Derry's Walls

A couple of weeks ago I had occasion to go to the famous city of Derry-Londonderry.  Famous for many things, Derry is - some good, some not so good.   I was visiting the emergency eye clinic at Altnagelvin Hospital, due to another attack of iritis - inflammation of the iris of the eye, which people with ankylosing spondylitis can get from time to time.  This is only the second time in 35 years I've had it, but since both occurrences have been within in the last 6 months I'm not too happy about it.  Iritis can be a serious condition if left untreated, but if you catch it early enough then it's usually OK.  The treatment consists mainly of steroid drops for up to 6 weeks and initially a second set of drops which dilate the pupil.  So for the first week you have one normal pupil and one huge pupil and it does look quite freaky - or so Missy tells me.

But that's enough about me - we are here today to celebrate Derry's historic walls, around which I walked before heading to Altnagelvin.  Fortunately I had a wee camera with me, so I was able to take some snaps which I will present to you now over the course of the next week or so.

A big gun thing on the walls

We'll get to some history of the place in due time, but for today here are a couple of big guns for you.

Another gun

The walls are wide enough to walk around - and a very pleasant hour or two can be spend ambling around them.  You are quite high up above the hustle and bustle of the city, so it's very peaceful.

As you can see, the city has been built up all around the walls - this row of houses is particularly close, as you can see.  The good folk who live in them probably don't have the view from their bedroom windows - and to cap it all you get people like yours truly pointing a camera in their direction as well.  Heavy nets all round, methinks.