Halloween in Derry
This fam trip, organized by the Derry Visitor and Convention Bureau, focuses on Derry City in Northern Ireland with special emphasis on the Banks of the Foyle Halloween Carnival. It takes in hotels in and around Derry as well as the city’s key attractions and is not just for tour operators but also for journalists and members of the Northern Ireland Tourist Board.
As expected from a Halloween fam trip, our journey begins on a dark and windy night in West Cork, when my colleague Genevieve and I set out from the office to make our way to Kinsale where we will spend the night before the big trip. Big in so far, as it is a long journey from our corner of West Cork to Derry. There being no flights from Cork to Derry we have to catch an early morning flight (7 am) from Cork to Belfast and then take a 2 hour bus ride across Northern Ireland. After a quick stop in Cork to pick up some essential party accessories (there is a Halloween fancy dress party on Wednesday night on the itinerary) we arrive in Kinsale around 2 hours later. I have never been to Kinsale but don’t really get to see much of it as it’s dark when we arrive. We check into our hotel, Actons, which nicely have given us a complimentary room for the night, and only venture out to get something to eat as it’s late and both of us are starving. The food is lovely but definitely on the expensive side, as Kinsale is gourmet capital of Ireland.
