The Roe Valley News Browser on-line

Return to news index

Riding your Bike   For some time now Limavady has been the proud provider of multi-coloured cycle paths, which can often be found in the most unexpected places. Although it must be admitted that not everyone in Limavady has embraced this new idea immediately or indeed at all, it occurred to this writer that he has never seen a cyclist using one of these paths - ever. Cyclists are either in the middle of the road or - where they have always been - slaloming down the footpaths at high speed having a good time and watching the rest of us jump. Does anyone know why these cycle lanes were painted?

Limavady Conundrum #6   The subject of last month's conundrum was the black dome, which was a kind of simple planetarium. A planetarium is a fascinating place where friendly people will show you a projected night sky, stars, planets and all If you had an irresistible urge to see the stars on a dismal and cloudy day, where would you go?   Here is the question: Where in the world is the planetarium closest to Limavady? Please send your answers to the editor. The winner will see his or her name in large red letters and will be allowed to feel very pleased with him or her self.

Ye olde Tech Website   Followers of Limavady Tech may have noticed that the college website has had a facelift recently. Afficionados of the old site need not despair. As our underpaid editor was in charge of the website until 2001, we have decided to give those who loved all those tired old jokes a second chance to groan at them again. All the charity parades and most of the fun has been carefully preserved via this link

Rail crash in Downhill   The Derry to Coleraine passenger train crashed not far from the tunnel near Downhill. It came to a halt a short distance from the bridge that gives access to the beach. Apparently some rocks broke off the high cliffs. They bounced off the Bishops Road at the foot of the mountain, arced across the Seacoast Road and landed on the railway track that runs alongside it. The train from Derry carried 22 passengers. The driver noticed the rocks and started to brake but it was too late to bring the train to a halt and he hit the rocks doing 60 miles per hour. This derailed the three carriages. Luckily no-one was killed, but some people were taken to hospital. It is hoped that they are not seriously injured and will be able to go home soon. We can only wish them a speedy recovery. Even though the access roads were roped off, hundreds of people came to look at the wreckage. In fact, this reporter has never seen the Bishops Road so busy. The clearing-up operation is well under way and should take a few days.

The Jazz and Blues Festival kicks off   Regular readers of this august publication will realise that this is the time of the year for the Limavady Jazz and Blues Festival to begin - and how right you are. Proceedings started bang on time half an hour late at the bottom of Protestant Street. From here some colourfully dressed people accompanied by live music marched through the town. The gentleman on the right is a fibber though: It wasn't raining at all and we strongly suspect that he used make-up.

Across the Foyle in 15 minutes   The only Ferry to link Northern Ireland with Southern Ireland is finally in operation. It is run by the Lough Foyle Ferry Company and links Greencastle with Magilligan. The crossing takes about 15 minutes and a return ticket for a car and passengers is only £8 - which is very reasonable, especially when your tank is low and you plan to refuel on the other side, where petrol is much cheaper. Considering the reasonableness of the fare, our intrepid editor decided to conduct a no expenses spared test trip. As you can see, he picked a typically mild, rainy and wind-swept day in the middle of June. The ferry can carry between 20 to 24 cars - weather permitting - and can take up to 150 people: standing room only. There are no fixed departure times but you can expect a crossing every 40 minutes or so between 7.20 am and 9.50 pm on most days. The boat is only slightly younger than our editor, so don't expect a brand new racing yacht; but the journey across is beautiful, with the Martello tower and Benone behind and pleasant Greencastle coming ever closer. When we arrived in Greencastle the place was more or less closed, but the Castle Inn was open and served an excellent lunch. The return journey was just as pleasant and we can heartily recommend this particular trip. It beats a car journey all around Lough Foyle any day!

Limavady Conundrum #6   Time for an answer. Thanks to all who wrote in. The totally accurate answer came from: Jeff Scott   who used to live in Dungiven. The closest planetarium to Limavady can be found - by a strange co-incidence that could be more than just pure chance - in the Martime Museum in Greencastle. If you want to know how to get here, just read the previous article. The museum overlooks the harbour and is well worth a visit. Here is a picture of the place.

The road to Aghanloo   Work has started on the bridge over the bypass at Dowland Road. Scriggan Road is closed and a single lane bypass has been built around the section of the Dowland Road that crosses the bypass. Big machines have ripped up the road and happy workers are busy digging great big holes. Sooner or later they will have to close the road completely of course.

The previous month

Back to the start

The next month