Derry-Londonderry Northern Ireland

Day 65/Northern Ireland 6

Travelled:38km

Stay:Londonderry - mixed carpark N55.0000 W7.3122

Visited: Derry-Londonderry 

We decided this morning that we may as well head straight to Londonderry and we were lucky to get a spot in the carpark we had chosen from P4N.

 It was only a short walk from here to the Peace Bridge built in 2011 over the Foyle River leading us straight into the heart of the walled city.

 The town that began from a monastery in 546 and was known as Derry until 1613, when it was changed to Londonderry after it was selected as a major Plantation project. This resulted in much unrest as the Irish people were displaced by the English and Scottish who had been given their land. It was at this time that the city walls were built to protect the new settlers. Unfortunately the unrest continued on manifesting itself during the Troubles (1968-1998) although there are still rumbles between them. So with this of bit of history about the city we ventured forth. Our first stop was The Guildhall built 1890 and having suffered fires and bombings, it still stands proudly between the city walls and the river. 

It has many beautiful stained glass windows that depicts the history of the town including the many guilds that came here from Britain. 

There was a room dedicated to explaining the Plantation Project.

 We also ventured up the lovely oak staircase to the have a look at the Grand Hall.

 We then popped into the Tower Museum and learnt about the the 1.5km walls in greater detail. They are amongst the best preserved in Europe. They have famously never been breached and the biggest test came during the 1689 siege that lasted 105 days and resulted in nearly half the population dieing from starvation or disease.

 So we then began our tour on the walls. There were plenty of information boards explaining the different buildings and gateways along the route. 

We went through Butchers Gate down into the Bogside, a catholic area that have many murals about the Troubles.

 We then continued along the wall and stopped St.Columbs Cathedral which had some great information. 

We ventured on and finished our lap and then went to find a good pub for a chilled Guinness and a bite to eat. 

We then had a walk around inside  and outside of the walls and did a bit of tourist shopping before making it back to Bluey.