Arrive at BHD
Grab the bags, pile into a taxi and aim for Hilton. If the room is not ready, dump the luggage and crack on.
Four lads · one week · no beef, no bother
Belfast,properly.
Laptops shut. Coast roads calling. The craic should be mighty.
...sleeps to go
0/57missions sorted
2big scenic drives
THE ROAD-TRIP SOUNDTRACK
Four lads. One aux. No mercy.
Add your tunes now, argue about them somewhere on the A2 later.
THE BUTTON YOUR MA WARNED YOU ABOUT
Go on. Cause a wee scene.
Nobody knows what's coming. That's half the fun.
Sunday · 13 SEP
Land, bap, Belfast.
Land, get fed and find the craic. Nice and handy.
Belfast bap at St George’s Market
The market shuts at 15:00, so the bap is mission number one. Chicken or veg, with beef and seafood given a wide berth.
Check in + a light reset
Hilton Belfast, Lanyon Place. Drop the bags, freshen up and put the feet up briefly. Nobody is disappearing for a four-hour coma.
Meet the mate at The John Hewitt
Start the evening here for a proper catch-up, good beer and a bit of Belfast atmosphere before dinner.
Bootleggers, Church Lane
Chicken or veg burger, no debate. Book ahead if they let us.
The Garrick after the feed
A proper Belfast pub for the first-timer. One good round, then follow the noise.
Finish at Dirty Onion
A lively finish, then walk back to Hilton before Monday comes looking for us.
Monday · 14 SEP
Emails, then ales.
Do the work, keep the receipts, enjoy the pint. Grand.
A proper Hilton feed
Fill the boots before the laptops come out. Future us will be grateful.
Laptops open, craic paused
Do the graft and keep every company-meal receipt. Boring, but it pays for dinner.
Company lunch
Fifteen quid each from the company. Keep the wee itemised receipt.
The Deer’s Head
Dinner, their own beer and a relaxed Monday evening without turning it into another full pub crawl.
Tuesday · 15 SEP
Team day. Free feed.
The team owns the diary. We turn up, behave and enjoy the dinner.
Breakfast, round two
Back at the Hilton buffet. Try not to build a plate with its own postcode.
Team has the wheel
Their diary, their rules. We turn up looking moderately professional.
Company lunch
Fifteen quid each, itemised receipt, no lost-paper carry-on.
Team dinner + one cheeky drink
The team picks the place and time. One alcoholic drink each may sit on the dinner bill, which is fierce civilised.
Wednesday · 16 SEP
Graft in the middle.
Right in the middle of it. Let the team call the shots.
Breakfast, same dance
Tea, toast and enough fuel to look awake on calls.
Business before Belfast
Head down, look useful and remember the coast road is getting closer.
Company lunch
Another fifteen quid each. Receipt in the pocket, not abandoned on the table.
Company dinner
Dinner is covered up to thirty-five quid each, including one alcoholic drink. Sláinte to sensible expenses.
Thursday · 17 SEP
Out of office loading.
Finish the graft, pack the day bag and attempt an early-ish night.
Final workday fry
Give the buffet a respectful farewell. It has served us well.
One last bit of graft
Close the loops, send the emails and let the proper weekend off the leash.
Company lunch
Fifteen quid each and, yes, keep the itemised receipt again.
Company dinner + heroic early night
One drink may be covered. Then pack waterproofs and walking shoes before the pints make decisions for us.
Friday · 18 SEP
Causeway to go.
The road is the star today. Stop when the view is class and keep her lit.
Big breakfast, bigger road
Eat like the A2 depends on it, then taxi to BHD for the motor.
Collect the Ceed-class chariot
Do the boring clever bit: photograph panels, wheels, glass and fuel. Both drivers go on the agreement, no cowboy carry-on.
A2: keep her lit
Carrickfergus drive-by, then Larne → Glenarm → Carnlough. This is the bit where the road itself earns top billing.
Glenariff gets the nod
Do the short viewpoint loop for about 40 minutes. The full waterfall walk is lovely, but only choose it if Torr Head and one late stop are getting the boot.
CALL IT
Cushendun + the Torr Head call
Have a quick caves-and-harbour nosey. Take Torr Head only in clear weather, with a confident driver and plenty of time in hand.
CALL IT
Ballintoy Harbour dander
A wild wee harbour, a pile of photos and no rope-bridge timetable eating the afternoon.
Bushmills Inn feed
Book the table. Chicken or veggie are the easy wins; ask about sauces and cross-contact. Whoever has the keys stays 0.0.
Giant rocks, giant notions
Use Innisfree Farm and JustPark 77819. Parking is paid, but the stones and public paths do not need a visitor-centre ticket.
CALL IT
Dunluce + Magheracross drama
Do the castle viewpoint, then the Magheracross platform for the big coastal panorama. Going inside the castle is not worth rushing the rest of the road.
Pick the final wee flourish
Best scenic shout: Whiterocks and Portrush, with a quick hello to Lauren only if arranged. First-timer backup: Dark Hedges instead, never both.
CALL IT
Motor parked, pints unlocked
Get reception to validate the ticket, leave the car put and freshen up at record speed.
The Friday pint procession
The Crown → The Spaniard → wherever the craic takes us. Car parked, feet working, job done.
CALL IT
Saturday · 19 SEP
Mourne than a feeling.
Quick Cave Hill glory, a proper breakfast, then off to the Mournes.
Cave Hill before the city wakes
Use the known upper parking way. No castle gate, no cave hunt and no accidental full expedition.
Twenty-minute glory walk
Twenty minutes up puts the lads on the view for the 07:03 sunrise. Heroic photo, same way down, job done.
Wash the hill off + breakfast
Back to Hilton for a shower and the resurrection fry. Allow a small re-entry charge because the car park has notions.
Mournes, here we go
Leaving now keeps the day grand and relaxed instead of becoming a scenic panic attack.
Tollymore: tree-mendous stuff
Keep it to 60–75 minutes: the lower river, old stone bridges and a bit of the easy arboretum path. The full three-mile trail is a different day.
Bao down in Newcastle
Bao & Bento has clear chicken and veggie choices. Ask for no fish or oyster sauce and check cross-contact, then have a promenade nosey.
CALL IT
Bloody lovely Bridge
Sea, mountains and a quick photo. This is a stop, not another surprise hike.
Spelga, nice and handy
Take the mountain road to the dam, pull in for the view and keep the day moving. Silent Valley is grand, but it turns this into another walking day.
Rostrevor: check before sending it
The latest council notice still has Kilbroney forest drive closed. If it has reopened, do the upper viewpoint only. If not, use the Rostrevor waterfront for Carlingford Lough views.
CALL IT
Slieve it till last
Finish with the narrow one-way 10 km forest drive. Give it about 45 minutes with pull-ins, provided the gate and weather are behaving.
Fuel her up and head for BHD
Fill up away from the airport, return it full, take photos and guard the receipt with your life.
Car returned, freedom restored
Hand back the keys, taxi to Hilton, shower at Formula One speed.
A proper pint at Sunflower
Start with a good pint and a bit of breathing room. If it is wedged, do not queue all night; The Points is waiting.
The Points gets lively
Live music every night, with Irish dancers on Saturdays. This is where the quiet pint officially loses the run of itself.
Finish the week at Lavery’s
Four bars, live music, pool tables and enough room for the night to find its own level. Open late on Saturday, then taxi back to Hilton.
Sunday · 20 SEP
Slán, Belfast.
One last fry, a lounge sit-down and absolutely no airport sprinting.
The resurrection breakfast
Water first, fry second, dignity whenever available.
Room sweep, lads
Chargers, receipts, passports and the mystery sock under the bed. Leave no man behind.
One last Belfast taxi
BHD is close, but we are not ending a class week with an airport sprint.
Bags away, lounge ahoy
Clear security, then find Aspire beside Gate 4 like the organised legends we briefly are.
Aspire and perspire less
About 90 relaxed minutes. No flight announcements, so keep one eye on the screens and one on the snacks.
CALL IT
Wander gate-wards
Trust the airline time and departure screens, not the lad saying, ‘We have ages.’
Slán and away home
Trip done. Memories secured. Group-chat evidence legally indestructible.
ONE ALBUM · FOUR CAMERAS
The evidence locker.
Fire every photo in here: the class ones, the blurry ones and the ones that will need explaining on Monday. One album, no excuses.
THE GROUP SCRAWL
What are we forgetting now?
Chuck room numbers, booking codes and whoever has lost what in here. With cloud sync on, all four phones get the memo.