Matt and Mum Do Ireland, Part 7

PART SEVEN: Donegal, Derry & the Downtrodden

2016-03-19 to 2016-03-21

Stunning mural in the Bog Side of Derry.

Bidding Galway a sad farewell, we piled back into our little Škoda to continue on with the journey. It had been a great couple of days full of scenery, good food and fantastic traditional music; something of which we had certainly had our fill as we circumnavigated the Republic. This had also been our last stopping point within the Republic, as we left from Galway to drive all the way up to Londonderry, crossing the border into the UK.

In our send off to Galway the previous night at Taaffe's, the lack of seating shortly after we arrived (and snagged a seat) meant that we ended up with two local short-term friends. A very talkative and funny pair, we got chatting after they heard us speak and quickly realised we weren't locals. Among the banter, the one who went by the name "PJ" informed us that on our drive up north, we must detour just outside Sligo to visit the Glencar Waterfall, as it is well worth seeing. This is one of the best things about Ireland that we have found: the helpful and friendly attitude of nearly everybody you come across.

After a reasonably uneventful drive from Galway to Sligo, we stopped for a break and a coffee. A brief wander through the streets near the town centre brought us to O'Hehir's Bakery & Cafe. It's all in the title; a large selection of breads and cakes available from the bakery counter, and coffees, sandwiches and light snacks served right next to it at the cafe. We each picked a coffee and a fruit scone to accompany it. While not particularly cheap (a little over €5 for my selection), it was a good refreshing snack to prepare us for the second half of the drive.

A quick refuel in Sligo.

As instructed by PJ, we made a plan to visit the Glencar Waterfall, a detour of about 8km off the N16 (for Donegal). It was surprisingly busy for the time of year, but the weather had come nice as the day progressed, so that probably helped. From the signposted carpark overlooking the Lough (into which the waterfall feeds), it's an easy stroll up marked paths to the waterfall. Along the way, you can follow the stream, complete with a smaller stepped waterfall that sits just behind a simple but elegant wooden bridge. Within a few minutes, you will reach the main event: standing at around 15m high, the Glencar Waterfall drops majestically into a deep pool, with little movement in the stream, almost frozen in the air. Definitely worth a look if you are passing through the area.

The creek downstream from the waterfall.

Crossing the rapids (or slow-pids).

Mother and two little babies.

In all her glory.

Continuing through Donegal County, the northernmost county of the Republic, we crossed the Foyle River (and hence, the border) at Strabane and proceeded into Northern Ireland and the UK. It was quite an anticlimactic border crossing, with not even a sign to advise you were entering Northern Ireland - it's another country, surely there should be a sign! But, in any case, the speed signs suddenly were different and our GPS reflected that we had converted into miles-per-hour by displaying (in km/h) speed limits such as 48 and 96.

We arrived at our accommodation, Hostel Connect on Strand Road, Londonderry, later parking our car in the Strand Road carpark just across and up the road - very convenient. As we'd arrived on a Saturday at 16:00 and parking is payable until 18:30 each day while Sundays are free, paying for "2-3 hours" at £1.20, the ticket came out stating it was valid until Monday 9am, so that was a bit of a bargain: 41 hours' parking for the price of 3 hours!

Our room in Hostel Connect.

Wandering south down Strand Road towards Waterloo Place, we started eyeing off pubs for dinner. Unfortunately, a lot of places stop serving meals around 15:30 - 16:00, so a few places we tried were no good. Eventually turning left at the top of Waterloo St and passing through Castle Gate, we found The Gate & Bistro Cocktail Bar. With a varied menu, we jumped on it and headed inside. I sorted myself out with their Chicken & Ham Pie and a local cider. The pie was absolutely delicious and I left there feeling very satisfied (if not a little over-full). After a long day on the road, we retired to the hostel for the evening, ready to explore Derry the next day.

Local Derry cider: just a hint of sour and the right amount of sweet.

Chicken & Ham Pie at The Gate & Bistro.

An absolutely stunning mural just off the main street.

Emerging from the hostel around 10am, we walked up the same route we had to find dinner the previous night, this time proceeding to the next gate in the wall: Butchers Gate. Inside the wall, there are various places you can ascend some stairs to walk along the top of the walls of what was the original Walled City of Derry. Information plaques along the way explain bits and pieces about the history of the city and various sieges the Walled City withstood to be found still standing to this day. Certain parts of the wall - which provides about a 1 mile (1.6km) walk around the top - give rise to nice vantage points to see over the various parts of the modern day city.

St. Augustine's Presbyterian Church.

Walking along the promenade atop walls of the old city of Derry.

Protecting the city.

St. Columb's Cathedral.

The northeast side stands well protected.

Returning to Butcher's Gate, we walked down to the Bog Side of Derry, located on the west of the Walled City. Historically home to the lower class workers, it was here on January 30th 1972 that the British forces cut down 13 unarmed Irish Republican protesters in what became known as Bloody Sunday. Personally, I had heard of the event but knew nothing of the details; nor did I realise that the Republican movement still had any significance in Northern Ireland today. But in taking a sobering walk along Lecky Road, heading towards the north-east, finishing just near the Bloody Sunday memorial, it becomes clear that all is not as finished as the UK would like to think. The walk is lined with murals depicting various aspects of The Troubles (British vs Republican Ireland clashes over the years) and it certainly has a powerful emotion attached to the area.

Standing tall on the bog side, no matter what.

Interesting parallels drawn between Irish history and other countries' own troubled pasts.

Bog side murals.

The now infamous slogan, proclaiming the bog side for the Republicans.

Bloody Sunday memorial: 13 unarmed protesters gunned down by British paratroopers.

The Peace Memorial at the end of the Bog Side mural path.

Crossing back to the river (with a brief stop at the "LegenDerry Food Festival" around The Guildhall), we walked across the Peace Bridge which connects the east and west sides of the Foyle River; in theory, these two are the Protestant and Catholic sides of Derry, respectively. The bridge is shaped like an 'S' and supposedly represents a handshake, uniting the two sides. The east side of Derry has its own mural area along Bond St, about 5 minutes' walk from the bridge. Although far less powerful than the murals at the Bog Side, there is definitely the opposite feeling around: a pro-British feeling. The atmosphere in the area is a bit depressing. Rows of concrete terrace housing and not a lot of gardens, but I suppose it is somewhat appropriate to the history of the city.

The west side of Derry as seen from the east, and the Peace Bridge that joins them.

Some stunning artwork just off Bond Street.

East Derry (Protestant side) murals.

After quite a lot of walking, we returned to the west side of the river and found a place for lunch, stopping in at Dungloe Bar. Honestly, it was just nice to get off our feet! Their lunch menu was limited, but still with enough to choose from. I went with the Chorizo Chicken while mum had the Roast Sirloin of Beef. The name of my dish was a little confusing, as it didn't actually have any chorizo in it. The sauce, however, did have a little bit of a kick to it which was nice, so I guess the chorizo had been blended into the sauce. Overall, very tasty and at a decent price, too.

Chorizo Chicken.

Roast Sirloin of Beef.

Pro-Britain kerb.

Refueled but not entirely rested, we walked through the Walled City to check out the final of 3 main mural areas in Derry: this one located in the historically pro-British corner known as The Fountain. As with the east side of the river, there's actually not a lot to see there, but the Cathedral Youth Club is adorned with a poignant World War 1 centenary mural. Also noteworthy is the amount of red-white-and-blue painted around the place; all of the gutters around the streets have been painted as such, showing a clear support of British rule. It was really interesting to see the different areas of Derry and to gauge the difference in atmosphere and opinion towards the history of this troubled place.

Fountain murals.

Very much a pro-British rule area.

Peace seems eternally just out of reach.

In the evening, we walked to Waterloo St and visited Paeder O'Donnell's Irish Bar just up from the bottom of the hill. They had some live Irish music playing when we arrived (the reason we had gone there to begin with), but it was actually a little bit loud - they had miked everyone up through the PA and the tin whistle, while expertly played, was quite shrill! In any case, their set finished about 15 minutes after we got there and some recorded Irish music played thereafter, so at least we still got a good dose.

A couple of pints at Paeder O'Donnell's.

A cloudy and cool Monday morning greeted us the following day, but not to worry - we were set to spend most of it in the car. The plan was to drive back into the Republic of Ireland and spend the day touring around county Donegal, the northernmost county in the Republic. The entire county is very rural and contains a lot of Gaelic-speaking communities. Some nice views can be seen along the coasts, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. There are also lots of little lakes, bays and islands dotted around Ireland's northwest corner, but there is more than can be seen in a single day trip as we did. So we focused on the main sight in the county: the Slieve League cliffs.

We drove via Donegal out to Carrick and then through Teelin to the first carpark. From here, you can actually drive further up the cliffs and park there before walking. However, the walk between the first and second carparks is none too challenging. There are some spots to stop along the way for a good view to the southeast over Donegal Bay, so I would highly recommend not taking the lazy route!

Overlooking the lower cliffs to the southeast.

Seems like a perfect place to build a watchtower, wouldn't you say?

Once you do make it to the top carpark, you can marvel in the main view over the cliffs to the northwest. Speckled with a variety of colours, the cliffs, which are one of the highest sea cliffs in Europe, rise majestically out of the Atlantic. At the base, the waves lapped gently at the rocks, much differently to the powerful waves we saw crashing on the Cliffs of Moher. The more famous counterpart are probably only such because you can see a lot further along the coast. These cliffs are probably just as impressive in their own right.

Slieve League cliffs.

Slieve League cliffs.

From the carpark, you can walk further up to the top viewing point and, in fact, further along the tops of the cliffs if you are game. We could see tiny specks dotting the tops of the cliffs: energetic people who had decided to go for a "leisurely" stroll. We had some other stuff to see, so we didn't proceed. Plus, that would have been a bit cruel for my almost-60-year-old mum!

Returning down to the first carpark, you can check out the rocks which were excavated to make the road and notice all the varying colours that the science-nerds among you (like me) would identify with different minerals in the rock. In the right light, this section of cliffs is said to sparkle brightly with many beautiful colours because of this varied mineralogy.

Geologists' heaven at Slieve League cliffs.

Returning to the car, we drove back through to Killybegs to find a place for lunch. Plenty of options greeted us; we went with the Bayview Hotel, who were offering a carvery lunch for €9.95. A warning for you - when they ask you at a carvery if you want "mash and veg", answering yes is going to result in a rather full plate being handed to you, with at least two if not three ice-cream scoops of mashed potato! Needless to say, I held back and didn't demolish the whole plate, else I'd have been in a food coma for a few days.

Carvery lunch at Bayview Hotel.

From Killybegs, we opted to take the long route back to Derry, following the N52 clockwise around the top of county Donegal. There are a few places along the way at which you can stop and take in some views or even visit a few of the islands. Unfortunately, we didn't really have time to do so; as I mentioned before, it's a bit too much for a day trip. If you can spend a few days or even a week or two touring around the county, there definitely sounds like there's a good number of options in which to partake. But maybe do it in summer when the sun is out and the oceans are plenty calm!

And that about sums up our time in Derry. We had a relaxed evening for our last night. Next up, we head along the Causeway Route to the east and spend a few days in Belfast.