Boucher Rd. Playing Fields Belfast. Anyone familiar?

[Weirdaf1]

Hi, had anyone attended an event at this venue? I have tickets to Noah Kahan in August.
I need to book accommodation but I'm not familiar with Belfast at all.

Surely pretty much anywhere in Belfast would work? It's tiny

But if you're not at all familiar with Belfast you might want advice on where to avoid. Are you from NI?

Taxis to/from Boucher from anywhere in the city would be cheap but hard to get! Look around Lisburn Road maybe, that’s walkable if you can’t get a taxi.

Not from NI and have never been to Belfast. I've been googling. It's sold out so I imagine there will be a lot of people around but don't want to end up choosing somewhere difficult to get to afterwards.

If you're struggling finding accommodation I'd look in Lisburn, it's about half an hour on the train plus walking to Botanic. Otherwise you'll be grand if you stick to the city centre and south Belfast (though there are some parts to avoid). If you're English you'd probably be fine in east Belfast but I'd avoid west and north 100% (sadly still something you'd need to consider).

Don't know why I read botanic instead of boucher...

Thanks Gemmy. I'm Irish.
I've been to Northern Ireland before but not to Belfast.

staying in Lisburn isn’t a bad idea except the trains from Belfast to Lisburn are all off until September. There is a shuttle bus from the Europa Bus Centre in Great Victoria Street but it’s a bit of a hike from Boucher. Not sure where to advise OP to stay tbh. If they’re happy with the long walk into the city centre there’s plenty of hotels though.

Anything on the Lisburn rd will be fine. Malone Road too. Taxis are impossible to get and lots of roads are closed near the Boucher playing fields.

Anywhere close to Queens university is safe. Avoid the village as there has been rioting this week.

Aim for South Belfast. Central Belfast/Cathedral Quarter is a slightly further walk but there will be lots of people doing the same walk.

Yes try Lisburn Road - it'll be airbnbs/apartments on booking.com as I can't really think of any hotel on that road to be honest but I know there are plenty of apartments. Maryville b&b is very close if it has availability.
Malone hotel is further but walkable, then a little further over on the Malone road itself you have the Harrison I think and a few other boutique hotels. South Belfast is generally very safe with recent trouble in one particular area you should avoid - Donegal Pass area. But you don't need to go anywhere near that just keep that in mind. Don't rely on taxis on a night like that as it'll be busy so best to have something walkable.

Donegall road, not pass!

Was just thinking that 👍

The ulsterville apartments are within easy walking distance of Boucher road, have parking and are gorgeous. I have stayed there for longer term stays (three months and six months) for work purposes but they also do shorter lets. And coming from south (I’m from Cork) they are very easy to get to and to get back on the road afterwards too.
we used to leave the windows open to hear the gigs in Boucher road when we were staying there.

If you're still looking have a look in booking.com. I've been to a few concerts there and they block off most of Boucher Road so you will have to walk. If you head up towards Kennedy way there's some b&b's or towards kings hall/ Lisburn Road you should get somewhere.

Thanks @circular1985, to be honest I'm having second thoughts about going up at all with the situation at the moment. The rioting looks scary.

Is the city centre walkable from Boucher Road?

Don’t let a tiny minority of uneducated and bigoted people ruin your trip OP - the riots are confined to small and traditionally rough neighbourhoods which you wouldn’t want to walk through on a ‘good’ day. The rest of Belfast is business as usual. It will all soon blow over anyway, the worst of it has passed.

I live 5 mins away from Boucher Rd playing fields (so close that I basically get to listen to free concerts in my garden🤣). It’s very much life as normal here, we haven’t been affected by any trouble whatsoever. Crowne Plaza at Shaw’s Bridge would be a handy hotel or else there are quite a few B&Bs/AirBnBs on the Lisburn and Malone Roads. You’ll probably struggle to get a taxi afterwards so within walking distance is best.

@Malahide Thanks so much for your reply. I've managed to book us into The Gregory on Eglantine Rd. Would you know if that is a reasonable walk from the venue?
Thanks.

It’s an easy walk. Eglantine is in a gorgeous area - enjoy your stay! If looking for brunch options Output Espresso is a 5 min walk down the road, the food is amazing

@Weirdaf1
Yes that's walkable. However, whilst the riots are in specific areas, you might want to avoid walking down Boucher Road (towards the city and tates avenue) and instead walk towards Kennedy way and balmoral and down the Lisburn Road. It's a much nicer walk though longer. There's a lovely bars called The Chelsea and Thd Bowery along the way to stop for a drink.

However in saying all that there will be a big police presence, like there is for all concerts due to its location near residential areas. I wouldn't be concerned about safety. Enjoy the concert!