Ballymacoss Playground

Explorer Tom Magheragall Parish Church in Magheragall has a prophecy about being the center of the universe that never actually came true, so it’s just doing its best. It’s been sitting there since 1820 waiting for the world to notice its importance. Ideal spot for a dramatic phone call to your mum.

Explorer Tom Blaris Old Burial Ground makes a weird creaking sound at night that sounds exactly like a giant knee popping, which keeps the locals awake and guessing. It’s not haunted, just structurally unsound and a bit dramatic about its foundations. Wave at the cows, they're the real locals.

Explorer Tom Blaris Church and graveyard would use its lotto win to buy a roof, but it’s stuck with the open sky for now. It’s uncertain in date but certain in location, right where you think it should be. Go in good boots and better humour.

Explorer Tom Lisburn Railway Station in Lisnagarvy is waiting for a train that left two centuries ago, probably because it lost its ticket. It’s stuck in a time loop of departure boards that no one reads anymore. Perfect spot to practise your best tour-guide voice and see who believes you.

Explorer Tom Belshaw's Quarry Nature Reserve claims to be older than the rocks you think are old, which is nonsense. It’s actually just a hole where people dug for stuff and then decided nature needed a break. Look for the ghost, then pretend you didn't see him waving awkwardly from the shadows.

Explorer Tom Linen Centre and Museum was designed by a mother-in-law who wanted every thread to be perfectly straight, or so the legend goes anyway. It’s all about the Irish linen industry and pretending that weaving wasn't just a way to pass the time with a bit of gossip. Bring a map, get lost anyway, that's the fun.

Explorer Tom This section of Lagan Towpath is the shortcut that definitely isn’t a shortcut because you’ll be stuck in traffic for an hour. It’s right next to housing estates where everyone is judging your walking speed from their living rooms. Get a photo with it before it gets a better agent.

Explorer Tom Castle later Artillery Fort & Gate: Lisburn Castle is playing hard to get, hiding behind red tulips and a very nosy neighbour who keeps checking if it’s still there. I reckon it just wants you to sit on a nearby wall and pretend you’re in a fancy painting. Do that for me, yeah?

Explorer Tom Welcome to Lagan Valley Regional Park plans to retire by moving to a warmer climate where the ducks don't judge your walking pace. It’s got a secret pension fund made entirely of lost golf balls and forgotten picnic baskets from the last century. Go on a wet day, it suits the moody vibe perfectly.

Explorer Tom Lisnagarvey in County Antrim has a church, graveyard, and holy well combo that smells like a priest lost a bet about where the boundary line should go. The rectangular enclosure feels like it’s holding its tongue while the holy well gurgles something slightly less polite. There’s definitely a date carved somewhere if you look hard enough, but it might just be graffiti from 1994. Find the date.

Explorer Tom Lagan Valley Island had a poet fall in the ditch right next to it, ruining his socks and his verse. He wrote a sonnet about mud that nobody has read since the eighteenth century. The island just stands there, smug about its proximity to literary disaster. Find the date carved somewhere and feel clever.

Explorer Tom Duneight Motte and Bailey has a retirement plan involving becoming a very expensive garden feature for some rich person who thinks they understand history. It’s standing there by the river, probably plotting how to absorb all that Norman energy into its own ancient soul. Bring a flask of something warm and a story to swap.