Just as I was casually walking around Botanic Gardens in Belfast, I stumbled upon Contagious Poetry and we wrote a poem together about my daughter Rozalia.
You can check Contagious Poetry Instagram here:
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New Personal Best at Victoria Park Parkrun!
I did it đȘ New record! đ 5 km under 23 minutes đ
This gave me a WAVA age grading score of 60.90%, which means Iâve joined the group of the best local runners!
Next goal: run under 22 minutes! đđ đ
It looks like my recent training approach, running slower to run faster, is starting to pay off.
#mentalhealth #running
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Belfast City Hall
Standing proudly in Donegall Square, Belfast City Hall is one of the cityâs most recognisable landmarks. It is the home of Belfast City Council and a symbol of Belfastâs growth, ambition, and civic pride.
The building was designed by Sir Alfred Brumwell Thomas in the Baroque Revival style and completed in 1906 using Portland stone. Its grand dome, elegant columns, and formal gardens make it one of the most impressive public buildings in Northern Ireland.
Facts:
- Belfast City Hall opened in 1906
- It was built after Belfast received city status in 1888
- The building is located in Donegall Square, right in the centre of Belfast
- It is a Grade A listed building
Fun Fact:
The building cost ÂŁ369,000 to complete, which Belfast City Council estimates would be around ÂŁ128 million today.
Today, City Hall is not only a working civic building, but also a popular visitor attraction, with exhibitions, guided tours, memorials, gardens, and some of the best photo opportunities in Belfast city centre.
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Altnagelvin Area Hospital
This time weâre leaving Belfast: a quick trip to Derry
For this article, weâre making a little journey out of Belfast and heading northwest to Derry â a city with big character, steep streets, and a skyline shaped by history.
Derry city walls are among the cityâs standout features: built in the early 1600s, they still form a walkable ring around the historic centre â one of the reasons Derry feels so âdefinedâ when you visit.
The city sits on the River Foyle, with the Cityside and Waterside facing each other across the water, stitched together by bridges (including the modern Peace Bridge).Altnagelvin Area Hospital: the North Westâs main hospital
Altnagelvin Area Hospital is the key acute hospital for the North West, based in the Waterside area of the city and managed by the Western Health & Social Care Trust.
It provides a wide range of services â including a 24-hour A&E â and itâs also one of Northern Irelandâs designated cancer units.
In terms of scale, the Trust lists 472 inpatient beds and 36 day-case beds, which gives you a sense of how much of the regionâs day-to-day healthcare flows through this site.A major part of the siteâs modern identity is cancer care: the North West Cancer Centre opened on-site in November 2016 to provide radiotherapy closer to home for patients in the West/North West (including cross-border access for Donegal patients).
Quick facts
- Opened: 1960
- A&E: 24-hour Emergency Department
- Beds (Trust figures): 472 inpatient + 36 day-case
- Cancer services: designated cancer unit; radiotherapy services delivered via the North West Cancer Centre (opened Nov 2016)
Fun facts
- In 2008 my daughter was born there
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Belfast City Hospital
If youâve ever walked or driven along the Lisburn Road, youâve definitely seen it: Belfast City Hospitalâs distinctive tower rising over south Belfast like a landmark you can navigate by. Itâs not a “tourist attraction” in the usual sense, but itâs one of the cityâs most important places â and (quietly) one of its most interesting.
Belfast City Hospital is a major university teaching hospital, part of the Belfast Health & Social Care Trust, and it plays a key regional role in areas like cancer and renal services.
Quick facts:
Where: 51 Lisburn Road, Belfast, BT9 7AB
Founded: 1841 (with origins as the Belfast Union Workhouse & infirmary)
Beds: around 900
The tower: 15 storeys, about 76 m tall, opened January 1986
Emergency department: the A&E closed in 2011, with emergency care directed elsewhere
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Another Year, Another Park Run
Saturday, 17 Jan 2026 I completed my first Park Run in 2026. This time I decided to take it easy. Ran with an average pace. Not try to sweat it or beat my PB.
In the end I finished 5k run just under 25 minutes. Not bad taking into account that not that long ago I struggled to finish 5k run in 30 minutes.
My average is constant 24:05 and my overall best time still is 23:01 (age grading score of 60.17%). The plan for 2026 is to go permanently under 23 minutes.
Belfast Victoria parkrun #686 result:
Position parkrunner Gender Age Group Club Time 163 Arek JAWORSKI Male VM40-44 24:56 -
Merry Christmas from Belfast
Wishing you a very Merry Christmas from Belfast â a city that somehow feels extra magical at this time of year.
Whether youâre strolling through the twinkling lights around Belfast City Hall, warming your hands with a hot drink after a walk through Botanic Gardens, or taking in the winter buzz around Cathedral Quarter, I hope your Christmas is full of peace, comfort, and good people.
If youâre spending the holidays here, take a moment to enjoy the small Belfast classics: the crisp winter air off the Lagan, the cosy glow of cafĂ©s tucked away in the city centre, and that familiar Northern Irish friendliness that makes even a cold evening feel a bit warmer.
Wherever you are reading this from â Belfast, Northern Ireland, or further afield â Iâm sending you warm wishes for:
- a calm and happy Christmas
- good food (and plenty of it)
- meaningful moments with family and friends
- and a bright start to the New Year
Thanks for reading the blog and being part of this little journey around Belfast. Hereâs to more stories, places, and discoveries in 2026.
Merry Christmas, Belfast style. đđ
—
Arek Jaworski
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Ulster Museum
Tucked into the leafy calm of Botanic Gardens, the Ulster Museum is where Belfast goes when it wants to tell a story â about dinosaurs and dragons, shipwrecks and civil rights, fashion and fossils, paintings and politics. Itâs the largest museum in Northern Ireland, with around 8,000 mÂČ of galleries filled with art, history and natural science.
Step outside and youâre in one of the nicest corners of the city:
- Queenâs University Belfast (Lanyon Building) just across the road, all red brick and turrets.
- Methodist College a few steps away, its students streaming past at lunchtime.
- Botanic Gardens literally wrapped around the museum, so you can go from dinosaur skeletons straight to palm houses and rose beds.
Itâs hard to beat that combo.
A Museum 200 Years in the Making
The story starts in 1821 with the Belfast Natural History Society, whose small collection grew into the Belfast Municipal Museum and Art Gallery. The institution moved into Botanic Gardens in 1929, into a classical building designed by James Cumming Wynne.
In 1962 it officially became the Ulster Museum, and a dramatic Brutalist concrete extension followed in the early 1970s â those big grey cubes that jut out over the trees, loved by architecture fans and side-eyed by everyone else.
The whole place closed in 2006 for a major ÂŁ17m refurbishment and reopened in October 2009 with a bright central atrium, new galleries, and better access throughout. Since then it has regularly ranked among Northern Irelandâs busiest visitor attractions and has picked up multiple awards, including the UK Art Fund Prize.
How the Museum is Laid Out
The Ulster Museum is essentially three museums under one roof:
- History
- Biology / Natural Sciences
- Art & Design
You move between them via that big âhall of wonderâ atrium â glass lifts, bridges, and odd things hanging overhead. It feels more like exploring a ship than walking through a building.
Hereâs what to expect in each section:
History: From Spanish Armada to the Troubles
The history galleries walk you from prehistoric Ireland right through to very recent events. Highlights often include:
- Treasures from the Spanish Armada â including gold and artefacts recovered from wrecks off the Irish coast.
- Early Ireland â stone tools, Bronze Age jewellery, medieval carvings.
- Everyday life in Ulster â industrial Belfast, linen, shipbuilding, and domestic life.
- The Troubles Gallery â a sensitive, sometimes controversial attempt to tell the story of conflict in Northern Ireland in a balanced way.
Itâs not a dry, glass-case sort of history. There are films, personal stories, and objects youâll recognise from news footage if youâve grown up anywhere near here. Itâs one of the best places to get context for everything else you see on the streets of Belfast â murals, memorials, even the way districts are divided.
Biology & Natural Sciences: Dinosaurs, Fossils and Habitats
Upstairs, things get wilder. The natural science galleries cover zoology, geology and botany:
- The dinosaur corner â including Irelandâs only known dinosaur fossil bones, a small but proud claim to fame.
- Stuffed animals & birds â classic museum fare, but arranged to tell stories about habitats and extinction rather than just lining things up in cases.
- Rocks, minerals and fossils â from sparkling crystals to chunks of meteorite.
- Irish wildlife & coastline â great for kids who like âewwâ moments with creepy-crawlies, shells and specimens in jars.
Ulster Museumâs collections are rooted in serious scientific work â thereâs a huge herbarium and extensive zoological collections behind the scenes â but the public galleries are very hands-on and family-friendly.
Art & Design: Irish Masters and Global Voices
The art galleries shift the mood again: quiet rooms, polished floors, and that hush you automatically adopt around paintings.
The collection is strong in:
- Modern Irish and Ulster artists, built up steadily since the 1940s.
- Contemporary art and temporary exhibitions, often tackling themes like identity, migration, or environmental change.
- Fashion and textiles, rebuilt after a devastating fire in the 1970s destroyed much of the original costume collection. The museum used compensation to acquire couture pieces from designers like Chanel, Dior, Alexander McQueen and Vivienne Westwood, alongside everyday fashion.
You can walk from a 19th-century landscape to a sharp, modern installation in a few steps. Itâs a nice counterpoint to the heaviness of some of the historical material downstairs.
The Visit: Practical Vibe
A few things that make Ulster Museum especially easy to recommend:
- Location: Right in Botanic Gardens, so you can pair a museum visit with a wander through the Palm House, Tropical Ravine or just a picnic on the grass.
- Neighbourhood: It sits in the Queenâs Quarter, with Queenâs University and Methody as close neighbours, plus cafes, pubs and bookshops along Botanic Avenue and Stranmillis Road.
- Cost: General admission is free, with charges only for certain special exhibitions or events.
- Opening hours: Typically TuesdayâSunday, 10:00â17:00, closed on Mondays â always worth checking the official site before you go in case of changes.
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Belfast Victoria Park Run
On Saturday I completed another 5k Park Run at Victoria Park in Belfast.
This time I decided to take the run easy and I wasn’t trying to beat my Personal Best (at the moment it’s 23:01).
Here are my results:
Congratulations on completing your 30th parkrun and your 20th at Belfast Victoria parkrun today. You finished in 111th place out of a field of 229 parkrunners. You were the 83rd male and came 11th in your age category VM40-44
Worth noting was that it was my 30th park run! My time was 25:17 (two minutes slower than my PB).
Position parkrunner Gender Age Group Club Time 111 Arek JAWORSKI Male VM40-44 25:17 -
Five Most Iconic Murals in Belfast
The Bobby Sands Mural â Falls Road
Where is it?
On the gable wall of Sinn FĂ©inâs offices on the Falls Road, at the corner of Sevastopol Street in West Belfast.What does it show?
A large smiling portrait of Bobby Sands, with a quote:âEveryone, Republican or otherwise, has their own particular role to play.â
The mural also includes Celtic knotwork, doves and a black phoenix at the top â a symbol of rebirth adopted by the republican movement after the late-1960s violence in the area.
What story does it tell?
Bobby Sands was a Provisional IRA member and prisoner who died on hunger strike in 1981, after being elected as an MP while in jail. His death, and the wider hunger strikes, became a turning point in the conflict, pushing republicanism further towards electoral politics.The mural is probably the single most recognisable mural in Northern Ireland, appearing in guidebooks, documentaries and on almost every Black Taxi tour.
Why visit?
Standing in front of it, youâre right in the heart of nationalist West Belfast. You can feel how art, memory and politics are still tightly woven together here.The International Wall â Divis Street / Falls Road
Where is it?
Along Divis Street, just before it becomes the Falls Road, at the edge of West Belfast near Divis Tower and the Peace Wall.What does it show?
Not one mural but a long stretch of constantly changing pieces â portraits, scenes and slogans about:- Irish history and the 1916 Easter Rising
- Global struggles and human-rights campaigns (Palestine, anti-racism, anti-apartheid, political prisoners, etc.)
- More recently, a strong focus on solidarity with Gaza and Palestinian artists, which led some to dub it the âPalestinian Wallâ.
What story does it tell?
The International Wall takes the local experience of conflict and connects it to struggles elsewhere. Instead of a single narrative, you get a rolling exhibition of political street art â about oppression, resistance, and demands for justice around the world.Why visit?
If you only have time for one spot, make it here. You can walk the length of the wall, read the captions, and see how new layers of history get painted literally over old ones.King Billy Mural â Sandy Row
Where is it?
On Sandy Row in South Belfast, a few minutesâ walk from the city centre, on the gable wall at the heart of this traditionally loyalist community.What does it show?
A huge portrait of King William III (William of Orange) with the text:- âPrince of Orangeâ
- The date 12th July 1690
- “King William III â King Billyâs on the Wallâ
- References to the Williamite forces and a welcoming text to Sandy Row on the side wall
Youâll also spot crowns, heraldic symbols and sometimes banners overhead declaring the area âBritish and Proud.â
What story does it tell?
The mural celebrates King Williamâs victory over King James II at the Battle of the Boyne (1690), a foundational story for many unionists and loyalists:- Defence of Protestant civil and religious liberties
- Loyalty to the British Crown
- A long, proud local history in Sandy Row
The mural has been redesigned over the years to look more polished and less militaristic, reflecting a wider move in some loyalist areas towards heritage and tourism rather than overt paramilitary imagery.
Why visit?
Because itâs one of the clearest visual statements of loyalist identity in Belfast â and itâs very central. If your blog is aimed at visitors, this is an easy stop to combine with city-centre sightseeing, giving a flavour of the Orange tradition without going deep into West Belfast.âWelcome to the Shankill Roadâ â Gardiner Street
Where is it?
On Gardiner Street, just off the Shankill Road. Itâs the newer âWelcome to the Shankillâ mural that replaced an older version around 2019.What does it show?
- A bright blue background with three red hands spelling âWELCOMEâ in sign language
- Panels showing parts of local life: parades, bonfires, sports, wartime history and other murals
- A line along the bottom: âWe are PROUD âą RESILIENT âą WELCOMINGâ
It also lists âwelcomeâ in many languages â Polish, for example, appears â though notably Irish isnât included, something that sparked local debate.
What story does it tell?
This mural is less about the Troubles and more about modern community identity:- Pride in the areaâs long history
- An attempt to present the Shankill as open and friendly
- A hint of ongoing tension in what isnât shown (like the absence of Irish)
Itâs a reminder that murals here donât just look backwards â they also argue about what the present and future of the neighbourhood should look like.
Why visit?
Itâs one of the best spots to photograph a more upbeat side of Shankill Road and to see how imagery, language and inclusion/exclusion are still negotiated on the wall.CS Lewis âNarniaâ Mural â East Belfast
Where is it?
On a gable wall in Convention Court, just off the Newtownards Road in East Belfast, close to the Holywood Arches area.What does it show?
- A big blue wall with âC.S. LEWIS 1898â1963â at the top
- A painted book spine of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
- A portrait of CS Lewis himself
- Narnia imagery: Aslan, the White Witchâs snowy landscape, and the wardrobe doorway
What story does it tell?
This one steps away from the Troubles and celebrates Belfastâs cultural heritage:- CS Lewis was born in Belfast (in nearby Dundela Avenue), and East Belfast likes to claim him as one of its own.
- The mural ties into a wider âNarnia trailâ in the area (including CS Lewis Square and other pieces of street art), showing how the city is now branding itself through literature, fantasy and creativity instead of conflict.
Why Visit?
For visitors, this mural is a perfect stop if you want something a bit gentler than the political walls of West Belfast. Itâs bright, imaginative and great for photos, and it links directly to CS Lewis Square and the wider Narnia trail nearby â so you can turn it into a mini literary walk in East Belfast, with cafĂ©s and local shops close at hand.