Ireland (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Fionn Davenport [554]
SLEEPING
Marymount ( 3026 1099; patricia.ohare2@btinternet.com; Windsor Ave; s/d £35/60; ) A modern bungalow in a quiet location up a hill off the A1 Belfast road, Marymount is only a 10-minute walk from the town centre. Only one of the three bedrooms comes with a private bathroom.
Canal Court Hotel ( 3025 1234; www.canalcourthotel.com; Merchants Quay; s/d from £85/135; ) You can’t miss this huge, yellow building opposite the bus station. Although it’s a modern hotel, it affects a deliberately old-fashioned atmosphere, with leather sofas dotted around the vast wood-panelled lobby and a restaurant that veers dangerously close to chintzy.
EATING & DRINKING
Café Krem ( 3026 6233; 14 Hill St; mains £3-4; 8.30am-6pm Mon-Sat; ) A friendly, community atmosphere and the best coffee in town make Café Krem stand out from the crowd. There’s also wicked hot chocolate, tasty soups, sandwiches, pasta and panini and a couple of big, soft sofas to sink into.
Brass Monkey ( 3026 3176; 1-4 Sandy St; mains £7-16; bar meals noon-9pm Mon-Sat, 12.30-8.30pm Sun) Newry’s most popular pub, with Victorian brass, brick and timber decor, serves good bar meals ranging from lasagne and burgers to seafood and steaks. At weekends you can get a full Irish fried breakfast for £5 (9am till noon).
Table Bistro ( 3025 1935; 3 Monaghan St; mains £10-14; 8am-10pm) This stylish cafe-bistro is decked out in identikit Northern Ireland restaurant decor of blonde wood with leather chairs in shades of chocolate and cream. It dishes up big breakfasts (till 11.30am), light lunches (gourmet sandwiches, Caesar salad, pasta carbonara) and delicious dinners from a menu that ranges from steak and chips to prawn and shellfish tagliatelle with cream and white wine sauce.
GETTING THERE & AWAY
Newry BusCentre is on the Mall, opposite the Canal Court Hotel. Goldline Express bus 238 runs regularly to Newry from Belfast’s Europa BusCentre (£8, 1¼ hours, at least hourly Monday to Saturday, eight Sunday) via Hillsborough and Banbridge.
Bus 44 runs from Newry to Armagh (£5, 1¼ hours, twice daily Monday to Saturday), and Goldline Express bus 295 goes from Newry to Enniskillen (£9, 2¾ hours, twice daily Monday to Saturday, July and August only) via Armagh and Monaghan. Bus 39 departs for Warrenpoint (20 minutes, at least hourly Monday to Saturday, 10 on Sunday) and Rostrevor (30 minutes), with 10 a day continuing to Kilkeel (£4, one hour).
The train station is 2.5km northwest of the centre, on the A25; bus 341 (free for train passengers) goes there hourly from the bus station. Newry is a stop on the train service between Dublin (£17, 1¼ hours, eight daily) and Belfast (£9, 50 minutes, eight daily).
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COUNTY ARMAGH
SOUTH ARMAGH
Rural and staunchly Republican, South Armagh is known to its inhabitants as ‘God’s Country’. But to the British soldiers stationed there in the 1970s it had another, more sinister nickname – ‘Bandit Country’. With the Republic only a few miles away, South Armagh was a favourite area for IRA cross-border attacks and bombings. For more than 30 years, British soldiers on foot patrol in village streets and the constant clatter of army helicopters were a part of everyday life.
The peace process has probably had more visible effect here than anywhere else in Northern Ireland. As part of the UK government’s ‘normalisation process’, the army pulled out in 2007 – the hilltop watchtowers have all been removed (their former location marked here and there by a defiant Irish tricolour) and the huge barracks at Bessbrook Mill and Crossmaglen have been closed down.
Hopefully, a part of Ireland that was once notorious for its violence will again be known for its historic sites, enchanting rural scenery and traditional music.