This morning we rose to find a wee bit of rain in the air, but it quickly cleared off. Our breakfast this morning encompassed a full Irish (fried egg, bacon, sausage, black pudding, grilled tomato and toast) or Omelettes including cheese and mushrooms. Orange juice, coffee or tea topped it off. We spent some time plotting and discussing our day and then loaded the luggage into the Black Beauty and headed towards Londonderry, the second largest city in Northern Ireland.
This very old city is actually two cities divided by a culture and by the River Foyle. The two halves are known locally as Cityside and Riverside. It is reputed that the divisions were so strong that, upon setting up the border, the negotiations about the dividing line between Ireland and Northern Ireland was being considered as running down the middle of the River Foyle. Obviously, this plan was scuttled. Sitting on the western bank of the river is the old original walled city. We found a car park right near the city center and began our exploration.
The two halves of the city are now joined by two vehicular bridges and one pedestrian bridge known as the Peace Bridge. It’s design and layout are remarkably similar to Omaha’s Bob Kerry Bridge over the Missouri River, linking Omaha and Council Bluffs, Iowa. We walked across the bridge and back, enjoying the views of both sides of the bifurcated city.
Upon return to the western side, we visited a lovely small bookshop and then climbed the ramp and began our meander along the ramparts of the city walls, reading as we walked about the history of the city and all the conflicts that have erupted over the century, from the sieges in the early 1600’s right up to Londonderry’s role as one of the original Troubles areas in recent history.
After three hours in Londonderry, we left the city and struck out for our next and final destination of the day: the village of Boyle in County Roscommon. As we left Londonderry, the occasional sprinkles turned to rain, which accompanied us, off and on, throughout the rest of the day. We stopped just north of Sligo to search out the burial spot and grave of William Butler Yeats, the great Irish poet. Although he died in France, his body was exhumed and reburied here in this quiet churchyard. After assisting a fellow searcher to find the grave (“Wouldn’t you know it would take an American to help this Irish literature teacher to
locate Yeats’ grave!” ) we traveled a short distance down to Sligo and back in search of a dinner stop.
We ended our search by backtracking north of the grave site at a very busy restaurant, the Davis Restaurant and Yeats Tavern. Thoroughly modern and very busy. Think of an overly enlarged Denny’s filled with Irish citizens and you might get the picture. We dined on a pair of pizzas, some small salads, chips, and wine and ale; except for the driver it must be noted.
We then proceeded on south to Boyle and our B&B of the night - Lough Key Forest Park House. This modern, purpose built B&B was nicely situated and offered very poor wifi service, but comfortable rooms and a lovely sitting room. We read, reviewed our day and retired at a reasonable 9:30, looking forward to another day of adventure. Note that, in passing towards Sligo, as predicted by our “resources” it began to rain, obscuring our view of the mountain Ben Bilbun.
