Nearly 25 years after the Troubles, Northern Irelands scars are finally beginning to heal.
Here’s a guide to the best of the country right now.
What do those words bring to mind?
The shoreline between Carnlough and Waterfoot, part of Portia Woods’s Toast the Coast tour.Simon Watson
Recently, I put the question to two American friends.
The Troubles, said the first.
The Troubles, said the other.
From left: The Giant’s Causeway, a natural formation of basalt columns on the North Coast; The Duel of Belfast, Dance By Candlelight, a mural by Conor Harrington in the Cathedral Quarter.Simon Watson
There, Ive often discovered underappreciated destinations rather than security problems.
Over the past few years, I had been hearing that things were changing in Ulster.
So I decided to plan a trip.
From left: The Londonderry Arms hotel, in Carnlough; the conservatory at Culloden Estate & Spa, in Holywood.Simon Watson
Today, it is an international destination for dining and design.
But this cosmopolitanism hasnt rubbed the edge off what makes the Quarter so different.
The poetry, surely, is part of it.
Staffers at Native Seafood & Scran, a sustainable fish store and café in Portstewart.Simon Watson
But the strangest turn to the whole concern/Is only just beginning, the last stanza declares.
I took that walk with aguide named Colm McBrierty.
The Unionist side features quotes by the Dalai Lama and work by local artists.
From left: Home, a contemporary Irish restaurant in central Belfast; a Persian lamb entrée at Home.Simon Watson
The Republican side has nothing but barracks-green paint.
In both Unionist and Republican areas, we saw murals commemorating victims, but also murderers.
But we saw just as many murals by community groups urging reconciliation.
From left: A well-rounded breakfast at Established Coffee, in Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter; catching up outside Established Coffee.Simon Watson
McBrierty suggested that neither side had sole claim to the truth.
He was both clear-eyed and optimistic.
These disagreements wont end for a couple of generations, he said.
From left: Ray Gallen at his Belfast whiskey shop, the Friend at Hand; mussels from the Native Seafood & Scran café.Simon Watson
People died too recently.
But weve come a very long way.
McBrierty and his wife, a Protestant, sent their children to an integrated school.
From left: Paul Craig at his Belfast menswear shop, the Bureau; the Coast Road Inn, outside Carnlough.Simon Watson
People say, Are you Catholic or Protestant?
I say Im an Ulster man.
We came back for the people, McGowan said.
From left: The gardens of the Galgorm resort and spa; the Victorian-era dining room at Belfast’s Merchant Hotel.Simon Watson
People here are so genuine.
Theyve gone through so much.
And its such an exciting food scene at the moment.
Noble was the recipient of the Michelin Guides 2021 Welcome & Service Award.
McGowan and McConnell are part of a growing number of entrepreneurs creating things the country hasnt seen before.
He encountered a Belfast transformed, with so much demand in his field that he stayed.
Its first project was theToast Office, a grilled-cheese shop whimsically designed to resemble an old British post office.
It became an Instagram sensation.
No trip to the countryside would be complete without a glimpse of the legendarily beautiful North Coast.
So is the fact that they borrow equally from British and Irish influence.
As Colm McBrierty suggested, perhaps the right answer to the question Britain or Ireland?
Belfasts intimate size and mash-up of Victorian and postindustrial spaces make it a flaneurs delight.
The British side of its charm includes Black English taxis.
I never took one.
Dereliction is an opportunity, Gordon said.
Its not the end its the beginning.
McDonald spent 45 years cooking for the officers mess in the British army.
(British officers eat well, he said the cuisine was fit for a Michelin-starred restaurant.)
This arrived alongside a miniature lamb pie, foraged blackberries, white-currant jelly, and root vegetables.
It took some time, McDonald said.
But people are beginning to realize that what we have is as good as anywhere.
The couple grow edible calendula, black sunflowers, pinto peaches, gooseberries, Jerusalem artichokes, and more.
This was the 18th centurys supermarket, she said.
When the newspapers are saying what theyre saying about climate change, you must look to your doorstep.
The Irish Sea is 500 meters from here.
I can have lobster from June to New Years Eve.
Ballywalter is in the process of going entirely off the grid, she told me.
No trip to the countryside would be complete without a glimpse of the legendarily beautifulNorth Coast.
Under a cold sun, we listened to the thundering waves on repeat: crash, hiss, repeat.
Like so many in Northern Ireland, McCarry grew up without pride in the natural riches around him.
As a young man, he moved to Thailand.
We all went to the far side.
But at some point, McCarry started to understand what hed left behind.
Their offerings are so fresh that the shop has no microwave or freezer.
As an experiment, I ordered the plainest-seeming thing on the menu: a roasted-salmon salad.
Decorated by nothing save lightly dressed greens, the salmon was elementally, profoundly flavorful.
Were all starting to understand what we have, McCarry said.
The Merchant Hotel:A prime example of Belfasts Victorian splendor enlivened by a bit of contemporary style.
Dont skip its cocktail bar.
Stop by his whiskey shop, the Friend at Hand, around the corner.
Where to Shop
Armagh Cider:The only blossom-to-bottle cider operation in Northern Ireland.
A three-course lunch is served to those who book a tasting of ciders, vinegars, and tonics.
Bound:A home-decor store in Belfast that showcases boundary-breaking Northern Irish and European designers.
The Bureau Belfast:Cool menswear from such indie brands as Engineered Garments and Arpenteur.
See if you’re free to score a peek inside Stubbers country kitchen.
