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Today the weather was good when we woke up, and the forecast looked promising for where we were heading next. The girls on reception at The Bushmills Inn asked us where we were heading and gave us loads of useful information about places to stop off at en route to Derry-Londonderry.

One of the places they recommended was a place called Castlerock. This is another place on the Causeway Coastal Route and they told us that there was a temple there that was worth visiting. She showed me on a map and I recognised it straightaway from seeing it on the television. I asked them if it was one of the places that Adrian Dunbar had visited when he made the programme “Adrian Dunbar’s Coastal Ireland” and they said yes. They told me that Adrian Dunbar stayed at The Bushmills Inn when the programme was being made!

We left Bushmills and it wasn’t long before we had arrived at Castlerock. The beach there is perfect, with views towards the mouth of Lough Foyle to the left and back towards the Causeway to the right. The Atlantic Ocean was clear and blue, nice and calm with white surf. The beach was beautiful and clean and dotted with razor clam shells. Lifeguards were setting up for the day, putting their red and yellow flags out to show where it was ok to swim. I have read that the waters can be treacherous around there because of where the River Bann enters the Atlantic.

We jumped back in the car to head further west towards Downhill Demesne and Mussenden Temple. Downhill is a scenic estate where Frederick Hervey, known as the Earl Bishop, chose to build a country house there in 1772. The word ‘demesne’ is used throughout Ireland to show which part of an estate is to be used only by the landlord. It is usually enclosed by a demesne wall.

The estate is entered through a gothic wall called The Bishop’s Gate. You then walk though some gardens to a path that winds past a mausoleum and onwards to the now derelict Downhill House. There aren’t many buildings of its kind still in existence today and the construction is similar to Mussenden Temple. Though it’s now in ruins, the striking 18th-century mansion of the eccentric Earl Bishop is worth looking at, and leads you to Mussenden Temple itself. This beautiful structure is situated on the edge of the cliffs that overlook the Atlantic Ocean. From here, you can see amazing views of Magilligan Strand towards Donegal in the west. We learned that scenes from Game of Thrones were filmed on the beach below.

We left Downhill Demesne and travelled along the Causeway Coastal route to Derry-Londonderry. Once we had got parked up and checked in, we headed towards the edge of an estate called Bogside. This is the part of Derry known as “Free Derry” which was named during The Troubles of the Northern Ireland conflict from the late 1960s to 1998. This area is occupied by nationalists and was defended by armed IRA units at the height of the unrest. Today there are many murals painted on the sides of peoples’ houses, making statements that they want a united Ireland with no links to the United Kingdom. I felt compelled to make this visit and it helped me to understand more of what The Troubles were about. It reminded me of what I saw on the news every day when growing up. The final thing we saw was the Bloody Sunday Memorial which was unveiled by a member of the Derry Civil Rights Association in 26th January 1974. The memorial has inscriptions of the names and ages of the dead and firmly blames these deaths by adding “who were murdered by British Paratroopers on Bloody Sunday 30th January 1972”. Feelings still run very deep here which is evident by all of the murals and other signs of protest including the H Block Monument.

The next thing on my to-do list was to walk along the walls of the city. The wall was built in the early 17th century, and Derry is now the only city in Ireland that is still completely walled. We picked this up at the edge of Bogside at Bishop’s Gate. The aim of the walls was to defend against English and Scottish settlers in the 1600s. If you walk the whole of the wall, you will see some fantastic views of the city along its 1.5 kilometre circumference. Along the way we got caught in a rain shower so went to Badger’s Bar for a quick drink. The mural of the hit television series “Derry Girls” is painted on the back of the building on Orchard Street and is worth going to see.

Following completion of the wall walk, we returned back to our accommodation, got showered and changed, then headed out again. I’d booked a place called “Walled City Brewery” at 7pm to eat dinner. To get there we had to cross The Peace Bridge to Ebrington Square. The bridge was opened in 2011 and was designed to unify the Protestants, who live on the Waterside, with the Bogside Nationalists. The bridge is 235 metres long and the arms that form part of the construction are shown as being joined in a symbolic handshake. Once across, the brewery/restaurant was about a fifty metre walk. We did arrive a little early but there was space available and was no problem to the staff. The business is family run, and doesn’t buy beer from the big companies: not only do they brew themselves but they invest locally to put money back into the economy in Derry. There was a board showing what the brewery had brewed themselves. The menu was good and we could get a two course meal for £20, or three for £25. I went for the specials – garlic soup with lemon and orzo pasta to start, then pan roasted cod for a main course. All of the food was perfectly cooked, it was delicious. We also tried the local Derry gin, called Earhart. The gin is named after Amelia Earhart, who was the first solo female to fly across the Atlantic in May 1932. Unfortunately, she landed in a field near Derry instead of Paris as planned. The gin is distilled in Derry with botanicals that are from the field where she landed. The restaurant was selling the gin so we decided to buy some to take back home. Finally, with the bill paid, we left to make the short walk back across The Peace Bridge and back to the accommodation. All in all, another great day.