The hotel last night was good, primarily, it seems, a wedding venue – advertising 100 guests for as little as £3000. I think yesterday’s party had that option as they occupied the reception area until their “do” was ready in the evening and were back out in reception by 2130. Weather forecast for today was warm (about time), partially sunny in the morning and overcast in the afternoon. For once it was reasonably accurate.
As we left Coleraine, the road out of the hotel was busy, even for a Saturday – thankfully it wasn’t for long and there was a footpath to use. During the War of the Two Kings (1689–91) Coleraine was a centre of Protestant resistance to the rule of James II. Richard Hamilton’s Irish Army made an attempt to seize the town but was repulsed. The Protestants were forced to abandon the town shortly afterwards and withdrew to Derry. Later the same year, following the failed Siege of Derry, Sir Charles Carney and his Jacobite garrison fled the town on receiving news of the advance of Percy Kirke’s Enniskillen forces and the landing at Carrickfergus of Marshal Schomberg.
Turning onto a much quieter road there wasn’t a whole lot to see so here are some photos of the hedge flowers we saw.
We turned onto a really quiet road for the next couple of hours, gently climbing upwards to the halfway point of the day. We passed the usual derelict house, a few quarries (not working Saturdays so so heavy lorries) and through the Springwell Forest. There was even a straight stretch of road with tall trees lining both sides. Eventually in the distance we could see Lough Foyle.
The road was very straight and long, breakfast coffee and hydration requiring frequent pee-breaks! We could see mountains (I think the Sperrin Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) in the south west distance and some more glimpses of Lough Foyle directly ahead of us. We also spotted multiple different breeds of sheep (most ran away before I could get a good photo) – Jacob, Cheviot, Suffolk, Swaledale and Border Leicester are the ones I can remember.
We stopped in Limavady for a coffee and a scone and for Paul to get a haircut. We crossed the River Roe and passed by the Rough Fort on the way to Ballykelly and our hotel. This is an Early Medieval circular earthwork and was the first property left in care to the National Trust in Northern Ireland. These fortified farmsteads, also known as Rath or Ring Forts, were defended farmsteads and occupied mainly by a single family group of cattle farmers. It’s estimated that more than 45,000 Ring Forts were constructed in Ireland between the 7th to 9th centuries. Tomorrow is our last day walking as we head to Derry.
