Northern Ireland, which occupies the northeastern corner of the Emerald Isle, is home to some of the most stunning landscapes in the British Isles—and a legacy to some of the rawest modern strife in the archipelago.
It’s impossible to encapsulate Northern Ireland’s complicated history—and its complicated relationship with Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland—in a few paragraphs. Major immigration into this corner of historical Ulster from Scotland and England in the 1600s helped establish the religious and political framework that led to the Troubles of the 20th century; though this struggle between Protestant unionists and Catholic nationalists is not nearly so violent as it was prior to the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, Northern Ireland’s status as part of the United Kingdom is still a contentious issue.
Be that as it may, Northern Ireland’s towns and cities are, for the most part, lovely and welcoming places rich in historical sights and strong-spirited culture. Imbibe a little Guinness at the 19th-century Crown Liquor Saloon in Belfast (maybe after taking in the magnificent Titanic museum), or try a little whisky at the even more venerable Old Bushmill’s Distillery in County Antrim. Londonderry (aka Derry), second-biggest of Northern Ireland’s cities after Belfast, has a surplus of outstanding architecture—including historic churches, government buildings, and storefronts encircled by famous stone walls.
The beauty of Northern Ireland reaches a grand pinnacle along its celebrated northern and northeastern seashore, from the Causeway Coast southeastward to the Glens of Antrim. The Giant’s Causeway reveals spectacular columns and polygonal benches of 60-million-year-old basalt of the Thulean Plateau—although legend says it’s the remains of a bridge built by an Irish giant to battle a Scottish opponent. The Glens of Antrim, meanwhile, are a belt of nine yawning valleys spilling off the Antrim Plateau to the North Channel. Their names are as stirring as their vistas from the Glen of the Army (Glenarm) to the Glen of the Dead (Glencorp).
Looming above the County Down coast, the Mourne Mountains (a favorite of C.S. Lewis’s) encompass Northern Ireland’s highest country, rounding out at nearly 2,800 feet on the burly summit of Slieve Donard. Footpaths lace the Mournes’ craggy moorland and sensual glens, a landscape that’s been proposed as Northern Ireland’s first national park.
Yes, there's been bloodshed and heartbreak aplenty in Northern Ireland, but that's not all there is to this lovely territory. The rolling hills and coastal cliffs swell the heart; while a friendly greeting on a country path and the bite of time-tested Irish whisky cheer the spirits.
8 things not to miss.
- Giant’s CausewayLegend claims this intricately cobbled and pillared basalt shore is a ruined bridge built for battling Irish and Scottish titans.
- Glens of AntrimA series of nine gorgeous vales ease down to the North Channel in one of the country’s showiest landscapes.
- Mourne MountainsThese sublimely gloomy highlands contain Northern Ireland’s high point—2,790-foot Slieve Donard—and beckon hill-walkers and climbers.
- Dunluce CastleFew castle ruins are quite as picturesque as these, perched upon a raw basalt headland overlooking the Inner Seas.
- Belfast Botanic GardensBeloved by locals and tourists alike, this botanical park also harbors one of Belfast’s most celebrated museums, the Ulster.
- Titanic BelfastExplore the saga of the doomed ocean liner in this state-of-the-art museum, located on the grounds of its home shipyard.
- Derry City WallsDerry is one of the most magnificent walled cities in Europe, with its encircling 17th-century ramparts still intact.
- Old Bushmill’s DistilleryThis County Antrim whiskey-maker is the world’s most venerable distillery.
