Derry

07 to 10 September 2024

On Saturday, Julie and Anthony arrived at one of the nicest Air B&Bs on our trip, the penthouse apartment overlooking the River Foyle, a short walk from the city center.

After a long day on the road, J & A took a stroll along the waterfront.

Along with a lovely view of the bridge, you can see a train on the right.

Sunday afternoon, was cold and windy. Julie and Anthony walked into Derry.

We saw a gorgeous mural of Amelia Earhart on the water front.

Julie and Anthony braved the wind and rain to cross the Peace Bridge.

Magazine Gate

We visited the tower museum, just through the Magazine Gate.

John Lundy, a unionist politician and Governor during the late 17th century, who was seen as betraying the Protestant cause in the Williamite War by surrendering to Catholic forces during the siege of Derry in 1688 - 1689. This act led to his expulsion, and Lundy is vilified by protestants in (London)Derry to this day.

Views from the top of the Tower Museum

The Tower Museum contains an overview of Irish History,

You may remember Com Cille as St. Columba, our friend who scared off the Loch Ness Monster. When Columba left Ireland for Scotland, he vowed to never set foot on Irish soil. In 590, St, Columba was invited to Ireland for an important ecclesiastic conference. As a workaround, he put clods of Scottish soil in his sandals, thus not setting foot on Irish Soil.

The Museum had a section covering the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, during the reign of Elizabeth I. In the 1650s Cromwell gave Irish land to his Protestant commanders. A section about the siege of Derry, where Catholics starved protestants in Derry in the 1680s. Then the famine of the mid 1800s where the English (protestants) starved the Catholics. Early in the 20th century, the Irish (mostly catholic) voted to separate from the United Kingdom. The protestants panicked, and the English compromised and created Northern Ireland, which is still part of the UK. Catholic and Protestant militias were created in the 1920s. Crammed into the cities of Derry and Belfast tensions between protestants and catholics, from centuries of conflict, boiled over, leading to what’s known as the Troubles.

The Bogside neighborhood lies north of the Walled City. Bogside is a catholic enclave with murals memorializing heroes of the troubles and a monument to the Hunger Strikers and victims of Bloody Sunday.

Irish Catholics feel a kinship with other occupied peoples.

Julie and Anthony walked back up the hill to the city wall, we found a stairway and climbed to the walkway on top.

The protestant neighborhood is on the west side of the walled city.

99 Ice Cream is a classic soft serve. Traditionally served in a cone, this delightful dessert is characterized by its smooth texture and rich flavors. The most distinctive feature of a 99 Ice Cream is the flake of chocolate inserted into the soft-serve. 99 Ice cream is available just about everywhere, in convenience stores and restaurants and food trucks.

Anthony couldn’t help taking more photos from the balcony at the Air B&B.

Monday, we are back on the Wild Atlantic Way, on the Inishowen Peninsula up to Malin Head at the tip top of Ireland.

Julie and Anthony stopped at Nancy’s Bar for their award winning chowder. It was very good.

Julie and Anthony at Malin Head. The rain was blowing sideways. More views from Malin Head.

Coffee shop at the top of Ireland. Also, the coffee shop in the most extreme conditions. These folks cracked Julie up. The wind is blowing, the rain is lashing, and these blokes (and lady) are standing around, selling coffee and hot chocolate and having a crack of a time. Julie regrets not buying something hot from them.

Anthony thought this was an outhouse with a view so they stopped. It turned out to be outdoor seating for the restaurant across the road.

Finally, Anthony and Julie completed their journey on the Wild Atlantic Way, a roughly 1600 mile trek from Cork to Derry. Julie felt like a geas had been lifted.

Tuesday Morning Julie and Anthony left the spectacular views from their Derry Air B&B and headed to Belfast. Even without the Wild Atlantic Way, there were more spectacular coastal views on their path.

Stopping at the Downhill Demesne and Mussenden Temple, Anthony hopped out to get some photos.

Julie and Anthony at the Giant’s Causeway

Legend has it, Finn McCool built the causeway so he could fight the Scottish Giant Benandonner. When Finn saw Benandonner, he realized the Scottish Giant was much larger than expected and high tailed it back to Ireland. Benandonner pursued Finn along the causeway, never actually catching sight of Finn. When Benandonner arrived, Finn's wife, Sadhbh (the smart one in the family), disguised Finn as a baby. Thinking that if Finn’s baby was that big then Finn must be huge, Benandonner fled in terror, destroying the causeway behind him. (We first heard this tale at the Leprechaun Museum in Dublin).

Carrick-A-Rede was another beautiful spot on the way to Belfast. It boasted a swinging bridge that connected the mainland to an island. The bridge was used by fisherman. It was still very windy, and you could see a squall coming up the coast. Being so slow, Julie sent Anthony on ahead, to get pictures of the bridge, and she turned around hoping to beat the rain.