The Coasts of Down and Derry From A to Z

The coastline of Northern Ireland has sustained thousands of people over many generations and seen many conflicts with unwelcome visitors. Only in recent times has it attracted the attention of welcome visitors from overseas. This book picks up where The Antrim Coast From A to Z left off and concludes David's tour around the Northern Irish coast. Don't be fooled into thinking that Antrim is the filling in the sandwich, with Down and Londonderry as the bread. These two counties have coastline features to rival anything that County Antrim can offer. The tour will take in areas of genuinely outstanding natural beauty such as Strangford Lough, Magilligan Point and the Mourne Mountains. We'll explore feats of engineering including Derry's bridges over the Foyle River, the Mourne Wall and Silent Valley Reservoir and the Ordnance Survey's ground-breaking nineteenth-century mapping of Ireland.We'll find out about world-famous landmarks such as Mussenden Temple as well as lesser-known ones including a very old and strange mound in Downpatrick. We'll walk the city walls of Derry and attempt an ascent of Scrabo Tower. a There are some very strange stories inside the book too. There's a man who was hanged for murder - twice, a village whose entire population disappeared and two sculptures that have been moved - in Bangor intentionally, and on Binevenagh maliciously.Find out how C.S. Lewis and General Eisenhower are connected with the region and learn about some remarkable women including Elizabeth Bloxham and Sarah Currie Palmer.You'll find out about an important centre for Jewish evacuees from the Holocaust and the area's important contributions to the field of aviation.Down and Derry have several locations that have either featured in or inspired works of literature or for the silver screen - these range from the Back to the Future movies all the way through to Dracula. Whether you're looking for sandy beaches, dunes, wetlands, hills or mountains, the coastlines of these two counties will have something to satisfy you.You may already know the region well, or you may feel like a stranger entering a strange land. Either way there's sure to be something for you.