48 | THE LOCAL TOURIST


www.nitravelnews.com BY SARAH PICKERING


TITANIC Belfast reopened it’s doors on Saturday 3 March following a multi- million-pound refreshment programme. The world-class visitor attraction now boasts four exciting new galleries within the Titanic Experience, a new artefact collection and an illuminated 7.6m long scale model of RMS Titanic which is suspended from the ceiling and fully rotates.


The refreshed experience introduces ‘The Pursuit of Dreams’ as a new theme and combines immersive new technology with an original maritime heritage collection and the authentic Titanic story to deliver an enriched and emotive experience. Speaking to NI Travel News after the reopening,


Judith Owens MBE, Chief


Executive of Titanic Belfast said: “It was absolutely brilliant to get the galleries open on Saturday. It’s been five years in the planning of this refreshment and we’ve been closed for two months on it. It’s been really intense because we worked for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week so we could try and deliver it so opening the doors is just very special. I think the fact that the galleries have turned out exactly how we envisioned them, because we just couldn’t wait to see peoples reaction when they went into the new galleries.”Opening back in March of 2012, Titanic Belfast has welcomed almost 6.5 million visitors through its doors, and after the covid pandemic Judith and her team have their sights on reinstating these


A TITANIC YEAR FOR BELFAST


TITANIC Belfast has announced it has commissioned its first original music score which will run throughout the four new galleries within the refreshed Titanic Experience,


creating what


promises to be one of the world-leading visitor attraction’s most immersive and emotive visitor experiences to date.


numbers. Of “all of those 7 million visitors that have visited us in our first ten years, we would love to see them back with us in Northern Ireland because our country and our city and Titanic Belfast has really moved on in the last ten years and there’s so much to see and do.” She said.


“In terms of looking forward to the new


year, we can’t wait for the cruise season to start. I think Belfast has 170 ships coming in this year so that’s great for us and we have a lot of footfall coming off the ships, really looking forward to seeing an even bigger return of our North American market. The demand is really really high, not just for titanic, but for Ireland so that is absolutely great for us. I think that while we will plan a number of events this year, the reopening of the experience is something that we really want to focus on and that people are getting as much out of it as they can.”. The new attraction is now opened for visitors to explore, with the Titanic quarter thriving


with business; The area also awaits the opening of the new Titanic Distillers based within the original pump house. Picking a favourite thing about the new attraction is going to be hard for visitors, just as it is for Chief Executive Judith: “It’s quite difficult to pick a favourite one as there so many great things but I think one of the things we have introduced this year is a soundscape and a musical score and its the first time we have done it. We worked with a composer in Amsterdam called stein Hoffsman. He wrote a bespoke musical score for us and I think the music really pulls out the emotions and it seamlessly interacts with the original footage we her and also we have introduced 19 incredible artefacts and these artefacts are some of the most important artefacts in the world in relation to panic so you put all that together and it really is a completely immersive experience. It takes you back and takes you closer to the people of titanic.”


TITANIC DISTILLERS: The New Pride of Belfast


With the Titanic Distillers set to open to visitors just before Easter, Kirsty Johnston caught a quick chat with Titanic Distiller’s Peter Lavery to find out what visitors can expect when the new distillery and visitor centre opens on March 31...


BELFAST has a long history with Whiskey, having been one of the major producers of the famous spirit before prohibition and the partition of Ireland caused most distilleries to close.


Born and bred in Belfast Peter Lavery is the man behind the famous Titanic Irish Whiskey, a 4-year ‘Built in Belfast’ blend with a nod to the memory of the famous ship. The Thompson Dock and Pumphouse is the new home of the Titanic Distillers at Thompson Dock and when NI Travel News got a sneak peek two years ago, it was clear that Peter and his team had their work cut out. However from our latest peek behind the Pumphouse’s huge doors it’s clear to see that all the hard work and effort has paid off tremendously. All pump equipment and internal historic features of the building including the windows, doors, everything down to the smallest rivet has been retained in-situ and is available to view as part of the visitor tour. Visitors will take a truly immerse experience through a huge part of the City’s industrial and maritime history while exploring the fascinating production of a unique whiskey product. Peter said: “The old building still in-situ, nothing has been disturbed. We have built a whole new building within it, and what we mean by that is every part of the old pump house is still sitting in-situ and we have not moved one piece of any of the old machinery. The new whiskey distillery sits above it, around it and beside it.


“There is so much history about the building, we didn’t want to take anything


away from that, instead we wanted to use it as part of the whiskey’s story, to tell what the building was used for, showcase it, but also bring the whiskey into the building,” Peter added.


“Whiskey in Belfast nothing new, it’s old Belfast in so many ways. There used to be more whiskey distilleries in Belfast than anywhere else in Ireland. That was before prohibition, just under 90 years ago, put an end to the export to America and Canada. We will be the new ‘spirit of Belfast’ and the first spirit of Belfast in just under that 90 years at that.” Peter and his team wanted to keep as true to the building and its history as possible, in fact the original 7 tonne crane, was recertified and used to bring in all the new steel work for the renovation. Peter continued: “The original crane was put into the building in 1909, before they put the roof on the building, and we got that crane recertified and we were able to use it to carry all the new steel work, the stills, the tanks and the mash tank into the building. A piece of machinery that was sitting there for over 112 years is still in great working condition and when visitors see the old machinery sitting beside the new stills, I think they will see how much they really look ‘in place’ rather than ‘out of place’. Its good


to see them both side by side.” The new distillery is set to open to visitors


on March 31 with four tour options to choose from. The Signature, priced from £25 per adult is a fully guided experience of the Distillery and historic Pumphouse. Explore the sights and sounds of the Pumphouse, followed by a sensory experience and tasting of the award-winning Irish spirits. The Premium Tour, priced at £40 per adult, brings the stories of Thompson Dock’s rich heritage to life, while showcasing the ongoing innovations of the working-distillery. Visit the historic Thompson Graving Dock, it’s joining Pumphouse and the first working distillery in Belfast in almost 90 years. Taste both the award-winning Irish spirits, take home a collector’s glass, and experience the new spirit of Belfast’s famous docklands. The Dock Tour, priced at £10 per adult is a unique opportunity to explore the site where Titanic last rested on dry ground before her maiden voyage. Brought to life by one of the Distillery guides, you’ll discover the incredible history of the site, the air thick with stories of former glory.


The Legacy Tour, priced at £100 per adult offers an extended tour of Titanic Distillers


at Thompson


Dock to gain a deeper insight into the history and stories of the unique site. On this tour, one of the expert guides will lead you around the Distillery’s historic home, taking in the Pumphouse, Distillery, Thompson Graving Dock and the floating mezzanine distillery floor, before a very special visit to the original Gwynne Pumps, located three levels beneath the distillery. Tastings of the Distillery’s premium spirits are included throughout the tour, and guests will receive exclusive Titanic Distillers gifts to take home.


Speaking about the visitor experience,


Peter said: “When visitors come through the doors and into the welcome area of the visitor centre they will be able to get themselves a refreshment to enjoy before their tour. “Once the tour starts they will be taken around the whiskey barrel wall where they


March/April 2023 Original Violin Amongst


Artefacts to be Put on Display in Titanic Belfast


DETAILS have been announced of some of the new artefacts that will go on display


including


an original deck chair from RMS Titanic and the world-famous violin belonging to the ship’s hero musician, Wallace Hartley, which has been described as one of the rarest and most iconic objects of the 20th century. As part of the new collection,


the world-


leading visitor attraction will also exhibit a number of artefacts that have never


been on


display before including a Plan of First Class accommodation,


which


was issued exclusively to First Class passengers to help them navigate the luxury liner, and belonged to Ellen Bird, the personal maid to Ida Straus, whose husband,


Isidor, owned


Macy’s department store in New York.


“She was alright when she left here”... or so the saying goes”


will start to get a bit of information about old Belfast and the connection to whiskey. After that, visitors will go through into the Distillery and the first thing they will see as they come through the doors are the old hydraulics of the pump house which open and close the dock doors to let the Titanic and other ships in and out.


Visitors will have a stunning birds-eye-


view of the three copper stills and can walk around the original walkway. Take a brave look down into the old pump house and view the old pumps still sitting in-situ. The shiny new stills are sitting above them on the upper level. Then when you go right back to the very, very back of the pump house you can see the ‘old piano’, the brains of the pump house before walking round to the tun, where the whiskey process begins.” Peter continued: “Following the tour we will take visitors upstairs where they will get to taste the spirits of Titanic, our premium vodka and whiskey. Visitors can then take a walk through the gift shop and pick up some souvenirs.” The investment in the Pumphouse and Dock has been massive, with the


renovation


and conservation costing more than first anticipated, but it was an investment well spent. Peter says: “The building was in need of more work than we originally anticipated,


the roof needed more work done, all the plasterwork needed repaired and we had to use the traditional lime plaster, in keeping with the materials used in the original build. That was a little more costly than just using modern plaster. “So between the restoration of the windows, doors and repairs to the roof and including the new whiskey distillery we probably spent around £7.5 million, but it was worth it, the building looks amazing, the restoration work is just fantastic and when tourists do step through our doors on March 31, we hope they will be just as delighted as we are with the conservation and restoration work and to see how we have seamlessly merged the old with the new distillery.”


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