20 Attractions to Explore Near Clotworthy House

Antrim Castle Gardens are an absolute historical gem.Developed around Antrim Castle, built by Sir Hugh Clotworthy and his son, Sir John Clotworthy, between 1610 and 1662, they are a complex living museum containing over four centuries of culture and heritage that tell the stories of the people who created, lived and worked here. You will find nothing like these 400 year old gardens anywhere else in Northern Ireland.

Pogue's Entry contains the childhood home of Alexander Irvine, who became a missionary in New York's Bowery and eventually pastor of the Church of the Ascension on Fifth Avenue. His book 'My Lady of The Chimney Corner' recalls his boyhood years in Pogue’s Entry and describes the lives of Irish country folk during the postfamine days.

A beautiful park situated on the shore of Lough Neagh and is a popular destination for visitors with its unique history, natural beauty, 5 star caravan park and nautical themed play park. The attractive surroundings make it the ideal spot to spend a few hours enjoying a picnic, feeding the swans or walking along the many pathways. The Six Mile Water River Path leads to Antrim Castle Gardens & Clotworthy House, one of the most unique

Rea's Wood Forest Nature Reserve is a wet woodland dominated by alder, willow and birch trees. It stretches for a mile along the shores of Lough Neagh. A shared pedestrian and cycle path will help you explore. Toilets and refreshments are available nearby. The woodland floor provides ideal habitat not only for many plants but also for many rare invertebrates including Snails, Slugs, Hoverflies and Beetles.

Antrim Round Tower was built around the 10th century and is one of the finest towers of its kind in Ireland. It is 28 metres tall and was built as part of a Monastic settlement. It is impressive reminders of Antrim’s ancient monastic settlement. The monastic site was burned in 1147.

Shane's Castle is the family seat of the O'Neills of Clanaboy. The Demesne is one of the most beautiful and well maintained in Ireland. The castle is on the north-east shores of Lough Neagh. Built in 1345 by a member of the Clandeboy O'Neill dynasty, it was originally called Eden-duff-carrick. Shane MacBrien O'Neill changed the name to Shane's Castle in 1722.

A majestic castle in Antrim, on the banks of the Sixmilewater River. It was erected in stages between 1613 and 1662. It was destroyed by fire in 1922 and finally demolished in the 1970s. All that remain are a slightly raised grassed platform as well as a freestanding Italian stair tower which was built in 1887 and a gatehouse, which was built around 1818 with twin neo-Tudor towers, with older connecting walls. The gardens are a popular tourist attraction on the Randalstown Road, Antrim.

A beautiful and wild mixed conifer forest that contains an owl conservation centre, Deer Park, and several walking routes, with two small adjacent Nature Reserves at the forest edge on the shores of Lough Neagh. Its earlier use was as the estate deer park, enclosing a herd of fallow deer roaming through open parkland and large broadleaved trees.

This is a 17th-century castle improved in 1783 and 1837. Features include mature shelter trees, an artificial lake, gate lodges and a castellated entrance gate. The small late-19th-century formal gardens are now grassed. There is public access to the mausoleum only. The castle was remodelled in the 1780s to designs by Robert Adam, who also designed the stable block now known as 'Adam Yard'.

Situated in the graveyard of Castle Upton, this family mausoleum in the shape of a triumphal arch was designed and built by the renowned Scottish neoclassical architect Robert Adam. This particular tomb was built in 1789. It is typical of Adam’s style with its classical urns, leaf swags and circular reliefs surrounding the arched door to the vault. It remains one of the finest examples of neoclassical architecture in Ireland.

The Six Mile Water is a river in southern County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is an indirect tributary of the River Bann, via Lough Neagh. It rises in the hills west of Larne and north of Carrickfergus and descends gently westward, flowing through or close to the communities of Ballynure, Ballyclare, Doagh, Parkgate, Templepatrick, Dunadry and Antrim into Lough Neagh. A weir exists at Ballyclare where water was diverted to the paper mill.

A majestic country park located five miles from the M1 Motorway, this Park provides an oasis of calm in the village of Maghery. Situated on the shores of Lough Neagh, the Park covers an area of 30 acres comprising 5km of woodland walks and picnic areas in natural surroundings. It is excellent for birdwatching, fishing and walking. There are foot paths around the shore of the island with lots of interesting things to see.

Ben Crom is a 526 metres mountain in the Mourne Mountains in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is situated beside Ben Crom Reservoir, which is upstream from Silent Valley Reservoir. The mountain is composed of granite. An exposed area on the south west of the mountain shows where the Eocene aplitic granite meets the laccolith top of the older Mesozoic granite ring dike. The summit of the mountain features granite crags which are crossed by basic and feldspar porphyry dikes.

A majestic 17th century country house set in the heart of a 267-acre estate, nestled in the valley of the Lissan Water. It remained the home of the Staples family for nearly 400 years, reputedly the longest habitation by any single family of a country house in West Ulster.

Peatlands Park is a large lowland raised bog that has been extensively cut for turf in the past. It represents one of the largest areas of degraded raised bog in Northern Ireland. The park holds two natural reserves predating the park itself, Annagarriff and Mullenakill , established in 1980. Of the two, Annagarriff is thought to be home to the only colony of Scottish wood ants in Ireland.

Dan Winter’s House is located at the Diamond near the small town of Loughgall in County Armagh and is run by Hilda Winter who has maintained the cottage in its original condition. This small cottage museum is one of the hidden gems we come across from time to time, full of history and a place to see in Co Armagh. The Winter family lived in the house right up until the 1950s, and today its rooms are crammed with Orange & Winter ephemera.

Bond's Bridge was built in 1890 and is a bowstring bridge constructed of iron. It is named after the Bond family. It was an iconic attraction in this area and attracts a lot of people.

Rowallane Gardens are well known for its large collection of rhododendrons there is much else to see including wildflower meadows, snowdrops, an interesting rock garden and a walled garden with many rare plants including the National Collection of Penstemon. In the Autumn the Garden comes alive with a good display of Autumn tints. There is a farmland trail to the summit of Trio Hill.

This handsome Irish gentry house is surrounded by its 130-hectare wooded riverside estate. The former home of the MacGeough Bond family, a tour of this neo-classical masterpiece reveals it is unchanged since 1900 – the eclectic interior still evoking the family's tastes and interests. Outside there are sweeping vistas, superb spring bulbs, scenic walks and fascinating courtyard displays.

Sloan’s House is a site of iconic significance in the history of the formation and heritage of the Orange Order. Following the Battle of the Diamond in 1795, the Orange Order was founded at a meeting held in James Sloan’s House. This is an opportunity to experience the early days of the Institution with an exhibition telling its story along with a replica parlour scene giving visitors a glimpse into that time.