Londonderry Derry and the City Walls Walk

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After spending the day exploring the Causeway Coast, we continued on our journey to Derry (Londonderry), which is a city in Northern Ireland that's close to the border of the Republic of Ireland. This city was our stop for the evening before continuing on our Ireland road trip. The City Walls and the political Bogside Murals are two of the major sights to see for tourists. There's also a couple of attractive churches and a craft centre and guildhall. The majority of our time in Derry was spent walking the city walls.

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A dog stands outside his home near St. Columb's Cathedral

The city walls of Derry are the only remaining intact city walls in Ireland, and they were never breached. The city of Derry's nickname is "The Maiden City" comes from this fact.

Our bed and breakfast for the night was located in this area of Derry, so our city walls journey started here. On the walk to the walls, we looked at the Bogside murals. Bogside is also the part of Derry where the Troubles took place. The area is still a working class area, and with all of the reminders of this sad event, it does bring about a strange feeling.

We entered the wall walk at Butcher's Gate, which used to be the location of a whiskey distillery that shut in 1921 but was once the best-selling whiskey company to the USA market.

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Bogside

We went off the wall briefly to check out the city. The main two streets of Derry are built in a grid and intersect at area is known as "the diamond" (what the Irish call their "town square"). 

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On one of the streets up to the diamond, I discovered a building draped in a large patchwork quilt.

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After a small diversion, we climbed back onto the walls to continue the wall walk. One of the first gates we came to was Castle Gate. Castle Gate is named after a 15th century castle that used to occupy the same spot. The city of Londonderry survived two sieges without the enemy pentrating its walls, but the city outgrew its walls in the 18th century. Castle Gate was built for increased traffic at that time. It's one of the new gates added to the city walls.

During the Troubles, there was a checkpoint at main gates to the city, and people would be stopped and questioned (or searched) during a visit to the city because there were a lot of bomb scares and protests.

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Not far from Castle Gate, before Magazine Gate, is Hangman's Bastion. This bastion got its name because a man nearly killed himself when he became trapped in ropes when he attempted to escape. There were eight bastions around the city walls, and four were large enough to have four cannons.

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After arriving around Shipquay Gate/Magazine Gate area, we left the walls and had a look at the Craft Village and the guildhall. The Craft Village and traditional thatched cottage were constructed in the 1980s to give the city pride in their shared history. 

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Craft Village

We admired the Guildhall, which is next to Shipquay Gate. During Halloween, the Guildhall home to Ireland's largest Halloween carnival. Live music and fireworks take place, and this would be amazing to visit one year. Halloween is not a big event in England, and I've always enjoyed the holiday. (The university that I graduated with my Bachelor's degree from in the US was known to have the livliest and largest Halloween parties.) 

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(The next day, we returned to the Guildhall to go inside it as we had heard that it was beautiful. Unfortunately, a private event was happening in the big room upstairs, so we were unable to enter.)

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The next gate that we came to was Shipquay Gate. It was here that we read more about the city walls of Derry. An explosion in the cathedral in 1567 destroyed most of the town, so queen Elizabeth instructed a new fortified town to be built to protect it from local Irish chiefs. Derry became the first planned town, and it was funded by merchant companies in the City of London in return for grants of land in Northern Ireland. The city walls were built between 1614 and 1618 and are 1.5km long and eight meters high. In some places, they are 9 meters wide. Originally, only four gates were constructed and two of these had drawbridges. On the side opposite the bog (Bogside), a dry ditch was dug for added protection.

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The names of the gates refer to the city's past. Shipquay Gate was named because boats were tied up there until the 18th century to ferry people across the river. (The street was named Bridge Street after a bridge was built over the river, decommissioning the ferry.)

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A little further along the walls is Ferryquay Gate. Ferryquay Gate was built in 1865 on the site of one of four entrances to the city. It had a drawbridge to allow people to cross over the dry moat. In 1688, this gate was locked by the fourteen Apprentice Boys as they waited on city leaders to make up their mind about King James II's proposal to replace a Protestant garrison with Catholics.

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Ferryquay Gate

The carved heads above the archways in the gate are of Governor George Walker and Rev James Gordon who urged citizens to refuse James II's troops. After the refusal and the locking of the gates, the city was under siege in 1689. A small boy was able to get through the gate here to relay messages to the outside world about the siege. Times were tough and the city started to run out of food. Food was rationed, and city occupants had to eat rats, mice, and domestic pets to survive. There were also stories of bringing dead horses in from the battle to be eaten.

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Further along the walls is Newgate Bastion. The first shot of the siege of 1689 was fired here. Near this gate was Ireland's first covered market and St. Columb's Hall. The Hall was used to practice abstinence from alcohol, housed a school, and hosted pantomime. In 1970, Eurovision Song Contest winner Dana made her first stage appearance in the Hall. The Millennium Forum theatre is also near here, and it was opened in 2001.

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After crossing over Newgate, we came to St. Columb's Cathedral and read about its history. The church's tower became a signalling port and lookout post, and a flag was used to be put on top of the spire to signal ships. During the siege, the lead from the spire was used to make bullets.

The cathedral is also said to have inspired the hymn "Amazing Grace" after the writer, a slave-trader who repented his actions, nearly died during a shipwreck off Inoshowen peninsula. Writer of several hymns, Cecil Frances Alexander, worshipped here. 

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After returning to the walls from a brief look at St. Columb's, we came to Church Bastion. Two watchtowers were built here, near the cathedral, because the guards complained about having to stand watch in the rain. The bastions became gardens in the 19th century, and most of the towers were demolished. 

A maze of tunnels is under the city to allow soldiers to move around without having to go above ground. One entrance can be seen near here.

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Bishop's Gate was the next gate that we came to, and it is the final gate on the walk. This gate crosses over Bishop's Street. Marks of Marks & Spencer opened a market here in 1909.

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We came to another bastion, located at the end of the Grand Parade section of the city walls. At Double Bastion is Roaring Meg, the most famous canon. It could take up to 6 men to fire her, and she did see action during the 1689 siege. The force of the shot could make the canon roll back six meters. In the 18th century, a windmill and pleasure gardens were placed on the slopes below with a grove of Spanish chestnut trees and a classical casino.

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Roaring Meg

The Grand Parade is the longest and straightest area of the walls, and I thought that it was the most attractive. Fourteen sycamore trees are planted on the walls. They symbolise the thirteen Apprentice Boys and their lookout. The fruit of sycamore looks like a bunch of keys, so they represent the keys to the city.

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The Grand Parade was used for exercises and parades during the 18th century, and it was a fashionable to pramenade along it. It was laid out like a garden. A monestary was built here, at the top of the hill, and it was replaced by an abbey in the 13th century. It served as a church until St. Columb's Cathedral was completed in 1633.

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St. Augustine's Church is at the other end of the Grand Parade. 

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Opposite St. Augustine's is Royal Bastion. One of the soldiers, Robert Lundy, refused to admit additional troops to the city during the siege, and he was considered a traitor and replaced. During the centenary of the shutting of the gates in 1788, a crowd burned an effigy after parading it through the streets. The tradition continues each year at dusk on a Saturday in early December.

Have you visited Derry and walked the city walls? 

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