“The Twelfth” as it is known in Northern Ireland (Ulster) is a local public holiday on the 12th of July which commemorates the Battle of the Boyne where the forces of William III (William of Orange) defeated those of the deposed King James II. This defeat ending James II attempt to retake the crown. The battle actually took place on 1st July 1690 in the Julian calendar. Each year, as I understand, “Orangemen” who are Protestant Ulster-men, demonstrate their loyalty to the British Crown by holding parades in which the various lodges to which they belong to march through the streets. I believe that there were 18 parades this year.

We have a uneventful journey from Londonderry to Belfast, apart from Anne getting a new experience, her first ever speeding ticket! Somewhere we missed the 30mph sign as the rest of the route is 40 mph or above and she was clocked doing 39mph.

Anne chose a nice hotel with a laundrette close by to catch up on washing, however that idea was thwarted by, yes you have guessed it, a public holiday. Heading towards Lisburn Road around lunchtime we are stopped at a police roadblock, no not Anne’s speeding ticket, Lisburn road, which we have to cross, is the main route for the parade in Belfast. You would have thought that supposedly experienced travellers would have planned a better route. Oh well. We have noticed in Northern Ireland that when the police are diverting traffic that they seem to spend an inordinate amount of time talking to each driver. When we reach the front we get detailed instructions on how travel some distance around the parade via the George Best Airport! Or we can wait until the road re-opens after the parade passes. We choose the later option and only have to wait some 15 minutes. We navigate Streak and Storm though the crowds and the few broken bottles that seem to have appeared along the parade route. I am mindful of punctures and I can imagine that there will be a few more bottles by tomorrow morning.

After lunch we wander down the Lisburn Road towards the centre of Belfast, where I presumed the marchers had gone, unsure about when they would return. Along both sides of Lisburn Road are small family groups, deckchairs in place for the return of the bands and marchers in the afternoon. It feels like a party atmosphere with children twirling batons high into the air and catching them. A local skill I imagine not replicated elsewhere in the UK.

As we get towards Sandy Row, which appears to be an epicentre of party activity, the crowds grow both in number and enthusiasm. Alcohol is evident everywhere and consumption is steady. Seems the “no alcohol rule on the streets” is ignored today or the police would have to arrest hundreds if not thousands of people. We have no idea when the marchers will return so if in doubt “ask a policeman”. Firstly it seems that I had the direction of the parade completely wrong. The parade goes out of town and then back into town. They should be back in an hour or so we are informed. We learn the parade takes up to 90 minutes to pass. We did hear that it is considered “bad luck” to cross the road in front of the marchers, so make sure you are on the correct side to get home. In the Belfast parade there are around 60 lodges represented by bands and attendant marchers from around Ulster. We are also advised that Sandy Row, which is the only section of the parade route where barriers are needed to separate the marchers and spectators, can get more boisterous as the evening progresses.

It should be noted that our presence is in no way related to the evenings news item on a leaked report which suggested that the march route could be changed next year to avoid Sandy Row due the boisterous activities of some of those present.

We position ourselves close to the hotel to see the start of the parade go past. Each lodge seems to have flag and office bearers, a band and marchers. Colourful uniforms, bowler hats, batons twirling the bands playing and marchers for each of the lodges pass by. We only stay for part of the parade which is enjoyed by those watching.

We spend a last night in Ireland quietly, having enjoyed our time here. We saw great scenery, met interesting and wonderful people and even retrieved memories from way back in 1977. We will come again but not leave it so long next time.

– Anthony