Belfast training courses and certification

Belfast is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, located on the east shore of the River Lagan. It is the 12th biggest city in the United Kingdom and Ireland’s second largest. Belfast was an important harbour by the early nineteenth century. It played a key part in the Irish Industrial Revolution, momentarily being the world’s largest linen manufacturer, earning it the title “Linenopolis.”

It was a prominent centre of Irish linen manufacture, tobacco processing, and ropemaking by the time it was awarded city status in 1888. Shipbuilding was also prominent; the Harland and Wolff shipyard, which produced the RMS Titanic, was the largest in the world.

Belfast is a car city, with 77% of all trips taken by automobile, 11% taken by public transportation, and 6% taken on foot. This is backed up by a robust road network, including the 22.5-mile M2 and M22 motorways. In the city, black cabs are popular. Private hire cabs much outnumber them.

Bus and Rail

Belfast’s bus and train public transportation systems connect residential regions to the city centre via 12 high-quality bus routes that operate along major radial highways.

Northern Ireland Railways runs metropolitan services via Belfast’s northern suburbs to Carrickfergus, Larne, and Larne Harbour, eastwards to Bangor, and south-westwards to Lisburn and Portadown.

Belfast has a direct train service to Dublin, but no train services to other cities in the United Kingdom due to a lack of bridge or tunnel connections.

Air

There are two airports in the city. Domestic and international flights are available at Belfast International Airport, which is located northwest of the city near Lough Neagh.

The George Best Belfast City Airport is closer to the city centre by rail from Sydenham and serves domestic and international flights inside the United Kingdom.

Shipping

Belfast has a port for shipping cargo and passenger ferries. Stena Line uses standard boats to make frequent services to Cairnryan in Scotland. Stena Line also has a service to Liverpool.

Belfast is surrounded by mountains, which give an ideal microclimate for horticulture. Belfast has a lot of parkland and woodland parks, which are a big part of the city’s history and home to a lot of indigenous species.

There are about 40 public parks in Belfast. The Botanic Gardens in the Queen’s Quarter is one of the most popular. The Botanic Gardens Palm House, built in the 1830s, is one of the first examples of a cast-iron glasshouse. Rose gardens and live music concerts are among the park’s other attractions.

The International Rose Garden at Sir Thomas and Lady Dixon Park, to the south of the city centre, draws thousands of tourists each year. Its 128-acre grounds include a Japanese garden, a walled garden, and the Golden Crown Fountain, which was built in 2002.

Belfast Botanic Gardens

Belfast Zoo is one of the few zoos in the United Kingdom that is supported by the local government. The zoo is one of Northern Ireland’s most popular tourist attractions, with over 295,000 visits each year.

Because of the loss of their natural habitats, most animal exhibitions are classed as ‘at risk’ species. The zoo shelters around 1,200 animals from 140 distinct species and participates in European and worldwide breeding programmes that serve to secure the survival of several endangered species.

Many significant museums in Belfast proudly showcase the city’s legacy. HMP Belfast is a former jail located on Crumlin Road in north Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is also known as Crumlin Road Gaol and the Crum. It has been the last Victorian-era jail in Northern Ireland since 1996.

The Northern Ireland War Memorial opened at Talbot Street in 2007, replacing a previous structure known as Memorial House, which was demolished during the Blitz in 1941. It houses the Home Front Exhibition as well as the first national monument to the hundreds of people murdered during the Belfast Blitz.

Windsor Park is home to the Northern Ireland national football team. Crusaders, the 2017-18 Irish League winners, are based in Seaview, in the city’s northwestern outskirts. George Best, the 1968 European Footballer of the Year, and a former Manchester United player, was born in Belfast and died in November 2005. There are around twenty Gaelic football and hurling clubs in Belfast. The Antrim County teams play at Casement Park in west Belfast, which has a capacity of 32,000, making it the second largest Gaelic Athletic Association venue in Ulster.

Ulster Rugby, the 1999 Heineken Cup champions, play at Ravenhill Stadium in the city’s south. Stormont Cricket Ground has been in Belfast since 1949, and it hosted the Irish cricket team’s first-ever One Day International against England in 2006. The Belfast Giants are one of the largest British ice hockey clubs. The Giants were created in 2000 and play in the Odyssey Arena, which seats 4,000 to 7,000 people.

When planning to attend a course in Belfast, consider staying at one of the hotels or B&Bs below.