Maritime Mile

Full Description

The Maritime Mile is one of Belfast's best free days out, and one that families tend to overlook. It starts at the Big Fish on Donegall Quay — ten metres of ceramic scales, each one a little piece of the city's history — and follows the water out past Clarendon Dock and Sailortown, across the Lagan Weir footbridge, and on through the Titanic Quarter to the Great Light and Titanic's Dock and Pump-House.

What makes it work with children is that there's always the next thing. The Dividers. The Flying Angel. The Belfast Buoys, three tonnes each and eighty years old. The Kit, a thirteen-metre model of the ship built from its own parts. Titanica outside Titanic Belfast. The stained-glass Glass of Thrones windows. And SoundYard, where jumping about sets off the clangs and hammering of the shipyard.

You can do an hour or half a day. Nothing needs booked and nothing needs paid, and the paid attractions — Titanic Belfast, SS Nomadic, HMS Caroline, W5 — are there if you want to fold one in.

What You'll Find

A waterside walking and cycling route from the Big Fish at Donegall Quay, past Clarendon Dock and Sailortown, over the Lagan Weir footbridge and through the Titanic Quarter to the Great Light and Titanic's Dock and Pump-House. Free public art all along it, including the Big Fish (Salmon of Knowledge by John Kindness), The Dividers, The Flying Angel, the Belfast Buoys, The Kit, the Sustrans Portrait Bench, Titanica, the Docker's Rest mural and the Glass of Thrones windows. SoundYard is a playable sound installation in the Titanic Quarter and the historic slipways are free to walk. Cafés, restaurants and paid attractions including Titanic Belfast, SS Nomadic, HMS Caroline and W5 sit along the route.

Wee Ones Will Love...

• ✓The Big Fish and its hundreds of ceramic scales
• ✓Jumping about at SoundYard to set off shipyard sounds
• ✓Counting the giant buoys and finding the Great Light
• ✓Standing where Titanic's lifeboats once sat on the slipways

Before You Visit

Walking the Maritime Mile is free and needs no booking.

Start at the Big Fish on Donegall Quay (BT1 3HU), about a 13-minute walk from Belfast City Hall, or pick up the route at Titanic Belfast if you're driving in.

The attractions along the way are separate, paid, and often need booking: Titanic Belfast, SS Nomadic, HMS Caroline and W5. Budget for them, or agree before you go that this is a walking day.

It's an exposed waterfront route with very little shelter, so bring layers and be ready to cut it short in bad weather.

We couldn't confirm public toilets, baby changing or parking along the route, and we weren't able to check the trust's own accessibility guide at the time of writing. If step-free access or toilets are essential, check with Maritime Belfast Trust before you travel.

Cyclists use parts of the waterfront, so keep wee ones close near the busier quays.

Top Tips

• ⭐Start at the Big Fish and walk out to the slipways — that way the attractions stay ahead of you as a reward.
• ⭐Make it a treasure hunt: note the public art on your phone and tick each piece off as you find it.
• ⭐SoundYard is the free highlight for children — save it for when legs are flagging.
• ⭐Take the photograph at the Titanic sign, then head home before the paid attractions tempt you.