A handshake across the Foyle
Derry’s Peace Bridge opened in 2011. Its curved deck crosses 235 metres of the River Foyle, and its two halves overlap rather than meet head-on, so that the whole span reads as a handshake across the water. Locals and the BBC alike call it the ‘structural handshake’. It links the historically unionist Waterside on the east bank with the mainly nationalist city side and its 400-year-old walls on the west, and it was built to make crossing between the two an ordinary daily act rather than a loaded one. It opened on 25 June 2011, in time for the 400th anniversary of the walls.
Be clear-eyed about what it is: a short, level walk from bank to bank, not a day out on its own. The point is the meaning, the view, and where each end drops you, so pair the crossing with Ebrington Square on one side and the Guildhall on the other.
Design, funding and the opening
Designed by Wilkinson Eyre Architects with engineering by AECOM and fabricated by Rowecord Engineering, the bridge is 4 metres wide with a longest span of 101 metres. The deck is flat, with tactile paving along the edges, splitting into a two-way footpath and a cycle lane. It was funded with £14 million from the EU’s PEACE III programme through the SEUPB, with contributions from Northern Ireland’s Department for Social Development and the Republic’s Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, a cross-border project by design as well as symbol.
The opening ceremony gathered the people the bridge was meant to reconcile: EU Commissioner Johannes Hahn, First Minister Peter Robinson, deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness and Taoiseach Enda Kenny, with John Hume among those looking on. It has since been walked by the Dalai Lama in 2013 and former US President Bill Clinton in 2014, and has appeared on a first-class stamp.
Each end of the bridge
The east end lands you in Ebrington Square, a former military barracks turned public plaza that hosts markets, performances and outdoor events. From there paths lead towards St Columb’s Park and along the Foyle Greenway.
The west end sits steps from the Guildhall, the neo-Gothic civic building with a Big Ben-inspired clock tower and a fine stained-glass collection, and the traditional starting point for walking the full one-mile circuit of the 17th-century walls, with the Tower Museum and St Columb’s Cathedral close by. If you only add one thing to the crossing, make it the Guildhall, which has displays on John Hume and the 1998 Nobel Peace Prize. Check current opening details with the venue before you go.
Practical information
- Cost: free to cross.
- Sharing the bridge: it is used by walkers and cyclists, so give others space and follow any signs or closure notices. Check the Visit Derry page for current information before you go.
- Accessibility: the deck is level with no steps and tactile paving along the edges.
- Parking: the Waterside side has Ebrington Square Car Park, and there are pay-and-display bays in the city centre. Check current charges locally.
- Getting there: Londonderry railway station is a short walk away, and Translink buses serve both banks.
- When to photograph: early morning when the Foyle is still, or around dusk when the sky behind it changes.
There are no facilities on the bridge itself. Ebrington Square and nearby Duke Street are the places to look for cafés and pubs.