Ireland – Belfast Coast

We were up early and headed straight to the Giants Causeway. We found a car park that offered free parking for National Trust members so took advantage of that and walked down to the Causeway. With not a soul in sight we enjoyed a good 45 minutes or so at the spectacular natural coastal feature. The sun was low and created some amazing light on the rocks.

Back to the B&B we showered, had breakfast and checked out for our drive to the first visit of the day.

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Larne Lifeboat Station

Larne lies on the east coast just north of Belfast and is a major freight and ferry port. Passenger ferries from here take a short hop across the Irish Sea to Cairnryan in Scotland which was clearly visible from the coastline on the way to the station.

At the station we were welcomed by Senior Station Technician Derek and ALB Mechanic Chris. We had a great chat about the station and the crew and the challenges they face launching from a ferry port. Derek then gave us a tour of the station building which was once a garage and has unique double fronted shutter doors. The station boasts two Landrover launch vehicles which allows them to get quickly from the station to the ALB moored in the port and another to launch  their D-Class at a couple of slipway locations around the bay.

The station at Larne was established on Boxing Day 1994. A permanent inshore lifeboat arrived in June 1996 and the first temporary all weather lifeboat in the March of the same year. Following the completion of a purpose built pontoon, the station received its first permanent Trent Class lifeboat in August 2000. Their current Shannon Class lifeboat, Machiko Nancy (13-58) arrived on station on 15^th February 2026 and so began an intensive training programme for all of the crew. On the 1^st April she was officially declared a search and rescue asset by the coastguard and officially on service.

In 2015, the station received its latest Inshore lifeboat. The lifeboat was funded by the 'Pistol Benefit Fund', set up in memory of Frederick Pistol (Fred), a wartime refugee from Austria, and later Army Major, and his wife Theresa (Terry), a former concert pianist born in Westcliff-on-Sea, both keen sailors, and passionate supporters of the RNLI. At a naming ceremony in September 2015, attended by members of the Pistol family, following Fred's tradition of naming all his boats after his wife, the lifeboat was named Terry (D-783)

We are so grateful to Derek and Chris for taking the time out of their busy day to meet us and give us such an informative tour and history of the station. Saying our farewells we then headed to our next stop, taking the coastal route through Belfast and on to Bangor.

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Bangor Lifeboat Station

As we had arrived a little early, we took the chance to grab a cup of tea in a nearby café. At the station we were met by Visits Officer John who welcomed us and gave us a great insight into the history of the station. The station sits in a sheltered spot at the head of the marina pier.

A lifeboat was first stationed in Bangor in 1965 but prior to that, from 1858 to 1920, a lifeboat station existed just 4km away in Groomsport. The station building was opened in 1984 in its current location and original housed D-Class lifeboats until 1988 when the larger Atlantic 21 arrived.

Their current boat is an Atlantic 85, Ruby Robinson (B-944) arriving on station in June 2024. John explained that the boat was funded from the legacy of Norfolk farm hand Dennis Filby, who died in 2019. He had never married or had children and wished to leave the majority of his estate to fund a lifeboat, and be named in memory of the farmer's wife, Ruby Robinson, who had treated him like a son.

John kindly took some photos of us with the lifeboat and outside of the station before we said our goodbyes and headed on to our final visit of the day to the picturesque seaside village of Donaghadee.

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Donaghadee Lifeboat Station

We were staying at Donaghadee overnight and so we checked into the B&B. We had a little time to take some photos of the beautiful harbour front before heading to the lifeboat station next door to our accommodation.

The town has been a popular filming location for many TV programmes and films but is most notably known as the fictional town of Port Devine in the BBC drama Hope Street.

At the tiny station building we were met by Station Mechanic Iain and crew members John and Emily. We were welcomed up to the crew room for a cup of tea and we had a great chat about the station and our challenge.

A lifeboat station has been in the town since 1910. It had a very close feeling of community and Iain explained some of the close family generations to have served on the lifeboat over the years. In particular he cited the Nelson family. At least four, William, Samuel, Hugh and Alex, have served as Coxswain, with two of the four awarded medals for gallantry. In the search for survivors from the Princess Victoria, at least six members of the family were out at some time, if not all together. In 2021, Mark Nelson received the 20-year long service award.

We headed out to the lifeboat that was moored in the shadow of the pier lighthouse. The Trent Class, MacQuarie (14-21) joined the station in 2023 as a relief boat but is now on permanent placement.

After taking some photos of the boat and back at the station we bid farewell and headed the short distance to our accommodation where we enjoyed a spectacular view over the harbour, a fantastic meal and a good night sleep.