Blogs from County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom, Europe

Derry is one of the best example of a walled city in Europe, and the only remaining city in Ireland with virtually complete walls surrounding the inner core. The walls were erected early in the 17th century as defenses against encroaching English and Scottish settlers. Like most places in Northern Ireland, they saw their share of trouble during "The Troubles". The walls were a good 12 feet wide and originally had only four entrances, all of which met at one central square. When the walls were first built, the river came up to the edge of one wall. Land has since been 'reclaimed' and the Guildhall, a waterfront, roads and parks are on the land that was once water. We looked out onto 'bogside' which was the Catholic part of town during the Troubles; the IRA ... read more

Ireland the North.Day11.Portstewart Another good day in Ireland with untypical weather I believe. The first ferry at Rathmullen was a treat to most people and was easy to ride to. The last time we did this tour we took some minor roads only to find that they were very steep and torture to some, so this time we took the easier route which actually gave us a better view of the coastline. Luckily there was a coffee kiosk at the ferry terminal which gave us the necessary caffeine rush ready for our journey up into the hills. What! Hills? There was a long hill over the moors but luckily we had a tail wind which helped somewhat. We met another couple of cyclists up on the moor who told us it was all downhill from there. ... read more

July 21 Today we had an earlier day that is usual. We had to be on the bus at 8 and breakfast was at 7:00. It meant getting up at 6:00, which wax no problem. Our first goal today was the Northern Ireland town of Derry or Londonderry. Derry/Londonderry is the second biggest city of Northern Ireland, after Belfast. It's a walled city, and there is so much history within the walls. The city was originally named Derry, from the Irish “Daire“, meaning “oak tree”. It was then anglicized to “Derry”. In 1613,  the name was changed to Londonderry. The name of the city is now a topic of dispute between Irish nationalists (using Derry) and unionists (using Londonderry). In Northern Ireland, the religious differences are what turned into a political split; Catholics predominantly consider themselves Irish ... read more

Dear All And so here is my third and final blog entry on my amazing mid-winter trip to Northern Ireland in February. As mentioned, although the trip was only four days in length, I feel I packed so much into it, that I am so glad to be able to write three separate blog entries about it. Upon booking my trip, it was quite easy for me to make the decision of spending one day in Belfast and one on the Causeway Coast. It was not so easy to decide what to do on my third day. My initial thoughts lay with visiting the nearby town of Antrim, which sits close to Lough Neagh, the largest lake both in the United Kingdom and also in Ireland. I could take a quick train trip down to the ... read more

29 septembre 2016 : Nous quittons Bushmill pour dans un premier temps voir les ruines de Downhill Demesne puis le ville de Coleraine... read more