Belfast, C.S. Lewis & Van Morrison
The New Belfast shows off its modern literary & musical connections
Belfast and Van Morrison go together like Guinness and song, but C.S.Lewis and Belfast are not as well known. New tours take a look at the city that inspired these men.
Belfast is to-day’s party capital, a vibrant super-charged city that offers the visitor age old Irish hospitality, great food, supper clubs, piano bars and, of course, the craic.
But Belfast is proud of it’s recent history and its association with modern literary and musical figures. Tours are on offer which the visitor shouldn’t miss. Here are just two.
Ken Harper’s Taxitours. C.S. LEWIS Homeland Tour
Ken Harper is a great fan of the famous Belfast born author, and he himself conducts the taxi tour through the countryside from where Lewis got his ideas for The Chronicle of Narnia. Along the way you will learn that Lewis’s brother collected, old maps, and C.S.Lewis saw the name Narnia on one of them and used it. For those who don’t know Lewis’s work, think of The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe and The Dark Tower.
Little Lea was Lewis’s home, a beautiful house overlooking the River Lagan and Ken will take you there and tell you stories of Lewis‘s time in the house. He will also take you to the Church of St. Mark where there is a stained-glass window and a font dedicated to Lewis.
Website: www.harpertaxitours.co.nr
Or email Ken for details on Kenharper2004@hotmail.com Tel: Tel: 07711757178
The Van Morrison Tour with Bobby Cosgrove.
Travel with Bobby Cosgrove, a great George Best fan and a schoolmate of the legendary Van Morrison He brings you to the spots that inspired the songs “A sense of Wonder”, “My Lagan Love”, “Brown Eyed Girl” “Cleaning Windows”, “Bright Side of the Road” and others. Listen to his tales of the early Morrison years in Belfast’s streets and how the singer/songwriter got inspiration from the cinemas, the rivers, and the streets around him - even the bakery on the corner of the road.
You will visit the Baptist Church that Van attended which inspired his gospel songs, and visit the community centre where he took the stage with The Monarchs Show Band every week-end during the fifties.
Just to keep your mind exercised, he will make a detour to show you where George Best grew up, and to see the mural that decorates a wall, a dedication to the man some call the greatest footballer of all time. His George Best tales are almost as good as the Van Morrison tales.
See also: Belfast, Northern Ireland
The Craic, the Bodhrans and the Kodos
