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Merry Derry
Derry conjures up a variety of images wherever it is mentioned. A lot of them, it would have to be said, are connected to the Troubles which really got underway here some 400 years ago.
But Derry’s melancholy reputation is, thankfully, receding, and today Ireland’s most northerly city is seen as an exciting holiday destination, where the craic is never less than full throttle. Few parts of Ireland can boast a greater sweep of history and culture — or scenery ranging from dramatic coastline to the only completely walled city in these islands.
Mountainous prospect
When the Four Citizens of London came to the north west of Ireland in 1609, their guide was under instructions from the Lord Deputy of Ireland not to show them the Sperrins. The London government was trying to encourage merchants to set up shop in this outpost of the Empire, and it was feared that the sight of this untamed, boggy wilderness would put potential investors off. As it happens it didn’t, Derry gained its baleful prefix ‘London’, and the rest is, as they say, Irish history.
The Sperrins largely occupy the middle of the county. There’s no doubt that Killarney’s Lakes and Fells are more famous, the Mountains of Mourne more lauded in song and Macgillicuddy’s Reeks harder to spell — but the Sperrins have a charm of their own. They may not be high, but they’re excellently stage-managed.
Threaded by streams and small boreens, the main expanse of the Sperrins is bounded by the towns of Strabane, Dungiven, Draperstown and Newtownstewart. Part of the range stretches south towards Omagh and the Owenkillew, and the north fringe is crossed by the Glenshane Pass, regularly closed in winter because of snow.
The Sperrins are an ideal destination if you’re a hill walker of average ability. Although impressive in appearance the peaks are fairly easily conquered. Mullaghmore (1,825 ft), or the more modest Crockalougha (1,347 ft) are both within range of the moderately fit, with no great mountaineering expertise required. Nonetheless, when you get to the top you’ll truly feel you’ve earned the view — your reward a panorama which stretches from mid-Ulster to the hills of Donegal.
From Neolithic man to Walkman
There is a theory that the first Bronze age invaders landed near Torr Head in Antrim, made their way along the coast to Portrush, and thence inwards following the mountain ridge of the Sperrins making their first settlement hereabouts. The first stag party to our shores!
After deep contemplation about these prototype Irishmen, you will probably find yourself drawn to the ocean. The seaside resort of Portstewart is a throwback to the genteel resorts of the fifties. Not much has changed since then — indeed you might imagine that time has stood still since the novelist Charles Lever, who lived in the Main Street, entertained Thackeray here. The English writer was much impressed by the town and its surroundings, although with a few reservations about traces of ‘sanctimoniousness and sabbatarianism’.
There wasn’t much evidence of that on the day I visited. On my Sunday morning dander out to Black Castle, a fort perched on a rocky outcrop overlooking the bay, everyone I met was without exception friendly and welcoming. Even a couple of dodgy looking teenagers, mall rats in the making, smiled and uttered the traditional greeting: “Bout ye.”
The view from the castle out across the bay towards the Inishowen Peninsula is little short of mesmerising. Many poetic minds have admired this northerly vista. Songwriter Jimmy Kennedy from Omagh, (Teddy Bears’ Picnic, Hokey Cokey, Isle of Capri, South Of The Border etc), was enchanted by the view. In nearby Portrush he watched a Portstewart boat putting out to sea and was inspired to write:
“Red sails in the sunset way out on the sea,
Carry my loved one home safely to me”
In America when this song is performed people assume it is set on some sunswept beach in Hawaii; in Britain it is assumed to be about the Mediterranean. But no, Red Sails In The Sunset was inspired by the Derry coastline. The boat in question was called The Kitty of Coleraine, named after another local song — which gives the story something of a pleasing symmetry. The Kitty is still said to be moored in Portstewart Harbour, but I have to report I couldn’t catch sight of it the day I wandered round the harbour. Another word in your shell-like: If you’re intending to go on the trail of the boat or the view, arrange to have Red Sails playing on the Walkman. For maximum benefit opt for Fats Domino’s version.
From turf to surf
Derry’s Atlantic coast is not renowned, it would have to be said, for its sun-drenched beaches. However, it can boast some of the most spectacular shorelines, and if you fancy a bracing eight-mile walk with rollers crashing in from the ocean then head towards Magilligan Strand. This splendid six-mile beach is one of the finest in Ireland, stretching from Downhill to the narrows of Lough Foyle, with Greencastle in Donegal away in the distance.
On a cliff overlooking the strand is the curious Mussenden Temple, built by the eccentric Bishop of Derry in 1783. If you fancy a climb up through Downhill Forest to the promontory, the views are stupendous. And here’s another thing about Magilligan Strand — one of surfing’s best kept secrets is the north coast of Ireland, which surfers say will often ‘pump’ (to use the sporting parlance) when Tarifa, La Grevire or Hossegor can only offer but a few feet. If you fancy being, ahem, chairman of the boards, the North coast between Castlerock in Co. Derry and Portrush in Co. Antrim is the place to make for.
Fairway to heaven
North Derry is home to three of the finest golf courses in Europe.
Castlerock is a handsome links course adjacent to Benone Strand, and is said to have been built by God to get his handicap down. For people (like most amateur golfers) who saw Jean Van de Melde’s seven on the last hole of the 1999 Open not as a source of comedy but of inspiration, this is an ideal course. Tel 028 7084 8314.
The Royal Portrush, designed by Harry Colt in 1888 is included in every list of the world’s top 50 golf courses. The club was Founded in 1888 and hosted the British Open in 1951. Like nearby Castlerock, Portrush is prey to vicious crosswinds and sudden squally showers.
They say they used to have a sign which read: “Balls for sale. Ready sliced.” However, when the sun shines, and the sea turns an azure blue, this is one of the greatest golfing experiences you can have.
The 14th hole — nicknamed Calamity — is a par three, with arguably the best view in Ireland: Behind, the limestone cliffs of the White Rocks, a silvery strand far below; and ahead, the green, surrounded by gorse and thick rough and surrounded by steep dunes. (Tel: 028 7082 2311.)
The Royal Portstewart’s Strand Course, opened in 1992, is a par 72, with views across to the Inishowen Peninsula from the first tee. This is an old club (founded in 1894), and even by North of Ireland standards, is at the mercy of the elements. Still, even if your game is pummelled by the vagaries of the weather — the scenery is more than likely to offer compensations. And don’t forget, if you think you’ve lost your bottle, Bushmills Distillery is just down the road. (Tel: 028 7083 2015.)
Derry is the county which spawned not only Red Sails, Slieve Gallion Braes, The Town I Love So Well, it is also the home of Danny Boy — a joint project in Limavady by an Irish Catholic fiddler, a Presbyterian schoolteacher and an English songwriter. It is also home to Phil Coulter, Seamus Heaney, and where both Brian Friel and Percy French were educated.
Surrounded by history both ancient and contemporary — from Colmcille's settlements in the sixth century to the terrible events of the Bogside — its chequered past is etched in the landscape.
It has scenery which rivals anything you’ll find anywhere in Europe, from the dramatic coastline to the isolation of the Sperrins. A splendid place to clear the cobwebs from your head.
As the wife of the recipient of three bishoprics from James I, put it: “They are so strange except one, which is Derry: I pray to God it may make us all merry.”
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