I am unqualified and inexperienced in the ‘nightlife’ of this city, as we are in bed by 10pm. But I can describe what we experienced up until that time over two nights (our first night here did not count as we arrived after 11pm).

We saw loads of these in the afternoons and evenings.

Mostly loaded with young women, singing and enjoying themselves, and celebrating an impending wedding for one of them. She was usually wearing a head veil, and often they were wearing a theme outfit, even if that was only a feather boa around their necks.

This group had gone to lots of trouble with their outfits.

They did no harm but I did wonder how they would feel in the morning.

Our first pub encounter was at The Crown – which was only 150m from our hotel. We were too early though.

This pub is an iconic venue in Belfast and Mick was very keen to see inside.

So we returned and struggled to buy a beer amongst the crowd.

The decor consisted of pressed metal ceilings, lots of ceramic tiles on the walls, stained glass windows, but its defining feature are the small cubicles where couples or groups of people can enjoy a ‘private’ drink.

I snapped this photo seconds before an excited group realised it was free.

Although it is iconic and interesting, one drink was enough for us there.

We returned to Commercial Circuit last night to have a beer in The Duke of York.

The small street was much busier at 5pm than it was at 10am. All those people were enjoying a drink outside. We were worried we weren’t going to get a drink, let alone a table here.

But as you can see we did. Mick was very pleased with the beer he chose here – an Irish Pale Ale. Note all the paraphernalia on the walls and ceilings.

There was a lot to keep our attention, but Mick had spotted a craft beer bar on our way here, so we moved on.

It was not a traditional pub, but it had thirteen beers on tap. Mick spent a long time trying to decide which one he wanted to try, and finally saw the solution.

He bought a tasting platter for £10 and was able to taste four different IPAs.

The crowd here was very different to the last two pubs, and just as interesting. Young people on their own – two woman at separate tables. One spent half an hour applying her makeup while the other was sketching. It certainly made a change from watching young people glued to their phones.

That platter was enough beer for Mick so we headed out for dinner at a restaurant closer to home and to bed.

Our conclusion of evening life in Belfast (and we compared it to what we saw in Dublin a few years ago), is that it is cheerful, full of fun, and involves people with endless thirsts.

NOTE:

You can’t buy alcohol in supermarkets here, or very rarely. You can’t buy alcohol from hotels either. You can only buy alcohol at Off Licences. Of course we found one, but they are not very obvious. In all our walking, we saw none. And we only found one because Mick had asked our tour guide.

Perhaps this explains why the pubs do such a trade.