This morning we woke up, got some breakfast and went to grab our clothes from the dryer, but they were still wet, so we started the dryer again then went and got ready. We met Darren, Steve and Leah, then walked together into town and went down to the bogside and to one of the murals. It was rainy, cold and miserable, but as we were waiting there, it started to snow! Real snow! It looked amazing! We were taking photos of the falling snow while freezing our butts off, when we were met by Tommy Kelly, who was one of the three bogside artists, who painted all the murals on the buildings. We introduced ourselves then the five of us squished into his little car and we drove to find somewhere less snowy to talk! He took us around the corner to his brother-in-law's house and we were welcomed in and sat on the couches in the lounge. Tommy gave us a bit of information about himself and the other artists, and what they were doing these days, and the importance and purpose of the murals during the worst of the troubles. It was really interesting to get a first hand perspective on things by someone who had lived through it all, it was an amazing experience. He had some books and posters to show us, and to sell to us if we were interested. Daz and I bought a book and one of each poster, and Steve and Leah bought a book and a poster, so I think it ended up being worth the trip for him! After chatting for a while, we squished back into his car and went back to the murals. It wasn't raining anymore, so we got to get a photo with him outside a couple of the murals, and he explained one of the murals in more detail to us. It was one that at first glance seemed just to be another riot scene, but he explained to us that the three young boys painted there were real boys who had died during the troubles. All were only 15 years old and from catholic backgrounds. One was killed by the British Army, one by the IRA, and the third blew himself up when trying to make a petrol bomb. So the mural is depicting that no matter which side you were on, it was all wrong. It made the picture all the more powerful, it was crazy. After some more chatting and some photos with Tommy, we said goodbye then walked down to the bus station. The next bus Daz and I were looking for was still about 45 minutes away, so we went with the others to a little cafe and got a cup of tea and a hot chocolate and marveled at the amazing experience we had all just shared! After a bit, we said bye to the other three and Daz and I headed back to the bus station where we jumped on the bus heading to Limavady. We didn't quite have enough change, but the driver was really nice, saying 'its Christmas, don't worry about it', and let us on at a reduced fare! We chatted with the driver for the whole trip there (or at least Daz did, while I fell asleep a little!) then we arrived in Limavady and got off the bus. It was so cold there! We walked up the street to a chippy and I got some cheese and curry chips and Daz got some fried things and chips. We ate inside and waited for our bones to warm up a little before heading back out into the cold! We walked up the street and after seeing a sign for the Country Roe Park pointing in the opposite direction, we stopped for directions and were sent the opposite way! We stopped in a servo for a toilet stop, and also found new gloves for just £2 each, which were significantly warmer than the ****** ones we had! So after some more directions we headed down the road and across the river Roe, and walked up a country path towards a hotel that was out that way. It was still ridiculously cold! Darren waved at a passing car, who then stopped and gave us a lift the rest of the way to the hotel, which was very nice. He turned out to be a chef at the hotel, and he was very nice. So our mission in Limavady was to look for some O'Cahan relics, which is the clan that Darren's family name derived from. Specifically there was supposed to be the ruins of the O'Cahan castle, and O'Cahan's rock, where apparently a wolfhound had leapt from to cross the river to warn the clan of an attack. We had been told the castle ruins were by the hotel, so when we got there we thanked the guy who had picked us up, and walked up past the hotel where there were the remains of what looked to be a castle wall, but that was all. It now surrounded a golf driving range. There was a large mound at the top of the hill, called Mullagh Hill, and a plaque mounted on the wall there which told us this was where the Convention of Druim Ceatt took place, which was when all the clan chiefs and kings etc went to settle disputes and issues back in around AD575! Epic. After wandering around there a while we headed back down and went into the hotel to warm up a bit on the couches in the restaurant. We had an idea that what we had found wasn't really the castle ruins, so we had a bit of a chat with some bar staff and a chef and ended up getting directions to the proper place. We thanked them then headed off. We walked down into the woods, and hoped it wasn't a long walk, as it was already 3:30 (meaning it was starting to get dark!) so we walked down to the track that followed the river and wandered down a bit, avoiding the massive puddles and bogginess. We passed a pretty old bridge and walked through the beautiful trees and past a very cool waterfall that ran under our feet as we crossed a little bridge. After this, the path was getting wetter, and it was getting quite dark, and eventually we had to call it a day and turn around before it got pitch black in there! We wandered back the 45 minutes or so we had walked in, and made our way back up to the hotel, where we went inside again for a hot cup of tea. When we had warmed up again, we headed back out into the night and made our way back out of the park and into town again. We made our way down the main street of the small town and found the bus station. We'd missed the second last bus, so we had to hang around til 9:40 to catch the last bus. So we walked back up the street to try find something for dinner, but everywhere we found was a little out of our price range, and subway were literally shutting their doors as we went past, so we asked them if they knew anywhere cheap, and were pointed towards a Chinese place on the next street. So we walked around there and ordered some food and ate in the warm restaurant. We hung out there for a while before heading back down to the bus station. We got there at about 9:25, and stood on the corner keeping a lookout on both streets as we weren't sure which side it would pull up on. After a bit there was another girl waiting, so we went and stood and chatted with her for a bit. We waited a long time. Then waited some more. The bus never came! So we were a little bit stranded in the middle of nowhere! We ended up walking back up the street to a B&B we had passed earlier, to try find somewhere to stay for the night. They were charging £50 for a room, so we were about to suck it up and pay, when the owner Donald Morgan came out and talked to us for a bit. He called a taxi company, who said they would drive us back to Derry for £24, and also offered us to stay for just £30. So we decided we were over it, and just organised to stay there. He was such a nice man, he even gave us a pint of Guinness each, and got one of the girls to make us up some sandwiches too, then sat and chatted with us over a drink, about the area, and history and families and clans. It turned out he was also from Ballycastle originally, which is where Darren's family is! Such a legend. Irish people prove themselves, over and over, to be the friendliest people ever. After a bit he had to head off, so we thanked him and said goodbye and went back to our beers. We had some sandwiches left over, which Darren offered to the group of guys on the next table, then we ended up joining them, and got a few more rounds of Guinness bought for us. We chatted and laughed for ages with these guys, and when last drinks were called, they ordered another full round of drinks and a shot of jäger for everyone! So we chatted a while longer as we drank those, then when they were practically being kicked out of the pub, we said goodbye and headed up to our room, after Darren managed to buy a bottle of wine from the bartender. We took the bottle up to our room, but only managed one glass each before we fell asleep!