Strabane

Strabane has been defined by its three rivers. The River Finn flows out of Donegal to the west, while the Mourne River flows down from Omagh to the south. At Strabane they combine into the River Foyle, which flows 14 miles north to reach the sea at Derry. Fed by the ample Ulster rain, they're fast-flowing and were harnessed for mills, to process flax into linen. But that made them difficult to ford, so at Strabane there was a ferry to Lifford on the west bank, and since 1730 a bridge. There's no other crossing of the Foyle until you reach Derry.

The area has good farmland and its Irish name is An Srath Bán, "the white strath, the grassy water-meadow". It attracted a series of settlers: Celts, Vikings, the O'Neill dynasty of Tyrone, the Plantation Scots. This meant that prehistoric and early Christian sites hereabouts have been lost to the plough, while surviving in wilder country elsewhere. Ulster was organised into counties after the Nine Years' War broke Gaelic resistance to the English, and the Finn and Foyle became the natural boundary between County Donegal on the west bank and County Tyrone on the east. County Londonderry began a few miles north at the tidal and navigation limit of the Foyle. Scottish settlers were already moving in before the war, but 1607 saw the flight of the defeated Earl of Tyrone into exile, and seizure of his estates. In 1608 rebels burned Derry, and London authority was determined to prevent further uprisings, so they began the systematic Plantation of Ulster with loyal Protestants. These became the majority population especially in the industrial east, but Strabane remained mostly Catholic.

By road from Belfast follow M2 / A6 towards Derry and branch off onto B49 at Claudy.

Ulsterbus 273 runs from Belfast Grand Central hourly M-Sa and every two hours Sunday, taking 2 hr 30 min via Lurgan, Dungannon and Omagh, and continuing to Derry. Bus 97 is an extra between Strabane and Omagh, twice M-F.

Ulsterbus 98 takes 40 min between Derry and Strabane, M-Sa every hour or two.

Goldliner X3 runs three times a day from Dublin Busáras and Airport to Strabane (3 hr) and Derry.

Expressway 32 also runs every hour or two from Dublin Busáras and Airport, taking 4 hours via Monaghan and Omagh, and continuing to Lifford and Letterkenny. Unlike the X3, you can ride this between intermediate points.

Derry is the nearest railway station, with hourly trains from Belfast.

1 Strabane bus station is south bank of the Mourne River on A5, a short walk from town centre.