Belfast Lough
Encyclopedia
Lough
A lough is a body of water and is either:* A lake* A sea lough, which may be a fjord, estuary, bay, or sea inlet.It can also be used as a surname, with various pronunciations: law, loch, low, lowe, loth, loff....
at the mouth of the River Lagan
River Lagan
The River Lagan is a major river in Northern Ireland which runs 40 miles from the Slieve Croob mountain in County Down to Belfast where it enters Belfast Lough, an inlet of the Irish Sea. The River Lagan forms much of the border between County Antrim and County Down. It rises as a tiny fast...
on the east coast of Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. 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. Belfast Lough is the gateway for Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
to the Irish Sea
Irish Sea
The Irish Sea separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel, and to the Atlantic Ocean in the north by the North Channel. Anglesey is the largest island within the Irish Sea, followed by the Isle of Man...
.
Belfast Lough is a long, wide and deep expanse of water, virtually free of strong tides, lying between Orlock Point and Blackhead, extending westwards to the Port of Belfast
Port of Belfast
Belfast Harbour is a major maritime gateway in Northern Ireland, serving the Northern Ireland economy and increasingly that of the Republic of Ireland...
. It is ideal as a stopping-off point on Irish Sea passages. For racing sailors, this is a competitor's dream, giving 30 square miles (77.7 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 the County Antrim
County Antrim
County Antrim is one of six counties that form Northern Ireland, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 2,844 km², with a population of approximately 616,000...
coast side; the Victoria Channel, the central and longest route; and the Musgrave Channel on the County Down
County Down
-Cities:*Belfast *Newry -Large towns:*Dundonald*Newtownards*Bangor-Medium towns:...
side.
Coastal towns include Holywood
Holywood
Holywood is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the shore of Belfast Lough, between Belfast and Bangor. Holywood Exchange and Belfast City Airport are nearby. The town hosts an annual jazz and blues festival.-Name:...
, Bangor and Carrickfergus
Carrickfergus
Carrickfergus , known locally and colloquially as "Carrick", is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is located on the north shore of Belfast Lough, from Belfast. The town had a population of 27,201 at the 2001 Census and takes its name from Fergus Mór mac Eirc, the 6th century king...
. Holywood and Bangor are situated on the southern side of the lough in Down, whilst Carrickfergus, which boasts a 12th-century Norman castle
Carrickfergus Castle
Carrickfergus Castle is a Norman castle in Northern Ireland, situated in the town of Carrickfergus in County Antrim, on the northern shore of Belfast Lough. Besieged in turn by the Scots, Irish, English and French, the castle played an important military role until 1928 and remains one of the best...
, is on the northern side in Antrim. On older maps of Ireland, made before Belfast grew to be a city, the lough was referred to as Carrickfergus Bay.
Popular for sailing, the lough has two marinas: one at Bangor
Bangor Marina
Bangor Marina is the second largest marina in Ireland and is located in the centre of the town of Bangor, Northern Ireland. The Marina is one of 35 marinas internationally that has been awarded Five Anchors by the Yachting Harbour Association....
, the other located in Carrickfegus
Carrickfergus Marina
Carrickfergus Waterfront is an area of Carrickfergus situated on the north shore of Belfast Lough, which includes two harbour facilities, several restaurants and bars and promenade areas....
. Belfast docks at the head of a lough contain the famous shipbuilder of the RMS Titanic fame, Harland & Wolff, is 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
Her Majesty's Coastguard
Her Majesty's Coastguard is the service of the government of the United Kingdom concerned with co-ordinating air-sea rescue.HM Coastguard is a section of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency responsible for the initiation and co-ordination of all civilian maritime Search and Rescue within the UK...
offices for the lough, although referred to as Belfast Coastguard, are located in the town of Bangor by the marina. In 1912, the RMS Titanic sailed down the lough from Belfast to the Irish Sea for her sea trials.
The lough hosts two Royal Yacht Clubs. One at Cultra
Cultra
Cultra is a residential suburban area adjacent to Holywood, County Down, Northern Ireland, part of Greater Belfast. It is also the name of an electoral ward of North Down Borough Council. It is comfortably one of Northern Ireland's most affluent areas...
just outside Holywood
Holywood
Holywood is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the shore of Belfast Lough, between Belfast and Bangor. Holywood Exchange and Belfast City Airport are nearby. The town hosts an annual jazz and blues festival.-Name:...
, The Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club
Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club
Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club is located in Cultra, County Down, Northern Ireland on the south shore of Belfast Lough-History:The club is one of the clubs on the lough that form part of the Belfast Lough Yachting Conference...
, and the Royal Ulster
Royal Ulster Yacht Club
Royal Ulster Yacht Club is located in Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland, on the south shore of Belfast Lough.-History:The Club was established in 1866 as the Ulster Yacht Club, on the impetus of Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 1st Marquess of Dufferin and Ava. In 1869 it received a Royal...
based from Bangor
Bangor, County Down
Bangor is a large town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is a seaside resort on the southern side of Belfast Lough and within the Belfast Metropolitan Area. Bangor Marina is one of the largest in Ireland, and holds Blue Flag status...
. There are also several other clubs spread around the lough: Ballyholme Yacht Club
Ballyholme Yacht Club
Ballyholme Yacht Club is located in Ballyholme, County Down, Northern Ireland on the south shore of Belfast LoughThe club is one of the clubs on the lough that form part of the Belfast Lough Yachting Conference-External links:* *...
, Carrickfergus Sailing Club
Carrickfergus Sailing Club
Carrickfergus Sailing Club is located in Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland on the north shore of Belfast Lough.The club was originally founded in 1866....
, Cockle Island Boat Club
Cockle Island Boat Club
Cockle Island Boat Club is located in Groomsport, County Down, Northern Ireland on the south shore of Belfast LoughThe club is one of the clubs on the lough that form part of the Belfast Lough Yachting ConferenceGeography:...
, County Antrim Yacht Club
County Antrim Yacht Club
County Antrim Yacht Club is located in Whitehead, County Antrim, Northern Ireland on the north shore of Belfast LoughThe club is one of the clubs on the lough that form part of the Belfast Lough Yachting Conference- External links :*...
, Donaghadee Sailing Club
Donaghadee Sailing Club
Donaghadee Sailing Club is located in Donaghadee, County Down, Northern Ireland on the south approaches to Belfast LoughThe club is one of the clubs on the lough that form part of the Belfast Lough Yachting Conference...
and Holywood Yacht Club
Holywood Yacht Club
Holywood Yacht Club is located in Holywood, County Down, Northern Ireland on the south shore of Belfast LoughIt was established in 1862. The clubhouse has been renovated several times, most recently in 1998....
Belfast Lough Nature Reserve
The reserve is situated within the Belfast Harbour Estate on the shores of Belfast Lough. The RSPB manages some mudflats in Belfast Lough, together with an area of grassland with a pool and ditch complex near Belfast City Airport, and a lagoon with a hide and viewpoints. The mudflats are important feeding areas for a variety of wading birds and wildfowl. At high tide, flocks of wading birds, such as RedshankCommon Redshank
The Common Redshank or simply Redshank is an Eurasian wader in the large family Scolopacidae.- Description and systematics :...
, Oystercatchers and Black-tailed Godwit
Black-tailed Godwit
The Black-tailed Godwit, Limosa limosa, is a large, long-legged, long-billed shorebird first described by Carolus Linnaeus in 1758. It is a member of the Limosa genus, the godwits...
s, can be seen from the hide and viewing points.
Ramsar site
The Belfast Lough Ramsar site (wetlands of international importance designated under the Ramsar ConventionRamsar Convention
The Ramsar Convention is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands, i.e., to stem the progressive encroachment on and loss of wetlands now and in the future, recognizing the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their economic, cultural,...
), 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. The site contains the inner part of the lough including areas of intertidal foreshore, consisting of mudflats and lagoons, and land, both reclaimed and being reclaimed, which form important feeding/roosting sites for significant numbers of wintering wader
Wader
Waders, called shorebirds in North America , are members of the order Charadriiformes, excluding the more marine web-footed seabird groups. The latter are the skuas , gulls , terns , skimmers , and auks...
s and wildfowl
Anatidae
Anatidae is the biological family of birds that includes ducks, geese and swans. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on all the world's continents except Antarctica and on most of the world's islands and island groups...
. The outer lough is restricted to mainly rocky shores with some small sandy bays and beach-head salt marsh
Salt marsh
A salt marsh is an environment in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and salt water or brackish water, it is dominated by dense stands of halophytic plants such as herbs, grasses, or low shrubs. These plants are terrestrial in origin and are essential to the stability of the salt marsh...
.
In the outer lough, the Ramsar boundary entirely coincides with that of Outer Belfast Lough Area of Special Scientific Interest
Area of Special Scientific Interest
An Area of Special Scientific Interest or ASSI is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in Northern Ireland. ASSIs are the equivalent of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in the rest of the United Kingdom....
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 Lough Special Protection Area
Special Protection Area
A Special Protection Area or SPA is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds.Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and certain particularly threatened birds.Together with Special...
. The site qualifies under Criterion 3c of the Ramsar Convention by regularly supporting internationally important numbers of Common Redshank
Common Redshank
The Common Redshank or simply Redshank is an Eurasian wader in the large family Scolopacidae.- Description and systematics :...
in winter. The site also regularly supports nationally important numbers of Common Shelduck
Common Shelduck
The Common Shelduck is a waterfowl species shelduck genus Tadorna. It is widespread and common in Eurasia, mainly breeding in temperate and wintering in subtropical regions; in winter, it can also be found in the Maghreb...
, Eurasian Oystercatcher
Eurasian Oystercatcher
The Eurasian Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus, also known as the Common Pied Oystercatcher, or just Oystercatcher, is a wader in the oystercatcher bird family Haematopodidae. It is the most widespread of the oystercatchers, with three races breeding in western Europe, central Eurasia,...
, Purple Sandpiper
Purple Sandpiper
The Purple Sandpiper, Calidris, Arquatella or Erolia maritima is a small shorebird.Adults have short yellow legs and a medium thin dark bill with a yellow base. The body is dark on top with a slight purplish gloss and mainly white underneath. The breast is smeared with grey and the rump is black...
, Dunlin
Dunlin
The Dunlin, Calidris alpina, is a small wader, sometimes separated with the other "stints" in Erolia. It is a circumpolar breeder in Arctic or subarctic regions. Birds that breed in northern Europe and Asia are long-distance migrants, wintering south to Africa, southeast Asia and the Middle East...
, Black-tailed Godwit
Black-tailed Godwit
The Black-tailed Godwit, Limosa limosa, is a large, long-legged, long-billed shorebird first described by Carolus Linnaeus in 1758. It is a member of the Limosa genus, the godwits...
, Bar-tailed Godwit
Bar-tailed Godwit
The Bar-tailed Godwit is a large wader in the family Scolopacidae, which breeds on Arctic coasts and tundra mainly in the Old World, and winters on coasts in temperate and tropical regions of the Old World...
, Eurasian Curlew
Eurasian Curlew
The Eurasian Curlew, Numenius arquata, is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae. It is one of the most widespread of the curlews, breeding across temperate Europe and Asia...
and Ruddy Turnstone
Ruddy Turnstone
The Ruddy Turnstone is a small wading bird, one of two species of turnstone in the genus Arenaria. It is now classified in the sandpiper family Scolopacidae but was formerly sometimes placed in the plover family Charadriidae...
.
See also
- List of Irish lochs and loughs
- List of Ramsar sites in Northern Ireland