| Belfast Lough Loch Lao (Irish) Bilfawst Loch (Ulster-Scots)[1] | |
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![Belfast Lough Loch Lao (Irish) Bilfawst Loch (Ulster-Scots)[1] is located in Greater Belfast](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aGreaterBelfastTemplate.gif) ![Belfast Lough Loch Lao (Irish) Bilfawst Loch (Ulster-Scots)[1]](/image.pl?url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2f%2fupload.wikimedia.org%2fwikipedia%2fcommons%2fthumb%2f0%2f0c%2fRed_pog.svg%2f20px-Red_pog.svg.png&f=jpg&w=240) | |
| Location | Northern Ireland |
| Coordinates | 54°41′28″N5°47′06″W / 54.691°N 5.785°W /54.691; -5.785 |
| Designated | 5 August 1998 |
| Reference no. | 958[2] |
Belfast Lough is a large sea inlet on the east coast ofNorthern Ireland. At its head is the city andport ofBelfast, which sits at the mouth of theRiver Lagan. Thelough opens into theNorth Channel and 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 areBangor on the southern shore (County Down) andCarrickfergus on the northern shore (County Antrim). Other coastal settlements includeHolywood,Helen's Bay,Greenisland andWhitehead.
Belfast Lough is known in Irish asLoch Lao, which was Anglicised as 'Lough Lee'. Earlier spellings includeLoch Laoigh andLoch 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 geographerPtolemy referred to it as theLogia.[3]
Before Belfast grew into a city, the lough was known in English as 'Carrickfergus Bay'. InUlster-Scots it is calledBilfawst Loch orCraigfergus Loch.[4][5]
In 1689 during theWar of the Two Kings theWilliamite expeditionary force underMarshal Schomberg landed 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 III also used the lough as a safe anchorage when he arrived in Ireland with reinforcements for Schomberg in the run-up to the victory over theJacobite army at theBattle of the Boyne.
The "inner lough" was made an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in 1987. Recorded wildlife includesCrepidula fornicata Lamarck (Slipper Limpet).[6][7]
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.[8]
In the outer lough, the Ramsar boundary entirely coincides with that of Outer Belfast LoughArea of Special Scientific Interest but 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 redshank in winter. The site also regularly supports nationally important numbers ofcommon shelduck,Eurasian oystercatcher,purple sandpiper,dunlin,black-tailed godwit,bar-tailed godwit,Eurasian curlew andruddy turnstone.[9] In recent years, Otters have been seen more regularly on the lough shores.[10][11][12]
Popular for sailing, the lough has three marinas: one atBangor, one atCarrickfergus and a third located atTitanic Quarter. Belfast docks at the head of a lough contain the famous shipbuilder of theRMSTitanic fame,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.Coastguard offices 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, atCultra just 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.[citation needed]
The lough has 30 square miles (78 km2) of open water and enough coastline to make short inshore races day-long affairs.[citation needed] Three main arteries serve the lough close to Belfast: the Herdman Channel on theCounty Antrim coast side; the Victoria Channel, the central and longest route; and the Musgrave Channel on theCounty Down side.
TheBelfast-Larne railway line skirts the north shore particularly fromCarrickfergus and thenDownshire toWhitehead and northwards then alongsideLarne Lough toLarne Harbour. Trains connectBelfast Grand Central andBelfast Lanyon Place to Larne Harbour.
TheBelfast-Bangor railway line skirts the south shore atHolywood railway station toMarino railway station andCultra railway station. Trains connect Belfast Grand Central; and Belfast Lanyon Place toBangor.
Cultra railway station is the home of theUlster Folk and Transport Museum.
This article incorporates text published under the BritishOpen Government Licence:
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