Derry

We arrived in Derry after a very comfortable bus trip from Sligo. The route took us along the Wild Atlantic Way and offered great views of the coastal bays and rural farms. Everything is very tidy on the farms but on a small scale compared to home.
Big skies out here with rather turbulent cloudscapes today. Patches of rain from time to time but when the sun came out it was a great scene. Clear air and fresh temperatures.

When we arrived  in Derry we had to find our accomodation which was not too far from the bus stop and when we did William, our host  was very welcoming. We got settled and then went out to have a look at the town. It was not raining so we walked the walls first in case it rained tomorrow. The forecast was not promising.

The walls are the best preserved examples of city fortress walls in Ireland and the only remaining completely walled city in Europe. They were build in the 1600 's by local lords to keep out maurading tribes.
There is a lot of history here and the walls tell a story. First,was of the attempt by King John to conquer the the town. The apprentice boys  refused to open the town gates in 1688-1689 and a 105 day siege by King John followed. The local citizens held out and the King returned to London but  later the town was undone by the Cromwelian army and power then passed to the Royal house of England after another battle on the walls.
Plantations were set up by  King Henry 8th  to colonise Ireland in 1641. English settlers were sent to colonise the city. They were instrumental in changing the face of the town and how people lived their lives. I had no idea what an impact it had, in fact I had not heard the term Plantations in the context of colonisation before,
The city is founded on history it seems at first glance but it has a history to of shirt making,linen trade, agriculture and fishing.

We ate at Browns, a cafe nearby with an award for best service. I had a beautiful meal of pan fried  cod served on a ratatouille type base with new potatoes.

Today we visited the magnificent neo Gothic  City Guildhall, still in use for city governance and built in 1887. It has been burnt down and also bombed by the IRA during its history.  It has a magnificent set of stained glass windows illustrating the history of the city. While we were there the city organist was playing so we were able to listen to his recital in a lovely setting.

The weather cleared a bit so we set off to visit The Bogside. We walked up Rossville street where the British Army fired on the Irish Army who were holding a procession and carnage followed.
This area was famous for the troubles and the Battle of the Bogside, Free Derry and Bloody Sunday. It was at the heart of the rebublican cause.

This was a classic story of a fight for civil rights in modern times. Many people lost their lives during this period. The memorials highlighted the age of many as youths,so sad for families.
It started to pour while we were looking at the murals painted by local artists at the request of local people to illustrate the 'troubles'. They make a powerful statement about the impact of the troubles on people's lives here,their politics and the history of the town.

We visited the Peace Wall, original murals and monuments to Bloody Sunday victims before the rain drove us back through the city walls into the craft market shopping area where we had a coffee and I tried a treacle scone.

Back to our apartment for a break and lunch before taking a walk over the Peace Bridge to the area over the river. This is where the British Army were stationed in the barracks along the banks of the river. We walked around this area along the river until the skies looked very threatening so we headed back across the bridge.

The rain eased so we walked up through the entry gates to the town and wandered around inside the walls before strolling back down the walls past the little St Augustine's Church on the site of the first monastery in Ireland  built in 546 AD by St Columba before he left to go to Iona. The current church was built in the 13C and has the oldest Graves in Derry. Church services still take place regularly.

Tomorrow we have booked tickets to travel to the airport. It is a bit of a walk but I guess my legs will hold out. They have done many km this trip.