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Argory

A fine country house above the River Blackwater, the Argory ( 8778 4753; Derrycaw Rd; adult/child grounds & tour £5.80/2.90, grounds only £2.50/1; house 1-5.30pm daily Easter week, Jul & Aug, 1-5.30pm Sat, Sun & public hols mid-Mar–Jun & Sep) retains most of its original 1824 fittings; some rooms are still lit by acetylene gas from the house’s private plant. There are two formal gardens featuring roses, Victorian clipped-yew arbours and a lime walk by the river, and an excellent tearoom.

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LOUGH NEAGH

Lough Neagh (pronounced nay) is the largest freshwater lake in all of Britain and Ireland, big enough to swallow the city of Birmingham (West Midlands, UK, or Alabama, USA – either one would fit). Though vast (around 32km long and 16km wide), the lough is relatively shallow – never more than 9m deep – and is an important habitat for waterfowl. Its waters are home to the pollan, a freshwater herring found only in Ireland, and the dollaghan, a subspecies of trout unique to Lough Neagh. Connected to the sea by the River Bann, the lough has been an important waterway and food source since prehistoric times, and still has an eel fishery that employs around 200 people.

The main points of access to the lough include Antrim Town on the eastern shore, Oxford Island (opposite) in the south, and Ardboe in the west. The Loughshore Trail (www.loughshoretrail.com) is a 180km cycle route that encircles the lough. For most of its length it follows quiet country roads set back from the shore; the best sections for actually seeing the lough itself are west of Oxford Island and south from Antrim town.

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The Argory is 3.5km northeast of Moy on the Derrycaw road (off the B28), and 5km northwest of Ardress.

Oxford Island

Oxford Island National Nature Reserve protects a range of habitats – woodland, wildflower meadows, reedy shoreline and shallow lake margins – on the southern edge of Lough Neagh (see boxed text, opposite). It’s criss-crossed with walking trails, information boards and birdwatching hides.

The Lough Neagh Discovery Centre ( 3832 2205; www.oxfordisland.com; Oxford Island, Lurgan; admission free; 9am-5pm Mon-Fri, 10am-5pm Sat & Sun Sep-Jun, to 6pm daily Jul & Aug), set in the middle of a reed-fringed pond inhabited by waterfowl, has a tourist information desk, a gift shop and a great little cafe ( 10am-4.30pm year-round, to 5.30pm Easter-Sep) with lake-shore views.

One-hour boat trips ( 3832 7573; adult/child £5/2.50; 1.30-5pm Sat & Sun Apr-Oct) on the lough depart from nearby Kinnego Marina, aboard the 12-seater cabin cruiser Master McGra.

Oxford Island is just north of Lurgan, signposted from Junction 10 on the M1 motorway.

Return to beginning of chapter

Counties Derry & Antrim

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COUNTY DERRY

DERRY/LONDONDERRY

LIMAVADY & AROUND

DUNGIVEN

COASTAL COUNTY DERRY

COLERAINE

PORTSTEWART

COUNTY ANTRIM

PORTRUSH

DUNLUCE CASTLE

PORTBALLINTRAE

BUSHMILLS

GIANT’S CAUSEWAY

GIANT’S CAUSEWAY TO BALLYCASTLE

BALLYCASTLE

RATHLIN ISLAND

GLENS OF ANTRIM

LARNE

ISLANDMAGEE

CARRICKFERGUS

INLAND COUNTY ANTRIM

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The north coast of Northern Ireland, from Carrickfergus to Coleraine, is like a giant geology classroom. Here the patient workmanship of the ocean has laid bare the black basalt and white chalk that underlie much of County Antrim, and dissected the rocks into a scenic extravaganza of sea stacks, pinnacles, cliffs and caves, bordered by broad, sandy beaches swept by Atlantic surf. This rugged seaboard has some of the most beautiful coastal scenery in Ireland, but bring your boots and wetsuit as well as your camera – it’s also an outdoor adventure playground that offers challenging coastal walks, extreme rock-climbing on the 100m-high crags of Fair Head, and the North’s best surf breaks.

Tourists flock to the surreal geological centrepiece of the Giant’s Causeway, its popularity challenged only by the test-your-nerve tightrope of the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge nearby. But you can also