N.W County Londonderry
Coleraine, founded in the 5 th century, is the second-largest town in the county, and in 1618 was acquired' by City of London companies. The River Bann flows through the town and is crossed by two busy bridges, one a handsome structure built in 1844. A mile to the south of Coleraine stands a 200ft mound called Mountsandal, apparently the earliest-known dwelling place in Ireland; it is also the site of the fortress of Finan, an ancient king of Ulster. Much later, Mountsandal provided a stronghold for John de Coursy, the 12 th century viceroy of Henry II.
A short journey westward from Coleraine brings one to Hezlett House, built in 1690 and restored after a fire in 1986. Property of the Nat. Trust, the House is an attractive, thatched former rectory, providing a fine example of cruck-truss construction. This was an early method of prefabricated building using wooden frames filled with clay and rubble, commonly employed in England.
Very near to Hezlett House, a striking hill-top mausoleum indicates the location of Downhill Estate, the main entrance of which is through a pair of huge ornate Pompeian gates. Downhill Palace was constructed in the late 1770's as home to Frederick Augustus Hervey, Anglican Bishop of Derry, 4 th Earl of Bristol, enthusiastic grand traveller and all-round eccentric. Many a European ‘Hotel Bristol' is named in his honour, and in the 1790's, whilst collecting valuable works of art on the continent, he was arrested by Napoleon as a spy. The palace suffered a serious fire in 1851 and now lies in glorious ruin. The hill-top mausoleum was built for the 3 rd Earl, whose statue once stood atop the structure until it was toppled ignominiously in high gales. Toward the rear of the Palace grounds is the graceful rotunda known as Mussenden Temple erected in 1783. Clinging precariously to the eroding cliff edge it offers marvellous sea views, and its classic domed rotunda was modelled on the Roman temple of Vespa.
Travelling west of Downhill the coast road hugs the cliffs, and runs parallel to a wonderful 7-mile stretch of beach curving toward Magilligan Point. Here, on a peninsula, at the narrow entrance to Lough Foyle, stands a massive Martello tower, dating from the Napoleonic Wars, with walls more than 9ft thick. From the peninsula the road sweeps on alongside the foothills of Mount Binevenagh before arriving at Bellarena. The land around the mountain is a conservation park dedicated to the preservation of birds of prey, particularly falcons and kestrels. In the centre of the village is Bellavena House, an old Plantation mansion dating back in parts to the 17 th century.
Limavady, once a major settlement founded in Elizabethan times, fell into a period of depression until later revitalised in the 1700's, and now remains as one of Ulster's most characteristically Georgian towns. No 51 Main Street was once the home of Jane Ross, who noted down the ‘Londonderry Air' (‘Danny Boy') from a travelling fiddler in 1851. Perhaps Limavady's best attraction is the Roe Valley Country Park, stretching for 3-miles along both sides of the River Roe and located just south of the town. The river runs through gorges where the fast-flowing rapids turned the waterwheels of several mills for the manufacture of linen; watch towers still stand guard - stealing linen was a capital offence. The mills and a 19 th century hydro-electric plant have been restored, and the small weaving shed houses a museum and visitor centre.
The Sampson Tower in Farlow Wood, one-mile west of Limavady, is an intriguing Gothic-style memorial erected in 1860 to Arthur Sampson, agent for the London Fishmongers Co. The same company founded Ballykelly, a small village where Walworth House partly retains its original defences.