Van Morrison, CS Lewis & George Best

The third stage of Connswater Community Greenway, which includes The Hollow and Conns Bridge has been opened. The £40 Million Greenway Project will transform the Knock, Loop and Connswater Rivers turning them into an environmental asset. It will help flood management and widen public accessibility. The Project includes 26 new or improved bridges, 10miles of foot and cycle paths and the CS Lewis Square.

East Belfast has many famous sons including Van Morrison, CS Lewis and George Best. Van grew up in nearby Hyndford Street, knew the Hollow and went to Orangefield Boys School. He sings about the Hollow in Brown Eyed Girl. See the video below

Hey, where did we go, Days when the rains came Down in the hollow, Playing a new game, Laughing and a-running, hey, hey, skipping and a-jumping In the misty morning fog with, Our, our hearts a-thumping And you, my brown-eyed girl, You, my brown-eyed girl.

CS Lewis, a novelist, poet and academic grew up in Sydenham and wrote the Chronicles of Narnia.

George Best, who was possibly the greatest footballer the world has ever seen, grew up in nearby Cregagh. A local wall once bore the following graffiti:

 Pele Brilliant

Maradona Fantastic

George Best

Genealogy is an insight to local history. The Greenway is steeped in the local history of East Belfast. It winds its way through the communities of Braniel, Castlereagh, Loopland, Clarawood, Orangefield, Bloomfield, Beersbridge, Avoniel, The Arches, Mersey Street and Sydenham. Along its way it encounters our industrial heritage including the Castlereagh Industrial Estate, Owen O’Cork Mills and the Belfast Rope Works. It terminates at the Sam Thompson Bridge in Victoria Park, adjacent to Shorts Aircraft Factory and Harland & Wolff Ship Yard, the birth place of the Titanic.

For more see Connswater Community Greenway

Meet our new genealogist, Nuala. She lives on the banks of the River Lagan in Belfast and is eager to trace  your Ancestry.