Bangor (Northern Ireland)
June 24, 2023
HM 220. Bangor - the MOST friendly harbour!
My email from Kevin Baird, HM of Bangor was this: "We are thrilled to know that you will be visiting Bangor Harbour and Marina and ... We eagerly await your arrival".
You guessed it... we had the most enjoyable stay which coincided with "Sea Bangor Festival" in which two Royal Naval vessels were visiting along with music, entertainment and lots of waterborne activities.
One demo that stood out was a prototype "Electric Foiling Ferry" being trialled by Belfast company Artemis Technologies - see my photos of the future.
Before taking over managing Boatfolk's Bangor marina (530 berths - that's big!), Kevin was a commercial fisherman. He seems more suited to being HM as he enjoys people and is about to get his teeth into redeveloping the whole of Bangor harbour with the help of a £65M grant from Belfast Council. During Covid Kevin made individual zoom calls with each boat owner to show them their boat was OK and he was the first HM to introduce Black Guillemot nesting boxes, now prevalent along all the NI coast.
Bangor (from the Irish "pointed horns" of Bangor Bay) has a long history - St Comgall's Church boasts continuous worship for 1400 years. In 1620 James I (James VI of Scotland) granted Bangor the status of "Port". Imports of coal, salt, slate and most significantly "settlers" began arriving from Scotland. By 1865 a railway was built from Belfast which lead to the building of Victorian and Edwardian villas giving it the nickname of "Northern Brighton".
Thank you very much Kevin for your welcome, your intro to Betty Armstrong and your enthusiasm for my challenge!
My email from Kevin Baird, HM of Bangor was this: "We are thrilled to know that you will be visiting Bangor Harbour and Marina and ... We eagerly await your arrival".
You guessed it... we had the most enjoyable stay which coincided with "Sea Bangor Festival" in which two Royal Naval vessels were visiting along with music, entertainment and lots of waterborne activities.
One demo that stood out was a prototype "Electric Foiling Ferry" being trialled by Belfast company Artemis Technologies - see my photos of the future.
Before taking over managing Boatfolk's Bangor marina (530 berths - that's big!), Kevin was a commercial fisherman. He seems more suited to being HM as he enjoys people and is about to get his teeth into redeveloping the whole of Bangor harbour with the help of a £65M grant from Belfast Council. During Covid Kevin made individual zoom calls with each boat owner to show them their boat was OK and he was the first HM to introduce Black Guillemot nesting boxes, now prevalent along all the NI coast.
Bangor (from the Irish "pointed horns" of Bangor Bay) has a long history - St Comgall's Church boasts continuous worship for 1400 years. In 1620 James I (James VI of Scotland) granted Bangor the status of "Port". Imports of coal, salt, slate and most significantly "settlers" began arriving from Scotland. By 1865 a railway was built from Belfast which lead to the building of Victorian and Edwardian villas giving it the nickname of "Northern Brighton".
Thank you very much Kevin for your welcome, your intro to Betty Armstrong and your enthusiasm for my challenge!