Belfast Lough

Belfast Lough Loch Lao(Irish) Bilfawst Loch(Ulster-Scots)
Satellite photo
Belfast Lough Loch Lao(Irish) Bilfawst Loch(Ulster-Scots)
Location	Northern Ireland
Coordinates	54.691°N 5.785°W/54.691; -5.785
Ramsar Wetland
Designated	5 August 1998
Reference no.	958

The island of Ireland, with theRepublic of Irelandin green,Northern Ireland(UK) in magenta, and Belfast Lough in yellow.

The jetty at Cloghan Point is used to off-load oil from tankers, for use at the nearbyKilroot power station.

Sunset over Belfast Lough, viewed fromBangor.

Blackhead Lighthouseis one of three lighthouses in Belfast Lough.

Belfast Lough(Irish:Loch Lao) is a large, intertidal sea inlet on the east coast ofNorthern Ireland.At its head is the city andportofBelfast,which sits at the mouth of theRiver Lagan.Theloughopens into theNorth Channeland connects Belfast to theIrish Sea.

Belfast Lough is a long, wide and deep expanse of water, virtually free of strong tides. The inner part of the lough comprises a series of mudflats and lagoons. The outer lough is restricted to mainly rocky shores with some small sandy bays. The outer boundary of the lough is a line joining Orlock Point and Blackhead.

The main coastal towns areBangoron the southern shore (County Down) andCarrickferguson the northern shore (County Antrim). Other coastal settlements includeHolywood,Helen's Bay,GreenislandandWhitehead.

Name

Belfast Lough is known in Irish asLoch Lao,which was Anglicised as 'Lough Lee'. Earlier spellings includeLoch LaoighandLoch Laigh.This name means "sea inlet of the calf". The River Lagan, which flows into it, was also historically known as theLao.It is believed that the lough and river were named after a "bovine goddess". In the 2nd century, the Greek geographerPtolemyreferred to it as theLogia.

Before Belfast grew into a city, the lough was known in English as 'Carrickfergus Bay'. InUlster-Scotsit is calledBilfawst LochorCraigfergus Loch.

History

In 1689 during theWar of the Two KingstheWilliamiteexpeditionary force underMarshal Schomberglanded atBangor,after the lough had been cleared of French shipping byGeorge Rooke.Schomberg occupied the towns of Bangor and Belfast, before successfullylaying siege to Carrickfergus.The following yearWilliam IIIalso used the lough as a safe anchorage when he arrived in Ireland with reinforcements for Schomberg in the run-up to the victory over theJacobitearmy at theBattle of the Boyne.

Wildlife

Nature reserve

The "inner lough" was made an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in 1987. Recorded wildlife includesCrepidula fornicataLamarck (Slipper Limpet).

Ramsar site

The Belfast Lough Ramsar site (wetlands of international importance designated under theRamsar Convention), is 432.14 hectares in area, at latitude 54 38 00 N and longitude 05 54 00 W. It was designated a Ramsar site on 5 August 1998.

In the outer lough, the Ramsar boundary entirely coincides with that of Outer Belfast LoughArea of Special Scientific Interestbut within the immediate harbour area the boundary has been redrawn to take into account permitted port related development and landfill which has taken place since the Inner Belfast Lough Area of Special Scientific Interest was declared in 1987. Marine areas below mean low water are not included. The Ramsar boundary entirely coincides with that of the Belfast LoughSpecial Protection Area.The site qualifies under Criterion 3c of the Ramsar Convention by regularly supporting internationally important numbers ofcommon redshankin winter. The site also regularly supports nationally important numbers ofcommon shelduck,Eurasian oystercatcher,purple sandpiper,dunlin,black-tailed godwit,bar-tailed godwit,Eurasian curlewandruddy turnstone.In recent years, Otters have been seen more regularly on the lough shores.

Sailing

Popular for sailing, the lough has three marinas: one atBangor,one atCarrickfergusand a third located atTitanic Quarter.Belfast docks at the head of a lough contain the famous shipbuilder of theRMSTitanicfame,Harland & Wolff,who are no longer building ships for the foreseeable future and has shed most of its workforce and diversified into repairing and refitting large tankers and oilrigs.Coastguardoffices for the lough, although referred to asBelfast Coastguard,are in the town of Bangor by the marina. In 1912, the RMS Titanic sailed down the lough from Belfast to the Irish Sea for its sea trials.

The lough hosts two Royal Yacht Clubs. These include theRoyal North of Ireland Yacht Club,atCultrajust outsideHolywood,and theRoyal Ulster,which is based fromBangor.There are also several other sailing clubs around the lough, many of which are members of theBelfast Lough Yachting Conference.

The lough has 30 square miles (78 km²) of open water and enough coastline to make short inshore races day-long affairs.Three main arteries serve the lough close to Belfast: the Herdman Channel on theCounty Antrimcoast side; the Victoria Channel, the central and longest route; and the Musgrave Channel on theCounty Downside.

Railway

TheBelfast-Larne railway lineskirts the north shore particularly fromCarrickfergusand thenDownshiretoWhiteheadand northwards then alongsideLarne LoughtoLarne Harbour.Trains connectBelfast Grand CentralandBelfast Lanyon Placeto Larne Harbour.

TheBelfast-Bangor railway lineskirts the south shore atHolywood railway stationtoMarino railway stationandCultra railway station.Trains connect Belfast Grand Central; and Belfast Lanyon Place toBangor.

Cultra railway station is the home of theUlster Folk and Transport Museum.

See also

• List of Irish lochs and loughs
• List of Ramsar sites in Northern Ireland

External links

• RSPBBelfast Lough Nature Reserve