Ireland Hopping: Derry & Galway

Derry (or Londonderry) is another fascinating city, steeped in history. Like Belfast, it has seen its share of conflicts over the years, most of them motivated by religious differences and power struggles. Today there remain two distinct sides to Derry: the Loyalist side, with British flags and colours adorning the streets; and the Republican side which is decked out in the orange, green and white of Ireland. And again, the murals tell a powerful story:


The "Free Derry" wall was one Johnny could clearly remember from his childhood - in England in the Eighties, the evening news frequently began with footage of riots at this very spot.


While wandering around the city walls, we were lucky enough to tag onto the end of a tour group that was being led around by a Derry local. In true Irish tradition he told some terrifically entertaining yarns as we walked around the town. And at the end, he thanked everyone for helping grow tourism in Northern Ireland - it's true that it's definitely not on everyone's must-see list, but it is a very interesting place! Unfortunately, time was short, so we had to crack on to Galway - but not before taking in Slieve League, the highest cliffs in Europe:


After a truly exhausting drive (Irish roads are, as you might guess, neither quick nor direct), we rolled into Galway, and pretty much crashed for the night. The next day, we spent the morning in town:


Galway is famous for its buskers, and we were lucky enough to come across the best piano-playing busker we've ever heard, the guy was truly amazing. But before long, we yet again had to get going in order to reach our next (and final) destination - Dublin.