Ireland (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Fionn Davenport [562]
Orientation
The centre of old Derry is the walled city on the western bank of the River Foyle. The bus station is just outside the walls at its north end; the modern city centre stretches north from here along Strand Rd. The train station is on the east bank of the River Foyle, across Craigavon Bridge, in a district known as the Waterside. The Bogside lies to the west of the walled city.
Information
BOOKSHOPS
Eason (Map; 7137 7133; Foyleside Shopping Centre, Foyle St; 9am-6pm Mon & Tue, to 9pm Wed-Fri, to 7pm Sat, 1-6pm Sun) The city’s biggest bookshop, on level 3 of the shopping centre.
Foyle Books (Map; 7137 2530; 12A Magazine St; 11am-5.15pm Mon-Fri, 10am-5pm Sat) Stocks a good selection of second-hand books.
INTERNET ACCESS
Central Library (Map; 7127 2310; 35 Foyle St; per 30min £1.50; 9.15am-8pm Mon & Thu, to 5.30pm Tue, Wed & Fri, to 5pm Sat)
Derry Tourist Information Centre Click here Internet access for £1 per 20 minutes.
MONEY
Bank of Ireland (Map; 7126 4992; 12 Shipquay St)
First Trust Bank (Map; 7136 3921; 15-17 Shipquay St)
Thomas Cook (Map; 7185 2552; 34 Ferryquay St)
POST
Post office ( 8.30am-5.30pm Mon, 9am-5.30pm Tue-Fri, 9am-12.30pm Sat); Main post office (Map; Custom House St); Bishop St Within (Map)
TOURIST INFORMATION
Derry Tourist Information Centre (Map; 7137 7577; www.derryvisitor.com; 44 Foyle St; 9am-7pm Mon-Fri, 10am-6pm Sat, 10am-5pm Sun Jul-Sep, 9am-5pm Mon-Fri & 10am-5pm Sat Mar-Jun & Oct, 9am-5pm Mon-Fri Nov-Feb) Covers all of Northern Ireland and the Republic as well as Derry. Sells books and maps, can book accommodation throughout Ireland and has a bureau de change.
Sights
WALLED CITY
Derry’s walled city is Ireland’s earliest example of town planning. It is thought to have been modelled on the French Renaissance town of Vitry-le-François, designed in 1545 by Italian engineer Hieronimo Marino; both are based on the grid plan of a Roman military camp, with two main streets at right angles to each other, and four city gates, one at either end of each street.
City Walls
Completed in 1619, Derry’s city walls (www.derryswalls.com) are 8m high and 9m thick, with a circumference of about 1.5km, and are the only city walls in Ireland to survive almost intact. The four original gates (Shipquay, Ferryquay, Bishop’s and Butcher’s) were rebuilt in the 18th and 19th centuries, when three new gates (New, Magazine and Castle) were added. Derry’s nickname, the Maiden City, derives from the fact that the walls have never been breached by an invader.
The walls were built under the supervision of the Honourable The Irish Society, an organisation created in 1613 by King James and the London livery companies to fund and oversee the fortification of Derry and the plantation of the surrounding county with Protestant settlers. The society still exists today (though now its activities are mainly charitable) and it still owns Derry’s city walls.
Click here for a self-guided walk around the walls.
Tower Museum
Inside the Magazine Gate is the award-winning Tower Museum (Map; 7137 2411; Union Hall Pl; adult/child £4/2; 10am-5pm Mon-Sat & 11am-3pm Sun Jul & Aug, 10am-5pm Tue-Sat & bank holidays Mon Sep-Jun), housed in a replica 16th-century tower house. Head straight to the fifth floor for a view from the top of the tower, then work your way down through the excellent Armada Shipwreck exhibition, which tells the story of La Trinidad Valenciera – a ship of the Spanish Armada that was wrecked at Kinnagoe Bay in Donegal in 1588. It was discovered by the City of Derry Sub-Aqua Club in 1971 and excavated by marine archaeologists. On display are bronze guns, pewter tableware and personal items – a wooden comb, an olive jar, a shoe sole – recovered from the site, including a 2.5-tonne siege gun bearing the arms of Phillip II of Spain showing him as king of England.
The museum’s other exhibition is the Story of Derry, where well-thought-out