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Entire home/flat 
3 Guests 
1 Bedrooms 
2 Beds 
1 Bathroom Poet's Rest is a self-contained apartment in a charming, old Victorian house with all home comforts just two miles from central Belfast.
- Poet's Rest is a self-contained first floor apartment (G+1) in a charming, old Victorian house with all home comforts.
- Long term lets are not available.
- This property is offered for leisure and tourism users only who have confirmed identity, multiple reviews and a clean track record as a guest.
Free parking in driveway.
Guests have the space to themselves. Comfortable and self-contained with a lovely oasis feel. Once inside the accommodation, guest areas are private with bedroom, living room, hallway, kitchen and bathroom.
Entrance is through communal outside door. It will be unusual for you to see any other residents.
Walk up stairs. Enter through apartment door into hallway of apartment. There is a double bedroom with kingsize bed, bathroom, livingroom with dining table and separate kitchen.
Kitchen has kettle, coffee machine (that makes great espresso, flat white & cappuccino), toaster, slow cooker, microwave, washing machine, fridge freezer, cooker with gas hob, electric oven and grill.
Pots, pans, cutlery, glassware and crockery supplied.
The living room has a pull down ‘Murphy’ bed (single).
The living room couch can also be set up as a single bed if a fourth person needs to stay.
Supplied for this is a ‘Duvalay Comfort’ luxury sleeping bag that contains a memory foam base attached to a duvet on top.
The sofa sleeping kit can easily be rolled up after use.
There’s a dining table and chairs.
The bathroom has a step-up shower, vanity sink, toilet and cabinet.
The bedroom has a kingsize bed, clothes hanger and shelving, mirror, bedside cabinet and lamp. Beds have luxury pillows and duvets.
This is a converted Victorian house with timber floorboards in which noise can travel easily.
WIFI speeds:
DL 80mbps UPL 20mbps.
Minimum guaranteed download speed 67mbps
Minimum guaranteed upload speed 80mbps
Famous Poet.
Louis MacNeice (12 September 1907 – 3 September 1963) was a Belfast poet and a member of the Auden Group, which also included WH Auden, Stephen Spender and Cecil Day-Lewis.
MacNeice's body of work includes Meeting Point, Prayer Before Birth and London Rain. He expressed a humane opposition to totalitarianism as well as an acute awareness of his roots. He was born opposite the accommodation and a blue history plaque marks the spot.
I lived in the apartment for 12 years and loved how peaceful it was among a vibrant area.
History.
United Irishmen:
This area of north Belfast has strong links with the United Irishmen rebellion of 1798, Belfast’s linen mills, the shipbuilding legacy of the Titanic constructed in Belfast shipyard, and of course our recent Troubles from 1969 to 1998.
Titanic:
The Titanic, built in Belfast, became synonymous with probably the most infamous maritime disasters in history. The 'unsinkable ship' hit an iceberg in April 1912 on her maiden voyage to New York. Some 1,517 souls perished. Many films were made about Titanic including A Night To Remember and James Cameron's Titanic. There is a lovely memorial of all the names outside Belfast City Hall and the world famous Titanic Visitors Centre is an absolute must
Belfast Castle:
The accommodation is close to Belfast Castle and Cave Hill country park boasting spectacular views of 'Titanic town' looking out to where the Titanic sailed out of Belfast.
McCrackens:
Henry Joy and his sister Mary Anne McCracken are the area’s historical figures with Clifton House - the old Belfast poor house at Clifton Street - founded by Mary Anne.
Henry Joy was hanged near Bridge Street for leading the failed 1798 United Irishmen rebellion.
His sister attended Duncairn Presbyterian church - now the Duncairn Centre - which hosts many traditional music events.
The McCracken summer and language school where people learn the Irish language, sing Irish songs and set dance, is on Antrim Road - just a street away from the apartment. Go in for a coffee.
Mary Anne McCracken took on the linen mill owners who monopolised Belfast’s fresh water supplies coming down from hill streams. She led other philanthropists to install pipes from the hills to the city’s poor and desperate dying of water borne diseases like typhoid.
Musket fire from the mill owners’ militia was mobilised near an old stone bridge (still there) at Queen Mary’s Gardens (the Waterworks Park) to disperse those trying to pump fresh water. The philanthropists prevailed. The park became the city’s reservoir until the construction of Spelga Dam in the Mourne Mountains, Co Down.
Of the two ponds at the Waterworks, the lower pond reservoir was filled with the bricks of houses destroyed during the blitz.
Belfast Blitz 1941:
The Belfast Blitz is the name given to four German air raids on the city in April and May 1941 during the Second World War.
The bombings caused high numbers of casualties. The first was on the night of 7–8 April – a small attack on Belfast shipyard which probably took place only to test Belfast's defences.
The next took place on Easter Tuesday, 15 April. Two hundred bombers of the Luftwaffe attacked the city with homes on parts of the Antrim Road destroyed. Some 900 people died.
Apart from London, this was the greatest loss of life in any night raid during the Blitz. Unlike London, however, there were no air raid shelters in Belfast. The people – desperate to get away from the bombs – scrambled to the hills around the city for safety, including Cave Hill near Belfast Castle.
American airmen crash on Cave Hill.
An American B17 bomber crashed near Belfast Castle on Cave Hill on June 1 1944 on a flight from Newfoundland to Nutt's Corner – then an American air base. All 10 of its crew perished.
A battered gold wedding ring was found at the site in 1991 by Alfred Montgomery who lived near Belfast (Bellevue) Zoo and who had been shown the wreckage site by his father when he was a boy.
Albert spent three years tracking down the widow of the ring’s owner, air crash victim staff sergeant Lawrence (Larry) Dundon. He travelled to Kentucky to return it to her.
She was by now remarried and widowed for a second time and called Ruth Gillespie.
The story is the inspiration for the Hollywood movie Closing The Ring starring Mischa Barton and Shirley MacLaine and directed by Richard Attenborough. A memorial to the lost American airmen can be found near the entrance to Belfast Zoo and an information panel with crash items is inside Belfast Castle bar.
Sheila the baby elephant.
Have you heard the one about the woman who kept an baby elephant in her back yard during the Belfast blitz?
Belfast Zoo is about 3 miles country-bound along the Antrim Road.
North Belfast woman Denise Austin who lived on the Whitewell Road saved a young African elephant called Sheila from being euthanised by the Ministry of Public Security during the Second World War.
In 1941, many of the animals in the zoo were killed because of public safety fears during the Belfast Blitz. The Ministry of Public Security ordered 33 animals to be killed in case they escaped during air raids. This included a hyena, six wolves, a puma, a tiger, a black bear, two polar bears and a lynx.
Sheila, a baby elephant, was protected and taken to the home of the 'elephant angel' who looked after Sheila in her back garden.
The story is the inspiration for a family film called The Zoo.
Literature and Movies
Movies
To get you into the Belfast/Irish mood, here's some movies you might enjoy:
Good Vibrations - Richard Dormer plays Belfast's 'Godfather of Punk' Terry Hooley. Hooley is a larger than life character from the city. He famously signed The Undertones, known for big hits like Teenage Kicks, My Perfect Cousin and It's Gonna Happen.
Mickeybo And Me – Mickybo and Me is a 2004 Northern Irish comedy-drama film written and directed by Terry Loane and based on the stage play Mojo Mickybo by Owen McCafferty. Your host Andrea's cousin plays the ginger haired Mickeybo!
My cousin John-Joe is all grown up now and a car mechanic. However, the film is getting a bit of a renaissance among the younger generation. He's tortured with kids asking him was he really the actor in the film while trying to fix their parents' cars!
Closing The Ring – Based on the true story of the American bomber crash on Cave Hill starring Shirley MacLain, Christopher Plummer and Mischa Barton.
The Zoo - Based on the true tale of Shelia the baby elephant at Belfast Zoo.
'71 - A British Army tour of duty as the Troubles erupt. This is a 2014 British historical thriller film written by Gregory Burke and directed by Yann Demange. Set in Northern Ireland, it stars Jack O'Connell, Sean Harris, David Wilmot, Richard Dormer, Paul Anderson and Charlie Murphy, and tells the story of a British soldier who becomes separated from his unit during a riot in Belfast at the height of the Troubles in 1971.
Hunger - Starring Michael Fassbender and directed by Steve McQueen about the 1981 Hunger Strike in which 10 republican prisoners died in the Maze prison, including Bobby Sands.
In the Name of the Father - A biographical courtroom drama film co-written and directed by Jim Sheridan. It is based on the true story of the Guildford Four - Irishmen wrongly accused of IRA bombings in London.
Grabbers - Jon Wright's ('Tormented') sci-fi/horror/comedy, was filmed in and around the Donegal peninsula.
Bloody Sunday - a 2002 British-Irish film about the 1972 British Army shootings of 14 people on a civil rights march in Derry. Starring James Nesbitt.
Shadow Dancer - a tense, thought-provoking thriller, Shadow Dancer is bolstered by sensitive direction from James Marsh and a terrific performance from Andrea Riseborough.
Some Mother's Son - is a 1996 film written and directed by Irish filmmaker Terry George, co-written by Jim Sheridan, and based on the true story of the 1981 hunger strike in the Maze Prison. Starring Helen Mirren.
Man About Dog - a 2004 Irish comedy film starring Allen Leech, Ciaran Nolan and Tom Murphy.
Titanic Town - a 1998 film directed by Roger Michell and starring Julie Walters, Ciarán Hinds, Nuala O'Neill, and Ciarán McMenamin. It is set in Belfast during the Troubles.
Omagh - a 2004 film dramatising the events surrounding the Omagh bombing and its aftermath, co-produced by Irish state broadcaster RTÉ and UK network Channel 4, and directed by Pete Travis. It was first shown on television in both countries in May 2004.
Literature
Cave Hill - also called McArt’s Fort and Ben Madigan - an ancient ceremonial point for crowning Celtic kings - was the inspiration for Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift who spent time in the area. The hill resembles the profile of the story's sleeping giant.
Ireland's most famous poet, the late Seamus Heaney penned The Betrothal Of Cavehill so look it up online!
Charles Dickens made three visits to Belfast, in 1858, 67 and 69, to give public readings of his work. It is noted the ever-adventurous author ‘went up the Cave Hill and bought a jaunting car’. ‘The oddest carriage in the world,’ observed the author of Oliver Twist, A Tale Of Two Cities and Great Expectation, ‘and you’re always falling off, but it is gay and bright in the highest degree. Wonderfully Neopolitan.’
The prolific travel writer later wrote of Belfast: ‘Tremendous houses there. Curious people, too. They seem all Scotch, but quite in a state of transition,’ and looked back on his ‘delightful days’ in the city with great affection. He also described Belfast as 'a fine place with rough people'.
No pets on bedding please.
No soiling towels/sheets with self-tanning products. It’s impossible to remove tanning stains so I’d need the cost of affected linen replaced - sorry! £50
We offer flexible check-in & check-out times, however where we have guests coming or leaving the same day we may apply usual check-in times after 15:00 and check-out times before 11:00.
There is a keylock box available so collecting the key and access anytime should be possible. You will need to return the key to the keylock box when you checkout. We require you to provide your arrival and departure timing to agree checkin and checkout times so we can coordinate with other guests. If you stay beyond your agreed check-out time you will be liable to pay for an extra night at your average nightly price.
The cleaning fee covers cleaning and preparation of the property for your stay as well as a set of fresh linen and towelling provided for each guest. This includes one set per your stay, should you require additional towelling or linen please request this or if you have opened a fresh pack even if you use only a few items there will be a charge of £30 per pack - each pack contains fresh linen, large and small towels.
Any sort of parties, gatherings or events are strictly not permitted, the property is for accommodation purposes only for the guests staying. This property is located in a residential area and guests are asked to refrain from excessive noise or any activity that would disturb
the neighbours. If it's been reported that there are any parties or events or noise disturbance then you may be required to leave the property immediately without the remaining nights being refunded. There is a charge of £500 if any evidence of a party, gathering or event at the property have been found exclusive of any charges relating to damages or additional cleaning costs to get the property in good order again. We trust you will respect the property and neighbours during your stay.
You are required to keep the place reasonably clean & tidy - no dirty dishes left over or excessive rubbish to be disposed of as this is not included in the cleaning charge. If the place is very messy or untidy or there is excessive rubbish to be disposed of then we will need to request an extra cleaning fee.
There is a strictly no smoking policy inside or in any outside spaces (which includes garden spaces, balconies, terraces or patios) belonging to the accommodation, if this policy is not adhered to a charge of GBP 150.00 will be applied
No pets are allowed unless shown on the listing as permitted or expressly agreed with the owner.
Lost keys, damaged keys or getting locked out will incur a charge starting from £100 for replacement depending on the type of key and time required or getting you back in the property if you have locked yourself out.
We do not accept Cash payment for any of the charges mentioned above.
Access to building is via key from a lock box. Access to apartment is via a keypad.
The accommodation is located in a house where refugee asylum seekers and their children live as they await residency. Apart from little ones playing, it's quiet and peaceful. We call that the laughter of our children!