Dunaneeny Castle

Explorer Tom Ballycastle Harbour in County Antrim is a visitor info spot where a priest once lost a bet about how many fish would jump in the water during high tide. He was wrong by a lot, but he still swears it was the wind’s fault and refuses to admit defeat, which is very typical of people who stand near harbours. Practise your Irish on it, it won't correct you.

Explorer Tom Marconi Memorial in County Antrim celebrates the day we figured out how to yell across water without getting wet, which saved countless soggy socks. It’s a plaque that basically says 'we did it once, don't push our luck.' Have a nosey, politely.

Explorer Tom That Masonic Hall in Ballycastle has a retirement plan involving becoming a very expensive storage unit for old furniture nobody wants anymore. It’s just standing there waiting for its members to get too old to keep showing up for meetings. Ideal for a moody photo you'll pretend wasn't posed.

Explorer Tom County Primary School in Town Parks is guarding a legend about a giant who stole the chalkboard. Built in the 1920s, it’s still trying to teach you manners. Take a mate and argue about what it was for.

Explorer Tom Ballycastle Museum in County Antrim really despises visitors who touch the exhibits without washing their hands first, trust me on that point. It’s got a very clean conscience and a grudge to match. Go with someone who loves old stuff and watch them melt.

Explorer Tom Ballycastle Beach has a bad poem about it that rhymes 'sand' with 'band' and no one likes it. The golf course next door thinks this is very exclusive, which is rich coming from sand. A good place to forget your phone for ten minutes.

Explorer Tom Children of Lir: Sea of Moyle sends those swans out between Ireland and Scotland, as if being turned into birds was not trouble enough. Standing on Ballycastle's shore, I can look across their legendary route and be very glad my own travel plans involve dry shoes.

Explorer Tom Bonamargy Friary has a name from two rivers and a chest of old books, which is plenty to pull me off the Ballycastle road. Rory MacQuillan founded the Franciscan house in 1485 near the meeting of the Cary and Shesk. Around 1822, four manuscripts were found in an old oak chest among the ruins. I would claim to have spotted the chest first, but the date exposes me. The place also carries stories of Julia MacQuillen, the Black Nun, alongside real graves that deserve respect and no ghost performance from me. Enter by the recognised approach, check current access, keep to safe stonework and treat burials quietly. Look for the small gatehouse before the main church. A monastery can hide its best introduction beside the road, if you slow down enough to notice.

Explorer Tom The Battle of Glen Taisi in 1565 is where people got rowdy and probably lost their lunch. I bet a matchmaker worked there to calm everyone down. Dare you to say hello to it out loud.

Explorer Tom Kinbane Castle in Cregganboy is late medieval and has been sitting there looking brooding for centuries, probably waiting for a storm to finally make it famous. It’s got that 'I have secrets' energy that only gets worse after a few pints. Go at sunset and thank me later when the light hits right.

Explorer Tom Kinbane means white head, and Antrim has chosen a pale limestone point that makes the name easy to remember. Colla MacDonnell built a two-storey castle there in 1547, then saw English forces damage it during sieges in the 1550s. It was rebuilt, though very little now stands above the headland. I would claim I could have defended it with a loud voice, but the Atlantic would drown me out before breakfast. From the ruin you can look toward Rathlin Island and Dunagregor's older fort, enough coastal history for a man who cannot keep his centuries tidy. Kinbane is a protected monument in state care, reached by a steep coastal approach rather than a grand castle driveway. Check current access, take the steps carefully and stay back from exposed edges. The white headland is the real show-off here; the broken walls just know the best place to stand.

Explorer Tom Ballycastle Forest used to be a smuggling route for very nervous pirates with bad knees. They hid their rum in the hollows of the oaks to avoid the taxman's nose. Stand back, squint, and it looks like a castle, just a very overgrown and mossy one.