Ireland (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Fionn Davenport [574]
The River Roe is famous for its sea trout and salmon fishing (www.roeangling.com). Day tickets cost £15, and are available from SJ Mitchell & Co ( 7772 2128; Main St, Limavady), the Dogleap Centre and the Alexander Arms Hotel. The season runs from the third week in May until 20 October.
The park is signposted off the B192 road between Limavady and Dungiven. Bus 146 from Limavady to Dungiven will drop you at the turn-off; the park is about a 3km walk from the main road.
Sleeping & Eating
Alexander Arms Hotel ( 7776 3443; 34 Main St; s/d £30/50; ) A long-established hotel and pub dating from 1875, the centrally located Alexander Arms is a friendly, family-run place that offers B&B and serves pub grub and restaurant meals.
Hunter’s Bakery & Oven Door Café ( 7772 2411; 5 Market St; mains £3-7; 9am-5.30pm Mon-Sat) If you fancy a quick snack, this homely bakery has a comfy cafeteria at the back, serving good coffee, cakes and light meals. It’s a local institution, patronised by a broad cross-section of the community, with a pleasantly old-fashioned feel.
Lime Tree ( 7776 4300; 60 Catherine St; mains £15-20; 6-9pm Tue-Fri, to 9.30pm Sat) Unfussy decor in shades of burgundy and beige softened by flickering tea-lights makes for a relaxing atmosphere in Limavady’s top eatery. The menu promotes local produce – from succulent Malin Head crab cakes and seafood thermidor made with Donegal fish to fillet steak from award-winning butcher Hunter’s of Limavady, served with red wine and tarragon sauce – and includes vegetarian dishes that are a cut above the usual, such as spinach and sun-dried tomato roulade with red pepper dressing. There’s also an early-bird menu (two/three courses £13.50/16.50) available before 7pm Tuesday to Friday.
Getting There & Away
Bus 143A runs between Derry and Limavady hourly (four daily on Sunday). There’s no direct bus to Belfast from Limavady but connections can be made at Coleraine or Dungiven. Bus 146 goes from Limavady to Dungiven (40 minutes, five daily Monday to Friday).
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DUNGIVEN
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As the main road from Belfast to Derry sweeps down from the bleak moors of the Glenshane Pass it sweeps right through the small market town of Dungiven (Dún Geimhin), 14km south of Limavady. The traffic-choked main street is almost as bleak as the moors, but it’s worth stopping to take a look at the old priory.
Sights
The remains of the Augustinian Dungiven Priory, off the A6 on the eastern edge of town, date back to the 12th century when it replaced a pre-Norman monastery.
In the chancel of the church is the magnificent tomb of Cooey-na-Gal, a chieftain of the O’Cahans, who died in 1385. It’s difficult to see in the dark of the blocked-off chancel (bring a torch if you’re really keen), but the tomb bears figures of six kilted gallowglasses, Scottish mercenaries hired by Cooey O’Cahan as minders – they earned him the nickname ‘na-Gal’ (‘of the Foreigners’). It’s topped by a beautifully sculpted canopy of Gothic tracery.
Near the entrance to the churchyard is a bullaun – a mossy, hollowed stone originally used by the monks for grinding grain – which now collects rainwater and is used as a site of pilgrimage and prayer by people seeking cures for illnesses. A nearby tree is covered in prayer rags left by visiting pilgrims.
Sleeping
Flax Mill Hostel ( 7774 2655; www.flaxmill-textiles.com; Mill Lane, Derrylane; dm £6; Mar-Oct; ) The owners of this converted 18th-century flax mill grow their own organic veggies and generate their own electricity, but their main business is creating hand-woven textiles. There’s basic