422 



THE BRITISH ISLES. 



spanned by a Lridge 288 feet in length. Colcraine belongs to the county of 

 Londonderry. 



Balli/nwHCj/ is the most important town of xintrim in the valley of the Bann, 

 but lags far behind Ihdli/niciKi, on a small tributary of the Main, which takes 

 its course direct into Lough Neagh, entering it near the old county town of 

 Antrim. Ballymena is one of the most important flax and linen markets in 

 Ireland. Xear it is Grace/ii//, a Moravian settlement founded in 1705. Antrim, 

 on the other baud, is a place of little note, except for its castle, its round tower, 



Fig. 207. — Lough Foyle. 

 Scale 1 : 350,000. 



W.ot G. 



5 Miles. 



and the ruins of Shane's Castle, picturesquely seated on the shore of the 

 lake. 



The county of Londonderry occupies only a narrow seaboard between the 

 river Bann and Lough Foyle, but expands in the south, where it stretches as far 

 as Lough Neagh. The greater portion of its area is covered with moorland hills, 

 but fertile tracts extend along the valleys and the coast. Loudoix/rrri/, the county 

 town, on the river Foyle, is one of the must picturesque places in Ireland, still 

 surrounded by its ancient walls, which enclose a hill upon whose summit stands the 

 cathedral. Formerly plain Derry, the city took its present name when James I. 

 presented it, together with the surrounding country, to the twelve great livery 



