Only in Ballymena – Ballymena Today Blog our local Favourites

At Ballymena Today we love our town – we keep on saying it! We know that there are lots of things that can be enjoyed all over Northern Ireland but we think that there are a few things which are best enjoyed here in Ballymena. Here are a few things that we think you shouldn’t miss out on

A fry from the Nobel Cafe – There is rarely a day when you won’t a queue in the Nobel cafe on Church Street. Why? It’s just an Ulster fry right? Well it must be the combination of locally sourced bacon, meaty sausages, non greasy fried bread (fried pancake *yum*), diced potato and the perfectly fried egg. The place is run like a military operation, seated, menu, order taken and before you know if your breakfast is on the table, piping hot and tasty. You can pick whatever pieces you want off the menu and it is a great price. We have only ever had excellent service and the cafe is always spick and span. If you live in Ballymena and haven’t been then you are missing out! Click here to see their latest video (which we love).

The Ballymena Show – Remember the days when schools used to get a half day so everyone could go to the Ballymena Show, watching cows being shown in the arena, enjoying a homemade cake, visiting the Waterbus?  – Good wasn’t it. Well years later it is just as good for a wander around. Enjoy games and contest with the Young Farmers associations, Mary Berry style home baked goods, crafts, competitions and award winning livestock. This year the Ballymena Show will run on Friday 29th May & Saturday 30th May – click here to find out more.

The Ecos Parkrun – The Parkrun is one of those things that does exactly what it says on the tin. You head to the park and then you run – simple. What we love about the weekly 5k run is that it is free, well organised and anyone can have a go. Ballymena Runners do a wonderful job encouraging beginners to get up to 5k and at the parkrun everyone is a winner. With number increasing steadily this is a great place to get motivated, get fit and enjoy Ballymena banter in this running community. We need it to work off all the calories from our fried breakfast. Click here to read all about the parkrun.

We have few more things that we think are best enjoyed in Ballymena but we will save them for another day. In the meantime please let us know what you would nominate as a local Ballymena favourite. Who knows it might get featured on Ballymena Today in out next ‘Only in Ballymena’ blog post.