Overview
Derry’s walls have never been breached. In 400 years – through the Williamite Wars and the 105-day Siege of 1689 – no army has taken them, which is why the city is nicknamed the Maiden City. Completed around 1618, they are the only complete circuit of city walls in Ireland and one of the best-preserved urban defences in Europe. You can walk the full mile-long loop free, at any hour, in either direction; in 2022 roughly 577,000 people did, making it one of Northern Ireland’s most visited attractions.
Rising up to 26 feet high and as much as 35 feet wide in places, the ramparts encircle the historic merchant quarter and give a continuous, level promenade above the streets. If you do one thing, walk the whole circuit – it takes about 45 minutes – and take a guided tour or call into the Tower Museum afterwards, because the signage on the walls themselves is thin and the history here is anything but simple.
A walk through history
The walls were built between 1613 and 1618 by the Honourable The Irish Society, under the supervision of the London architect Peter Benson, to protect the English and Scottish settlers who had arrived as part of the Plantation of Ulster. They were designed with serious military intent: thick stone, and bastions positioned to lay down overlapping fire.
Their defining moment came in 1689. When Jacobite forces closed on the city, thirteen Protestant apprentice boys barred the gates with the cry of ‘No Surrender’, and the walls held through a siege of 105 days – an act that cemented them as a symbol of Loyalist identity. Later, through the 20th century and the Troubles, they served again as a vantage point over the streets below. Since the peace process the full circuit has been reopened, with interpretive markers along the route covering the sieges, the construction and the lives lived within.
Key features and points of interest
The circuit is punctuated by gates, bastions and markers that break up the walk.
The city gates
Seven gates pierce the walls. The four original 17th-century gates remain – Bishop’s Gate, Ferryquay Gate, Shipquay Gate and Butcher Gate – each marked with an interpretive plaque. Three were added later as the city grew: New Gate in the 1790s, Castle Gate between 1805 and 1808, and Magazine Gate in 1888.
The cannon collection
Lining the ramparts is Europe’s largest cannon collection with precisely documented origins: 24 restored guns, each with a note on its era and use. The most famous is Roaring Meg, at the Double Bastion, which saw action during the Siege of Derry. It’s a rare chance to examine period artillery up close.
Bastions and views
The bastions project outward from the walls, built to give overlapping fields of fire and, today, the best viewing platforms on the circuit. From the western side you look straight down into the Bogside – site of the 1972 Bloody Sunday shootings – and across the River Foyle, with St Columb’s Cathedral framed against the skyline.
The Walker Monument plinth
Beside the walls stands the stone plinth of the former Walker Monument. The column was destroyed in 1973, but the base remains – a quiet marker of the city’s shifting politics.
The Dry Moat walk
For a different angle, a low path follows the line of the former defensive moat. This ground-level route gives a closer look at the base of the walls and an easier alternative for anyone who would rather not take the gate steps.
Walking the circuit
The full loop takes about 45 minutes at an easy pace, though most people linger at the gates and plaques. The walk is level along the top of the walls, and the wind off the Foyle usually makes itself felt. The most accessible way up is from Guildhall Square, via the steps or ramp at Magazine Gate; Bishop’s Gate, off Bishop Street Without, is a quieter start.
Practical information
- Admission: Free.
- Opening hours: Open 24/7, year-round – there are no formal opening times. Access may occasionally be restricted for events or maintenance.
- Accessibility: The top of the walls is level and suits wheelchairs and pushchairs, though a few gate passages are narrow. The Dry Moat walk offers a ground-level alternative.
- Facilities: Toilets are available at the Guildhall and near the Tourist Information Centre.
- Getting there: The walls sit in the historic core, easily reached on foot. Car parks at the Quayside and Foyleside shopping centres are close by, and the central bus station is a short walk. Derry~Londonderry train station is about 20 minutes’ walk from Guildhall Square.
- Guides: Self-guided maps are at the Tourist Information Centre, which also arranges guided walks; the Apprentice Boys Museum runs specialist tours focused on the 1689 siege.
Start at the Tourist Information Centre to pick up a map, walk the circuit anticlockwise from Magazine Gate, and time it for early morning if you want the ramparts to yourself – by mid-morning in summer the tour groups are up on the walls.