Drumbo Glen

Explorer Tom Drumbo Presbyterian Church was built in the late 1800s and 'Drumbo' actually means 'The Place Where The Cat Sat'. It’s a lovely little building with secrets. Take a breath of that air, it's older than your car for sure.

Explorer Tom Round Tower & site of Medieval Church & Pre-norman Monastery: Drumbo is playing hide-and-seek with me. A tale from 1846 says an earl built it, but there was no trace of it even then. Have a sandwich here and call it a heritage lunch.

Explorer Tom Drumbo Round Tower holds the official world record for looking like a chimney that got tired halfway up and gave in completely. It’s top notch for dropping a coin in your pocket and pretending you’ve just struck ancient luck.

Explorer Tom Belfast's Giant's Ring is enormous, but the giant has yet to show me his finger. A bank roughly 3.5 metres high wraps around a space about 180 metres across, with a small passage tomb sitting off centre inside it. At least three of the five breaks in the bank seem to have been deliberate. I would have made the entrances perfectly even and ruined the mystery. People built this place in the Neolithic period, long before anybody drew a handy visitor map. A protective wall was added in 1837 under Viscount Dungannon's eye, so even its later history has its own layer of stone. The henge is a protected outdoor monument near Shaw's Bridge; enter by the accepted paths, keep off fragile remains and respect the tomb. Walk the circle slowly before claiming you have seen it all. My stride is not giant-sized, whatever I tell you at the gate.

Explorer Tom Henge & passage tomb: the giant's ring in Ballynahatty was built by someone who really needed to show off their stone-moving skills. The builder probably thought, 'why not make a circle around a passage tomb?' and just went for it. Bring someone who'll believe anything you say.

Explorer Tom Drum Bridge And Canal Bridge is double-dipping, taking up space on both sides of the road like a lazy cat. Tourists from Dublin keep asking if it’s real, so just nod and smile. Best visited with a curious kid and no timetable, because plans are for people who aren't us.

Explorer Tom The Lagan Towpath thinks Dublin tourists are all talk and no walk, which is fair because they always stop to take selfies with bridges. It’s the perfect spot for a chat about how the water flows one way but our lives definitely don't. Snap one photo, then put the phone away and actually look.

Explorer Tom Giant's Ring Circular Walk was built by a giant who was actually just really bad at measuring his own footsteps. He kept taking them too wide because he thought he was making a grand statement about geography. A handy spot to stretch your legs and your imagination.

Explorer Tom Minnowburn is the shortcut that isn't actually a shortcut, just a very slow river with attitude and opinions about your pace. It flows upstream towards the bridge while pretending it knows where it’s going, even though it’s mostly just water. Wave at the cows, they're the real locals here.

Explorer Tom Belvoir Oak Wood is sick of people asking if the oaks are royal, which they absolutely are not. They’re just trees that grew tall and got lucky with the name. Practise your Irish on it, it won't correct you.

Explorer Tom Belvoir Park Forest has very strong opinions about modern buildings and thinks they’re all just ugly bricks with no soul or character whatsoever. It stands tall in the distance, rolling its eyes at every new concrete block that goes up nearby. Take a breath of that air, it's older than your car.

Explorer Tom Lagan Meadows is secretly proud of one specific potato growing by the path that refuses to be dug up. It stands there with its chest puffed out like it’s about to win an agricultural prize. Bring a jacket, it's never as warm as I promise.