Take a socially distanced tour through history at Titanic Belfast

Belfast’s epic ship, a mighty ruler of the waves before being carelessly and tragically rammed into an iceberg in 1912, is triumphing over today’s health crisis with all the confidence and innovation of her creators!

With free admission to NHS health workers and an extensive ‘Customer Confidence Charter’ in line with the World Health Organisation and Government advice, Titanic Belfast reopened to the public at the weekend.

The multi award-winning, world-class experience’s first official visitor since it closed due to Covid-19 in March was Belfast’s First Citizen, the Right Honourable, the Lord Mayor, Councillor Frank McCoubrey.

At last Friday’s sneak preview he experienced Titanic Belfast’s vividly annotated, one-way, self-guided themed tour through the galleries and SS Nomadic, which can be enjoyed for free ’til the end of this month by NHS workers as a thank-you for their work during the pandemic.

Throughout the health crisis, the landmark Titanic Belfast building was a symbol of Northern Ireland’s spirit, sporting a colourful rainbow illumination at night as a display of positivity and hope, and lit up blue for Clap for Carers as a gesture of its appreciation to the NHS.

“Now more than ever,” said Titanic Belfast’s Chief Executive Judith Owens at Friday’s reopening, “we need the support of our city and Northern Ireland, and we’ve been working away behind the scenes to ensure that those who come to visit have a truly memorable Titanic experience.”

The World’s Largest Titanic exhibition and World’s Leading Tourist Attraction is fully registered as ‘We’re Good to Go’ while its Galley Café is taking part in the ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ Initiative.

As part of its wide-ranging Customer Confidence Charter there’s an extremely user-friendly, one-way route vividly marked on the floor, artwork which wonderfully illustrates Belfast’s unique history whilst maintaining social distancing.

Without missing a single historic detail, the floor-markings lead visitors through a series of themed areas.

Boomtown Belfast is all about the city’s burgeoning industrial past and the marking on the floor is a thick, knotted rope.

In times past, when the city’s manufacturing dexterity was at its peak, it was said that every sailor, of whatever nationality, sailing whichever ocean, worked with ropes that were made in Belfast.

Tramlines on the floor guide visitors through the shipyard exhibits, evocative of the days when Harland and Wolff not only built ships, but trains that were exported all over the globe, as well as having its own, vast railway system beside the Lagan, and trams, steam-cranes, buses, ferries and a fleet of taxis!

Unmistakable white and red White Star Line flags and logos mark the route through Titanic’s Launch, Fit-Out and Maiden Voyage, with floor directions to The Sinking marked by her final Morse-code call-sign, repeated urgently, as it was when Titanic foundered.

CQD - Come Quickly Danger - dash, dot, dash, dot; dash, dash, dot, dash; dash, dot, dot.

There are ‘jump out’ circles and interactive zones along the way where visitors can pause and ‘delve a little deeper’ - maybe tap out the tragic Morse code, or take the amazing Arrol Gantry ride, or glance through a window at a yellow H&W crane, or make use of the ubiquitous hand sanitising facilities.

The route to, and around, Titanic’s replica lifeboat is indicated on the floor with some of the heartrending newspaper headlines that followed her sinking - Her Side Ripped as by a Giant Can Opener, Great Loss of Life, Officers Sank with Titanic and 1,500 Die.

Navigational markings and compass points on the floor indicate the route through Titanic Belfast’s modern-times narrative, explaining how the great ship has captured the world’s imagination, how the wreck was discovered and exploring the depths of the Atlantic where Titanic lies today.

A life-size model of a deep-sea diver from the Titanic era, with air-pipes connected to his thick brass helmet,shows that face coverings are advisable, if not mandatory, but as I went outside to visit the Nomadic a line of pigeons perched on the roof of Lord Pirie’s former living quarters weren’t properly socially distanced!

In addition to Titanic Belfast’s one-way, self-guided themed tour and Family Trail, visitors will be able to experience its award-winning outdoor Discovery Tour, Titanic Foundation’s Out of Stores Exhibition and its new Maritime Mile Treasure Trail.

It will be accepting pre-bookings only and operating on a reduced capacity to allow for physical distancing.

It has also implemented stringent protocol around hygiene, while staff will be practising and encouraging physical distancing measures at all times.

Absolutely all the details and information you need to book and visit Titanic Belfast, and its many and varied surrounding attractions, are at www.titanicbelfast.com or on Twitter @titanicbelfast or www.facebook.com/titanicbelfast