Thursday 31^st August                              DERRY

We’ve had such a lovely day today! Filled with harrowing tales of sectarian violence, of course, but after all, we are in Derry, or Londonderry as it was known when we were children.

I’m glad to relate that I slept like a log last night, after a sleep-deprived night before, as Lex nobly slept on the couch so I could have the non-broken side of the bed. He didn’t sleep so well, of course. But all is well now, as I messaged our host last night about the bed. He was around today while we were out and it is now fixed, thankfully. Hopefully we’ll all sleep well tonight!

                  This is Derry's unusual double decker bridge. This one was built in 1933.

                     This is the 1863 bridge, built in steel. It was destroyed by an iceberg!

We headed out at about 9.30, planning to make a 10am tour of the city walls. We found our car park easily….and then, the ticket machine rejected both pounds and euros. Lex tried and tried to get the parking app to work, and told us to go ahead and see if we could get there on time. We’d done the tour in 2014 but I was very happy to go along with Jo and see and hear it all again. We just made the tour, which went around most of the city’s wall, and was very interesting. We even had the same guide as we’d had before!

                                                                       Peace statue

                                               We heard all about the sieges and battles.

                                                   There are still lots of cannons on the walls.

Derry has a long and troubled history. It was the Celtic stronghold of the O’Neill and O’Cahan families, but was one of the original cities targeted for the ‘Plantation’ of the Scottish settlers in the early 1600s. The English settlers built a huge wall around the city for protection, and it’s still standing today. It’s withstood several horrible sieges and decades of civil unrest, and is a wonderful structure. We tended to think all cities should have them; they are so handy for getting around without worrying about traffic and lights! They’re also excellent for seeing the views and getting oriented as to where everything is. Our guide was great at explaining the city’s history and how ‘The Troubles’ unfolded, especially the Bloody Sunday killings.

We really enjoyed the tour, which ended in the ‘Diamond’ in the city centre, and then Jo and I went to the Craft Centre, where Lex was having morning tea. We had a lovely cream tea in “The Cottage” there (scones again), then popped into an Irish gifts shop, where Jo finally found the Irish jumper of her dreams. She’s been looking all around the country, and was finally ready to commit!

                                         Gorgeous little cafe where we had morning tea.

                                            Jo finally found the Irish jumper of her dreams!

After this, Jo and I agreed to meet up with Lex for lunch later, and we went to the Tower Museum, which shows Derry’s history since the beginning. Lex went there last time, but I hadn’t been. It’s all housed in a reconstructed old tower just near the wall, and was a great history lesson. It also had a display on “Derry Girls”, which I’m now thinking I must watch!

                                  According to legend, St Columba founded Derry in 548AD.

                      Apparently, all Celtic crosses were once brightly coloured, like this example.

                                                                 Tower Museum

We walked along some more of the walls on our way to meet up with Lex, and got to where we were meeting him – only to discover that the Wetherspoons that used to be there is no more! At any rate, we found a lovely Italian café, and very much enjoyed our Italian sandwiches. Lex had been down to Bogside to see the murals and memorials.

                                                                 Italian lunch!

After lunch, Jo and I headed down to Bogside as well – this is the poor Catholic area that was the heart of the civil unrest during the Troubles. I’ve been there before, but it’s always worth visiting. There are some new murals, too. Of course, there’s also the very harrowing Bloody Sunday memorial, and a new memorial to the ten IRA members who died in the hunger strikes of 1981. We were a bit stunned to discover that ten had died; everyone in Australia heard about Bobby Sands, but I really don’t remember hearing that nine others died in rapid succession. The shadow of the Troubles certainly still looms large here; hopefully it’s going to remain history, and not flare up again.

                                        Looking back up at the city walls from Bogside.

                                       New memorial to the 10 who died in the Hunger Strikes.

                                           This mural is new since we were last here.

                                                           The Bloody Sunday memorial.

After leaving Bogside, we walked back to a shopping centre to wait for Lex. My watch strap had broken this morning (fortunately I heard it fall on the street), and I found a little shop to fit me a new one. We met up with Lex, then he went to fetch the car while Jo and I waited for some Nando’s to take home for tea.

                            I don't know what type of Irish bird this is, but it's a master of camouflage!

We were home around 4, which was nice and early compared to the last few days! After a much-needed cuppa, we’ve all repacked our bags and sorted things – we are off to Belfast tomorrow. Sadly, our Irish holiday is drawing to a close soon.

 

Wednesday 30^th July                 DERRY  -  CAUSEWAY COASTAL ROUTE

Well, it has been an absolutely HUGE day here in Northern Ireland – we’ve travelled over 200km, according to Google Maps, and are absolutely shattered this evening after walking kilometres today.

I didn’t get off to a good start – the bed Lex and I are in actually has a broken base, right under where my upper body is. I couldn’t get comfortable last night; tossed and turned, and near midnight I finally came down to sleep on the sofa. As it’s only a two-person sofa, it wasn’t at all comfortable, but was better than the bed! Lex has volunteered to sleep on it tonight (he is a very good husband) and I’ll have the other side of the bed. I am going to email our host and inform him about this.

Anyway, we were all up around 7 (some of us more bleary eyed than others) and got organised quickly, as our aim was to do the Giant’s Causeway. We’d been in 2014, but it was a must-see for Jo. It was rainy and very overcast, so we crossed our fingers and hoped for the best. We were off and running to catch the Visitor’s Centre when it opened at 9, when a Google check informed us that it doesn’t open until 10 now. Bugger. So we took the scenic route, travelling along the Atlantic Causeway Coastal Route, and stopping at lookouts and photo opportunities (there were plenty). We diverted to Portrush, where Lex and I had stayed in 2014. They’ve just had the Northern Ireland Open, and were busily taking down the small city they’d put up to deal with it.

                                    Misty rain over the Devil's Thumb

We arrived at the Giant’s Causeway just before 10, to find that hundreds of others had the same idea! Our National Trust membership got us free parking nearby, so we donned several layers (still light rain) and went in. Jo paid her 18 pounds, and we all had wristbands to show we’d paid. Lex went off to do one of the walks, and Jo and I walked down. We had almost an hour and a half looking at the amazing stones and geology and climbed the main cliff path as far as it went. Halfway up, my Crocs boots started to fall apart – first the band around the ankle, then on the downward path, the gel pad underneath. Luckily they held it together until we got back. They are 11 years old; I bought them for our last trip. For anyone who hasn’t been to the Giant’s Causeway, it’s definitely worth doing – certainly a bucket list item. We took the bus back up the centre (a pound each, worth it!) Lex was there waiting, so we had lunch in the café there – pasties and sandwiches and a much-needed cuppa.

                                                      Exploring at the Giant's Causeway

                                                         Us at the Organ Pipes

                                     Absolutely stunning scenery

Over lunch, we investigated whether we could get into the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge (National Trust again), and discovered we could get in at 2, so booked that online. We had a bit of time to kill, so drove along the coastal route more, and discovered the beautiful little (very popular) harbour of Ballintoy, a little hidden gem. 

          Ballintoy Harbour - so pretty, with proper sand, paddling children, people kayaking...

Then we drove on to the bridge parking area. Lex and I had been there also in 2014 but I’d somehow forgotten the nasty little fact that you have to walk a kilometre up and down hills to get there, and back. It was starting to rain (of course) so Lex and put our rainproof pants on over our jeans. This obviously ensured that it DIDN’T rain, and we sweltered in them. Anyway, we survived the rope bridge. An American family were ahead of us – Mum, Dad and two little girls, plus Mum-in-law and assorted others. Right in the middle of the bridge in front of us, he dropped to his knees and proposed while holding one of the toddlers. She screamed and yelled, “Yes, yes I will marry you!” while her mother screeched “Don’t drop the ring!” After that, we could all finally get across.  It was better than a floor show.

                                                         Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge

                                                   Lex and Jo go across

                                                                  Us on Carrick-a-Rede Island

Once we’d got back to the car (exhausted) we headed for home. However, we realised that we would just have time to pop into yet another National Trust property, Downhill House and Mussenden Temple. Downhill House was built in the late 18^th century for the Earl of Bristol, who was also a Bishop. He certainly had delusions of grandeur – the house is like a castle at the back and a gracious mansion at the front. The temple is just perfect – out on the headland and in a perfect line that you can see it when you look through the house. The sea is encroaching, though; apparently you could drive a horse and coach around it originally, but now there’s less than a metre to the cliff’s edge. We enjoyed a walk through the house’s ruin and down to the temple, then back, where we got tea and coffee in the little café before finally heading home. The rain had finally cleared by this stage, so we had glorious blue skies to drive under, and some of the washing went out onto the line to try to help it dry.

                                                          Downhill House, front view

                              Looking through from the front to the back of the house and the temple.

                                                                 Mussenden Temple

                                        Us at the temple. We met some very friendly Bavarian hunting hounds.

We were home just on 6. Luckily, tea tonight was Sainsbury’s ready cooked soup and curry, so it was a very easy task to reheat it. There’s a lot of sitting around quietly going on here! Tomorrow, we’re going to explore Derry’s town centre. Apparently, this glorious fine weather is going to leave us once more, and it will rain. Again. Sad.

 

 

Tuesday, 29^th July              DRUMDONEY  -  DONEGAL  -  DERRY   

Robyn writes: Another moving day today, and this one didn’t go quite as smoothly as others have! It was raining when we woke up this morning, and remained very cloudy and overcast for most of the day. We had breakfast to use up as much food as we could, and chatted to Cait and Danny, then finished our packing and headed north a bit after 9. We were sad to say goodbye to our lovely big farmhouse; our next accommodation was to be much smaller.

                                       Lovely old Art Nouveau post office in Sligo

                                                Benbulbin was shrouded in cloud this morning.

We retraced our steps from the other day up the coast through Sligo and then continued on to Donegal, where we thought we might look for morning tea. However, on the outskirts, we saw a sign to a Craft Village, so we decided we’d swing in there for a look. They had a café, so we got a nice, warm table at Aroma’s, and ordered. Lex had the Lemon Polenta Cake, and Jo and I both saw Potato Omelette on the menu so ordered that as an early lunch. We got a real surprise when it came – it was an omelette wrapped around cooked potato and onions, with a slab of Brie on the top! At any rate, though it wasn’t exactly what we’d been picturing, it was certainly very tasty and filling.

                                          Potato omelette with Irish brown bread

                                                       Donegal Craft Village

We looked around the village at the different craftspeople – there were potters, jewellery makers and glassmakers plus an artist whose work we really liked. He had actually painted some pictures for the café of the cooks at work in the kitchen, and they were great. I did buy a little star glass Christmas tree ornament; now I just need to get it home in one piece…..

From here we went into Donegal town, and managed to find a park just near the castle. We’d seen it in 2014, so Lex went for a walk along the river, and Jo and I went in. It’s totally different to the other castles we’ve seen recently – this one is now more like a manor house. It was built by ‘Red’ Hugh O’Donnell in the late 15^th century. They have restored the original tower (which was built onto in the 1600s anyway), and there is a Tudor manor house wing which is a fairly solid ruin, so you can picture what it was like. Of course, the castle has changed hands many times over the centuries, from the original Irish owners to being handed over to the British overlords in the 1500s after the Flight of the Earls. It’s a very nice little castle, and right in the middle of the town on the river, so very picturesque.

                                                                    Donegal Castle

                                                 Jo in the carved wooden chair

                                                                    'Red' Hugh O'Donnell

Once we’d finished, we went into the town triangle (not a town square!) to have a look around. We found some lovely Irish gift shops (of course). I ran Lex and let him know we were finished, so we arranged to meet at the Train Museum at 1.15. This has been set up to commemorate the ending of all train services in the Donegal area several decades ago; they operated from 1847 to 1969. It’s in the old Donegal railway station, and had some interesting displays, and lots for kids to do. They have an old steam engine there that you can go into, and activities in some of the old carriages (I tried the ‘be a fireman’ game and was assured that I’m brilliant at it; must be some good railway genes in the family!)

The Triangle in Donegal town centre

                                                             Donegal Rail Museum

                                                        Drumboe number 5, built in 1907

By now, it was about quarter to two, so we figured we’d best be on our way to Derry. This should have been a fairly quick trip of only about an hour, but we hit major delays at roadworks, and in the end it took us almost two hours. Charlie, our host, was waiting for us at the house, and showed us around. His Derry accent was so thick that it was a bit hard to understand him! Anyway, it’s a ‘two up, two down’ terrace house, very small compared to our previous homes. It’s just been renovated – you can still smell the paint. It’s okay, but as I said, very small. There’s a lot of dodging around each other. Jo and I have put on a couple of loads of washing, so we have it draped all around the living area. We’re not game to put it on the clothesline.

                                                         Countryside around Derry

                                                         Our little house in Derry

Lex went for a walk to the Foyle River and into town, and enjoyed reacquainting himself with the area. We were here in 2014 and really enjoyed it. I’m looking forward to seeing it all again.

                                                        The Peace Bridge in the centre of Derry

 

 

 

Monday 28^th July        DRUMDONEY  -  BOYLE  -  DRUMSHANBO  -  CARRICK-ON-SHANNON

Another full, very enjoyable day here in north-western Ireland, covering three counties, no less! We all slept in a bit, which was lovely, and had a slower start to our morning. It was overcast (as usual) and had rained overnight, but wasn’t too cold, so we gathered all our layers, and headed off on the N4, which runs right outside our place, towards the little town of Boyle.

                            Ireland is full of picturesque ruins - this is just up the road from us.

Our navigator seemed worried that Boyle Abbey, where we were heading, wouldn’t be open yet when we arrived, so we filled in time very nicely by diverting to see the two lochs which are nearby. Loch Arrow, which is just nearby, also had a ruined castle, Ballinafad Castle, the ‘Castle of the Curlews’. (Named after the Curlew Mountains nearby.) Loch Key is smaller, but the lookout at Curlew Pass had a stunning sculpture of a Gaelic Chieftain from the Battle of the Curlews in 1599. The Irish actually smashed the British in that particular battle (spoiler alert: they lost the war, unfortunately.)

                                        The remains of the Castle of the Curlews, Loch Arrow

                                                           Loch Arrow

                                               Loch Key Gaelic Chieftain  

We arrived in Boyle, in Roscommon County, just after ten, and were the first visitors at the abbey. It was built by the Cistercian Monks 850 years ago, after they were invited in by one of the Irish kings. It’s one of the most complete abbeys still remaining in Ireland; most, of course, were trashed by the English. This one was given to a rich English family, the Kings, by Elizabeth 1, and they owned it for a century or two, built a rich mansion in the middle of it (now gone) and eventually moved up the road and built a bigger mansion. The ex-abbey fell into disrepair and some of the stone was robbed out to build the new houses, but you can see and imagine what it would have looked like in its heyday. We had a lovely time wandering around it, and the rain held off.

                    Jo in the centre of the abbey, where there was a rich mansion at one stage.

                                        The gatehouse has been restored and is the visitor centre.

                                  The original abbey church is huge and in good condition.

By eleven o’clock, we were ready for morning tea, so we headed up the road to King House, the magnificent Georgian mansion the King family had built. It’s now owned by the council, and used for all types of community events. They have a tea house there, so we enjoyed a lovely morning tea, with home-cooked cakes and scones, then looked around the craft shop next door. (Jo did a little gift shopping.)

                                                              King House and Tea rooms

Well fed, we travelled on, through Carrick-on-Shannon to Drumshanbo, the little town in County Leitrim where Lex’s McQueeny (McWhinney etc) ancestors came from. We’d visited in 2014 but hadn’t looked in the cemetery there, so we now did – not a single family member there. They even helpfully had a full list of the 3 town cemeteries and all gravestones, and only one McWhinney who died recently in his 80s. Looks like the Kiltoghert Cemetery we visited last time is definitely where they were.

                                                         Drumshanbo is a pretty little town

We headed back towards Carrick-on-Shannon for lunch, and went to the coffee shop/bakery which was our favourite in 2014. The lunch rush was definitely on, but we eventually got our lunch. I was a bit over the big lunches we’ve been having lately, so I asked for just a plain cheese sandwich, no salad etc. The girl seemed a bit bewildered, but said okay….and my sandwich duly arrived with crisps on the side! Of course. Anyway, I now have to admit that plain cheese sandwiches with crisps are totally delicious – who knew?

                                                            Lunch with a view over the Shannon

                                                        Amazing culinary delight!

                                                          Coffee's, where we had lunch

After our lovely late lunch, we wandered across the road to the riverside, where a cruise that Lex had found online went from. Our boat, Moon River, took us downriver and around the lochs and islands that form part of the Shannon River. There was an onboard entertainer who sang Irish and other songs, and did requests. Lex got him to sing ‘Galway Girl’ for me! (My favourite.) The cruise went for an hour and was very relaxing after some of the super busy days we’ve been having.

                                                     Our boat, the Moon River

                                      This family of swans had 5 cygnets nearly full-grown

          1846 bridge across the Shannon. It was built as part of a famine relief programme.

Then we headed back home along the N4 once more. Jo and I have been glad to wash our hair, and put our feet up and relax, and Lex went off for a drive and hike to Carrowkeel, a cluster of Neolithic passage tombs nearby dating back to the 4^th millennium BC. The weather has really been quite kind to us today – it’s drizzled a few times, but that’s about the worst you can say of it.

                                           One of the Carrowkeel tombs

                                                          As usual in Ireland, lots of sheep!

This is our last day in County Sligo; tomorrow we are heading into Northern Ireland to Derry. Sadly, our Irish holiday is coming to an end, but at least we’ve still got a few days to explore it.