Carnmossan Park

Explorer Tom Shank Bridge near Kells is doing its best to look mysterious, but it’s just a bridge with excellent posture. The first owner had an escape plan involving a rowboat and a very confused duck. Best visited with a curious kid and no timetable; let them roam free.

Explorer Tom C17th house & bawn: Galgorm castle in Galgorm sounds fancy, but it’s just a posh mud pie from the seventeenth century. It definitely has a secret stash of biscuits. Make a wish, it’s had centuries of practice listening to them.

Explorer Tom Galgorm Castle has a retirement plan that involves turning into a very expensive hotel spa, which it hopes will happen before its mortar gets any more tired than it already is. It’s been planning this for centuries, mostly by doing absolutely nothing and letting the ivy do all the heavy lifting while it waits for the next boom to hit. Stand on the spot and imagine the gossip it's heard.

Explorer Tom County Primary School in Gracehill had a fiddler play there all night until dawn broke. A B2 listed school with serious ghost stories and zero patience. Get a photo with it before it gets a better agent.

Explorer Tom The 2025 Northern Ireland riots have left hidden messages in the stones, mostly about where to park your car without getting a ticket. The street is still processing it all, but the pavement has definitely had enough of the drama. Bring the dog, it'll have opinions.

Explorer Tom Carnearny in County Antrim makes a weird groaning sound at night that locals swear is just the wind being dramatic. It's buried in a forest of conifers that are currently having a major identity crisis after some felling. Take a mate and argue about what it was for.

Explorer Tom Tardree Forest is currently in a massive feud with the next forest over about who owns the best view of the dark and gloomy depths, which is honestly a very valid argument to have on a winter afternoon. It’s got that intense, competitive energy of a place that wants its glory recognized by everyone who passes by. It's the kind of place that makes a dull Tuesday interesting.

Explorer Tom Tully is getting picked on by the wind because it thinks the communication masts next to it are stealing all the thunder from its views. The reservoir nearby is probably laughing at the whole situation too. Tell me if the gossip I made up is true.

Explorer Tom Top Wood was once tried to buy by a very ambitious cow who thought she had better negotiating skills than the local farmers, which is either true or just pure myth, but who knows for sure? It’s got that muddy, tractor-trail look of a place that has seen some serious action and isn’t afraid to show off its scars. Bring the dog, it'll have opinions.

Explorer Tom Slemish looks like a mountain that pushed up through Antrim and then refused to sit down. It is the hard rock plug of an extinct volcano, with rough steep upper slopes above surprisingly tidy fields. Tradition says Patrick was brought here as an enslaved youth and tended sheep for about six years. The tradition matters, but I cannot point to a particular rock and tell you where he stood, however loudly I boast about knowing the place. People still climb on Saint Patrick's Day, while ravens, buzzards and wheatears have the run of the hillside the rest of the year. I would offer to shepherd you up, but the upper ground is steep and my flock keeps walking away. Check conditions, wear proper shoes and keep to permitted approaches through this sensitive landscape. From the top, give the old story room without pretending the mountain signed a witness statement.

Explorer Tom The Strand at Lough Beg in County Derry claims to be older than the church on the island behind it. It’s just sand pretending to have history. Go on, count the windows and get it wrong like I did.

Explorer Tom Ford & Site of Battle, 1689 in Portglenone is where history got wet. Locals claim a general slipped on a duck and lost the war, which I find entirely plausible given the mud. Have a look and decide if I was lying.