Derry and Malin Head

Derry and Malin Head

Me at Malin Head

The day started well. Another day that was overcast but fine and a bit cool but great tourist  weather.

I left Portrush about 10am and my first stop was the town that has a multitude of names...

Derry (if your Catholic)
Londonderry (if you're Protestant)
The Walled City (if you're neutral and  trying to promote peace!)


The road in was largely a motorway and Gaby Garmin was back to her efficient best. The girl at Portrush had recommended that I park at the shopping centre at Foleyside, so between Gaby and myself I ended up there and took my ticket and went out into the town.

I have been to Derry before and I loved it last time. We had a brilliant guide and he told us the story of the city and where it had come from. It was a bit different this time being on my own, but I managed to find a few places where we had been on that first tour and that rekindled the memories of his input.

The history of Derry is complex and not for me to describe here, but these posters may set the scene a bit..

Derry - the Walled City

Derry - the Walled City

Obviously from this you can tell it's called the  Walled City, so the first thing to do was to find the walls... and they were very obvious..

Derry walls

Derry walls

I climbed the walls back to the spot where our guide had taken us 5 years ago and he told us of the connection with St Columba.

St`Augustine's Church - now a Church of Ireland

There's some connection with St Columba and these trees -can't remember what!

I stood under these trees and took pictures of the Catholic sector beneath. Last time I actually walked down there and got some close-ups, but time was a bit more pressing this time.

If you look closely you can see the big mural of Bernadette Devlin - Catholic Activist- on the wall

Catholic Sector - Derry

Back in town there were a few things of note..

The Guild Hall. Cost 5 pounds to get in - not for a Protestant Place!!

Streets of Derry

Peace Flame

Peace Bridge

Obviously there's a lot of history, especially around the walls, but I'll leave those pics until I get home and bore everyone with the tales of my travels!!

So, now came the time to really tackle the Wild Atlantic Way. They even had sign posts with a big "W" to show you where to go....

But..... I followed it pretty slavishly today, but I'm not sure that I will do that everyday. It took me up and down and around and around and I spent a lot of time in the car in second and third gear! It was a real driving marathon. I think I will need to be a bit more selective in which way I go.

The other thing was I did not have the security of Gaby Garmin. It was no use programming her because the WAW (Wild Atlantic Way) kept taking these dinky little back roads and Gaby would've been having a fit. In theory, my drive from Derry to Malin Head should have taken maybe an hour max, but it seemed to take forever and was at least double that time.

The scenery was spectacular, but I'm conscious of a time limit of about 10 days and if I had a few months I reckon I could go where it leads, but the  roads are small and narrow, and I felt really tired at the end of the day.

So here's some of the scenery along the way - it really was beautiful..

Scenery along the WAW

Scenery along the WAW

Scenery along the WAW

 At last I arrived at Malin Head which is the most northerly point of Ireland.

It has  a few claims to fame..

• Is a strategic point for watching shipping, dating back to the Spanish Armada and Napoleonic Fleets
• Over 400 shipwrecks recorded nearby
• Active weather broadcasting station
• Concrete huts built in WW2 as look out posts
• Signal station which served as a most important newslink connecting America and Europe
• Last view of Ireland for immigrants sailing out of Belfast. People would watch until the ships  sailed out of sight.

So there's lots of reasons to go to Malin Head.

Info about Malin Head

Info about Malin Head

Info about Malin Head

Beautiful Scenery at Malin Head

Beautiful Scenery at Malin Head

Beautiful Scenery at Malin Head

Beautiful Scenery at Malin Head

Typical Irish countryside

Beautiful sunset

WW 2bunker

Beautiful Scenery at Malin Head

The old signal tower is called Banba's Crown, built in 1805 by the British Admiralty as  a Napoleonic lookout tower, against  a possible French Invasion

Banba's Crown

So it was a day of twists and turns literally!!! I think I will be a bit more discerning tomorrow about which roads I take and perhaps take a broader view of what is on offer. No doubt the views are spectacular, but I'm not sure they're worth the time and effort.

Tonight I am staying in a lovely hotel in Ballyliffin,with a view out across the bay. In fact I can see Marlin Head from my window.

My route today

Don't let that route fool you though.. It was way more complicated than that... that doesn't tell you how many mountains you have to cross, or how many little one lane roads you have to  traverse....

And how many gear changes you have to make to get there...

But it WAS beautiful and me no complain.... I could be doing lots of worse things!!!