Highways of Ulster

Details

Location

Antrim coast road, Armagh, Atlantic Coast, Ballycastle, Ballyholme Bay, Bangor, Belfast, Ben Crom Reservoir, Black Arch, Buncrana, Carlingford Lough, Carrickfergus, Carrigart, City Hotel, Co. Donegal, Cock and Hen, Derry~Londonderry, Devenish, Donegal, Downpatrick Cathedral, Dunluce Castle, Enniskillen, Enniskillen Castle, Erne waterways, Fermanagh Lakelands, Giant's Causeway, Glenariff, Glens of Antrim, Great Northern Hotel, Guildhall, Hilltown, Kingdom of Mourne, Laharna Hotel, Larne, Londonderry, Lough Erne, Loughareema, Midland Hotel, Mound of Down, Mountains of Mourne, Mournes, Mournes Mountains, Mulroy Bay, Newcastle, Port of Belfast, Portrush, Portstewart, Queen of the North, Rostrevor, Saul, Silent Valley, Silent Valley Dam, Slieve Bearnagh, Slieve Donard Hotel, Slieve Patrick, Spelga Pass, St Patrick's Church of Ireland Cathedral, St Patrick's National Monument, St Patrick's Roman Catholic Cathedral, The Vanishing Lake, Walls of Derry, Whitepark Bay

Year

1955

Date

Length

21min 48sec

Audio

sound

Format

16mm

colour

Source

Courtesy

British Film Institute, National Museums NI, Tourism NI

Rights Holder

National Museums NI, Rights are managed by National Museums Northern Ireland on behalf of Tourism NI

Description

Hop on board and explore Ulster. There is plenty to feast your eyes on - on both sides of the border - but "nothing too strenuous", on this entertaining coach tour. 
What better way to soak up the sights of Northern Ireland than a whistlestop tour aboard a gleaming Ulster Transport Authority bus? The route takes us to some of the region's most idyllic locations, not least as we journey through the 'Black Arch' and along the Antrim Coast Road with its stunning seascapes. Later, the promise of a slab of 'yellow man' - the honeycomb-like confectionary - provides the perfect excuse to hop-off at Ballycastle for the Ould Lammas Fair. The bus jaunts along country roads, taking in the delights of Donegal, a boat-trip on Lough Erne, cathedrals in Armagh and Downpatrick, the Mournes and the seaside towns of Rostrevor, Newcastle and Bangor before returning its passengers to Belfast for souvenir shopping.

Notes

Aside from the typical tourist 'must-sees', such as the Mountains of Mourne, Giant's Causeway and City Hall, this colourful film also features Silent Valley - with its enormous reservoirs - and charming scenes of afternoon tea at the Great Northern Hotel, Rostrevor and of Belfast's York Road Rail station, which ran from 1848 until its closure in 1992. This film was produced by the Ulster Transport Authority and used by theNorthern Ireland Tourist Board.  These government departments were particularly busy in the mid-1950s to late 1960s, creating films that aimed to sell Northern Ireland as a holiday destination.   

For their Lough Erne trip the tourists board a boat called the MV Endeavour, built and owned by George McQuillen from Enniskillen. 

In Bangor, Ballyholme Yacht Club appears as it was before the marina was built. In 1987 a hurricane washed all the moored boats up on the beach and rocks.

Credits

Produced by the Ulster Transport Authority

Sponsored by the Northern Ireland Tourist Board

Directed by Tom Huston

Narrated by Alan Roberts

Music by Derek Bell and The Gilcurdon Trio

Digitised as part of Unlocking Film Heritage

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