If we were to bring visitors around our city and other places nearby then these are the ideas we would have for our tour. When we first sat down to list out what we thought should go on our list we didn't really write very much. Then when our teacher Mr. Logue, started asking us questions about the city and we soon realised that because we live here all the time we take no notice of a lot of the interesting things in Derry.

Many outsiders probably think of Derry as a place in Ireland where there are bombs and shooting and riots and burned out buildings. Here in Derry, we imagine places in other parts of the world to be like this because we only hear about the troubles THEY have from time to time.

Derry is really a beautiful place to be. We think Derry people are very nice and, believe it or not, very friendly, despite the sort of impressions that newspapers and television give about us. The thing is, many of these reporters from outside Derry only come here to write about the troubles. If nothing happens when they expect it to, they are probably disappointed because they don't get a good story or pictures for their papers or T.V. They don't want pleasant things to happen because they are not exciting enough and people will not read them or listen to such stories.

Derry is in the North West of Ireland. It is one of six counties in Northern Ireland which are still governed by the British Parliament in Westminster, London. The other twenty six counties of Ireland are called the Republic of Ireland and they have their own Irish Parliament which is in Dublin. You will probably find that Derry is called Londonderry in most of the books you have, especially atlases. There is something about how this happened in our home page, if you look up the section on tourism. We prefer to call it Derry, but we are not too upset by people using the name Londonderry.

This would be a good place to tell you about the first place to see when you come to Derry - The Walls of Derry. Away back in the early 1600s the city was fortified by a high wall, to protect it against attack. The money raised to do this was provided by some merchants from London in England. As a way to show thanks, it was decided that the town's name should be changed and have the name London put on to it. So Derry then became known as Londonderry. But most people still call it Derry to the present day.

The walls go right aroud the oldest part of the city and are about a mile long. You can walk along these walls and there are still some old cannons to be seen there too. The walls are about four or five metres high in places and about the same thickness.

Derry is one of the few walled cities in the whole of Europe whose walls are still complete and in very good condition. There are arches around the walls and the roads go through these. They are big enough for buses and trucks to drive through, so that will give you an idea of the size of the walls.

Inside the walled part of the city is a Protestant (Church of Ireland) cathedral. When we began to find out about things for our tour, we found out that most of our class never ever walked around the walls of Derry and only one of us had visited this cathedral. Mr Logue told us about it and he had some slides and photographs to show us from a school trip he went on with another class. It looked interesting.

We think it is very funny to be telling people from far away countries where to see in Derry and we haven't even been there ourselves. Inside this cathedral are flags and other historical things which date back to when the walls were built and from the famous Siege of Derry in 1688. The Catholic King of England and Ireland at that time was called King James. His daughter's husband was from Holland and he was a Protestant, called King William (William of Orange - this is how Orangemen got their name) William wanted to be King of England and Ireland and they fought in many places in Ireland. James put Derry under siege but he lost. After other battles William became King. All these things are still remembered today and that is why there are marches in this country to this day. The people who march to commemorate the battles which happened more than 300 years ago are called Orangemen.

There are a number of modern shopping centres inside the city walls and a brand new one just outside them. They have all the latest fashion and there are many different types of shops to be seen there. The two biggest shopping centres are called Richmond and Foyleside. There is also a special shopping area inside the walled city which has kept the look of the ancient city. It is known as the Craft Village. There are some lovely shops here and also Thran Maggies Restaurant which has a great reputation (Thran in Northern Ireland means stubborn. You will not find this word in a dictionary. It is just one of our own words from Northern Ireland) There is also Rosie's Kitchen here. This is a place which does Irish evenings, with Irish music and dancing.

It is very popular with older people and visitors and you have to book your place to get in. We ourselves prefer rave and there are places in Derry where there is good rave.

Beside the Crafts Village is O'Doherty's Fort and Tower Museum. It is not really a real fort, because it was only built a few years ago, but it looks like one. It has a museum inside which is very interesting and tells the whole history of Derry from the first time people lived here until the present day. This is a good place to visit.

Opposite the the Tower Museum and beside the Walls of Derry is the Guildhall. This is where Derry City Council meet and is also where there are concerts and Irish dancing and music festivals held. Irish music and dancing festivals are called Feiseanna (Fesh-an-na) The biggest one for most people would be at Easter time when thousands take part in music and dancing competitions.

We also have a big festival in the month of October and there is great fun at the end of october, on Halloween night. The whole city takes on a fun atmosphere and everyone dresses up and meets in the middle of the city along the banks of the River Foyle for a fireworks display. It's really brilliant. You can see some of the funniest things on that night and everyone has a brilliant time. There are live bands playing on the streets too. This has become one of Derry's biggest events and people come from all over Ireland for Halloween weekend. It's really funny to see everyone in funny outfits and costumes or painted up. Other cities and towns in Ireland are beginning to do the same things on Halloween as we do in Derry.

Another wall which is famous is much smaller than the city walls. It is a modern landmark because it dates back to the beginning of the present troubles in the North of Ireland. It is only a gable wall (end wall) of what used to be a house. It is called Free Derry Corner and got its name during the times of the early riots in 1968 and 1969, when someone painted the words, "You are now entering Free Derry" on the wall.

Near this wall there is a monument to thirteen civilians who were shot dead by British paratroopers during a Civil Rights march on 30 January 1972. This is still being investigated even after 25 years. Many visitors come to these two places and the ancient walls can also be seen from here, as well as some brilliant wall murals. The place where Free Derry Corner is, is called the Bogside.

The city is not bombed out. You would never know that there were any big problems here at all. The original city was built on a hill and so there are some steep streets, but we think it is a lovely city and our City Council have done a lot to make it this way and to try to give it a good look.

Beside the Bogside is another area called the Brandywell. We don't know how it got its name, but some people say it was from the time when smuggling went on and casks of brandy were hidden in a well which used to be in that place. Mr. Logue says that the Irish for the Brandywell is Tobar an Fhioruisce (Pronounced Tubber un ear-ishka). This means 'The well of pure water'. But the Irish for Brandy also means 'Pure Water', so maybe this is where the name Brandywell comes from. (Uisce, which means water, (Ishka) is where the word 'whiskey' comes from) In the Brandywell too, are the football grounds of Derry City Football Club. It is the best soccer team in Ireland and has won many cups and trophies. Some of our past pupils play for Derry City.

On a hill above the Brandywell are Foyle Hill Estate and the Creggan Estate. Our school is situated at the top of Foyle Hill and overlooks the whole of Derry.

The River Foyle flows through the centre of the city and is crossed by going over Craigavon Bridge (which is two-tiered) or the Foyle Bridge which is on the outskirts the city.

Derry has also a modern cinema complex and you can take your pick of whatever films you want to see. It's very good. There are plent of sports centres throughout the city. These have swimming pools, volleyball, basketball, badminton, indoor and outdoor soccer pitches. rugby pitches, pitches for Hurling and Gaelic football saunas and sunbeds, weight training rooms and other things too. Hurling is Ireland's national sport and is the fastest field game in the world! It is a type of hockey but much more physical and the ball can be caught in the hand and hit in the air. It is brilliant to watch!

The city is nice to walk around, the people are very friendly. We hope you enjoyed reading about some of the things about Derry which we wrote about.

The boys of St Peter's School Derry