Art Trail 3

Art Trail 3 goes from Maysfield to Stranmillis, and includes the Gasworks. I was really impressed by the Gasworks area; for something that was pretty much derelict a few years ago (the Gasworks themselves closed in 1988), these days it's really a very nice place to be.

	Greenland This is a bit of a bizarre one - a big red squiggly thing, inspired by a chestnut tree. But nice. Not entirely related to Greenland.
	Weights Little stainless steel weights, to commemorate the contribution of the nearby markets to the economy. The writing is reflective; I couldn't work out what it said.
	This photo cunningly shows two art pieces in one shot; in the foreground is the milepost; the 'porthole' is the two blue things in the background. Millenium Milepost There are lots of these along the cycle paths; they are squiggly because the paths are squiggly, and they tell you how far it is from where you are to where you want to be. I'm not sure whether they're all part of the art trail, or just this one; they're all slightly different in design, and indeed, a photo session of the various artworks on them may feature in a later WhyNotSmile post. Porthole The portholes in the steel are to remind us of Belfast shipbuilding. I didn't photograph this one up close, because it was on the other side of the river, but when you're next to it, obviously you can look through the portholes at your companions.
	Bottle Top I really like this, just because it's so odd. It represents a historic bottle top; it's on the site of Cromac Springs, which I'd guess provides the 'water' connection.
	Bronze Disc A map of the Gasworks from long ago; includes the Cromac Wood, which was presumably concreted over so the Gasworks could go on top.
	Carved Brick Piers and ceramic details A very literally-named piece, this shows engravings of the animals that lived in the wood that was concreted over so the Gasworks could be built on top.
	Another two-for-one shot, here we have the Gasworks gates and the Stone Columns. Gasworks Railings The railings have wiggly lines and I like them muchly. Stone Columns There are 2 of these, one representing Belfast's past industries (linen, shipbuilding and ropemaking) and this one, representing new technologies. What you can't see here is the detail on the columns and the flowery mosaics on the ground surrounding them.
	The Millenium Garden I cycled past this for years and only noticed it a few weeks ago, so I was pleased to discover it's actually on the Art Trail. It's in the grounds of a youth club; these are the railings, with 2 swans. There is a mosaic of the Children of Lir in the grounds.
	Haulers Way A mosaic of a fishy.
	Travelling Landscape Right, I was a bit scuppered with this one, because it's in an underpass which was flooded when I got there. There are lots of these tiles, showing things related to different modes of transport; this was the only one I could get to for the photo though.
	Homage to the Lagan The final piece, this is part ship, part shell, part wave, and part seat to rest on now that you're done.