Today I returned to Three Mile Water to walk my final section of the Ulster Way, along the banks of Belfast Lough.
My left knee was stiff today and, to my exacting eye, a little puffy. I struggled a little with my morning exercises, bending my knee as far as I could without risking injury, but by the time I had finished breakfast I had my mind on other things. The problem does not go away, I am just too busy doing what I want to do....
...which was catching a bus back to the northernmost outposts of Belfast, where I continued down the river of Three Mile Water. This was enclosed within a verdant green corridor with trees, grass and ferns hiding the surrounding suburban housing. Enjoyable walking on the tarmac paths despite dull skies and a few raindrops. A squirrel (sadly grey) crossed my path. Two concrete viaducts carried trains above me, crossing the valley a little before where an older railway stone bridge was being reabsorbed into wet greenness by mosses.
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| Railway viaducts over the valley of Three Mile Water. |
My wild ribbon of lush nature suddenly ended at a road running along the side of the sea. After making a detour to pick up a coffee, I then dutifully and safely crossed at the pedestrian lights, then sat in a bench beside the waters of Belfast Lough. In the far distance, at the head of the Lough I could see the gantries of the Harland & Wolff shipyard and the cranes of Belfast's port. Opposite was the suburb of Holywood. Nearby a flock of eider ducks sat on the calm sea. As I followed the Ulster Way along the side of the Lough I also saw cormorants, crows and various gulls. Joining me on my waterside path were dog walkers, the occasional jogger, rare cyclists and an old gentleman with a wheeled walking frame and an oxygen supply, defying ill health to take a walk. In time the path followed the edge of Hazelbank park.
After the park there was a long length of cycle track beside a motorway. Noisy but not unpleasant given the views across the water to look at. Then the scenery deteriorated as I entered the industrial area surrounding the dockside. From there it was into the city centre for some shopping and lunch.
A gpx file of my route can be found on wikiloc.com and OutdoorActive.
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