the water and using the paddle board to ride the wave. It was a lot of fun to do this, and I would highly recommend using a paddle board to enhance the experience.  

Once we finished with our water adventure, we decided to have a barbecue by getting an instant throwaway able barbecue. We went to a butcher to get high quality meat which included burger patties and sausages. We cooked them all up which took about an hour or so and just ate everything by the sea. It was a very fun experience just had to buy the necessary items. After that we explored all the rocky areas that were on the side of the cliffs, and we just climbed these and sat around admiring the view, which was a very fun experience. After this we all decided to get some ice cream and simply just walked around the small town of Castle Rock, which was a relaxing way to wind ourselves down before we went back to Belfast. Before we left, we decided to visit the many shops and get ourselves a souvenir to remember the entire experience.  

After we had visited all the shops, we decided to head back to Belfast, which took around 2 hours to get back, which was a relaxing experience. Once back in Belfast we all headed our own way homes and it was a great experience I would highly recommend.  

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at www.linkedin.com/in/ben-purcell-8296482a5  , or visit @BensNITourism on Twitter. 

Bangor

For the next location I travelled to was Bangor which is a city and seaside resort in County Down. I took a train from Botanic Station which took about 40 minutes which is a relatively short time to travel. It was a simple and easy travel experience with no troubles. When I arrived in Bangor I stayed over for the day and booked myself a room within a Premiere Inn hotel which was extremely close to the train station as it took about 10 minutes of walking in order to arrive at the hotel. I quickly packed away all of my luggage and headed deeper into the city of Bangor. 

The first activity I took part in was exploring Bangor's seafront which is a boat docking station with lots of different types of boats all stationed by the peer. I enjoyed this as I was able to get a close up look of various different kinds of boats which was extremely fascinating for me. I was also able to book a boat tour in which I was able to get on a boat and they would take me around whilst showing me the city of Bangor from the perspective of the water. It was truly a Beautiful experience in which I would give much praise to. 

The second part of my journey resulted in partaking in Kingsland Pitch and Putt which is a mini golf course which was entertaining enough for me to pass the time. It took me about an hour or so to actually complete it as I found it to truly be a challenge but it was very fun as It became quite a competitive environment once me and my friends started to compete with each other. 

After the golfing me and my friends took a trip on down to the Bangor castle which is very fascinating to look at as It offers great scenery. I was able to enter the Bangor castles museum which was interesting to learn about and it was surprisingly interactive as they allowed for individuals to wear various costumes from the era in which the castle was actually made. Around the castle has a lovely grass trail which I explored and found it truly fascinating to explore and it offers a great chance to bask in the nature that Bangor has to offer so I would highly recommend this just make sure to bring appropriate foot wear or it could ruin your shoes. 

Finally I visited the Omniplex in Bangor to watch a movie called the Substance which was a very good watch. I found this as a simple and cheap activity to do with friends. The cinema was within a close walking distance from the hotel I stayed in so this was a hassle free experience. After this I decided to call it a day and return to the hotel. 

Once I had woken I simply just packed all of my luggage and headed back to the train station to head home. This experience was great and I learned a lot of different things along the way so please give Bangor a go and stay updated everyone as I have a new adventure just around the corner.