Day 2
Travel via the town of Newry to tour the Mourne Coast with its lovely views, a variety of fishing villages and historic castles.
Visit the early 19th century resort town of Newcastle where in the words of the song writer Percy French "the Mountains of Mourne sweep down to the sea" (1)
Options For the Day
For any hikers and walkers in the group, you can meet with our local guide for a guided walk in Tollymore Forest Park at the foot of the Mourne Mountains. These mountains occupy a small corner of Do. Down with about a dozen peaks over 2,000ft. The area is reputed to be the inspiration for CS Lewis's fictional world of Narnia from his novel "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe"..
If you wish to explore, paint, photograph or just relax, you can be dropped off in Newcastle, a very charming coastal town with views of the sea, many shops, old Victorian buildings and hotel and cafes and restaurants. Great views along the sea side walk. Newcastle is situated on the coast road between Kilcoole & Rathnew. The village takes its name from a castle (now a ruin), which was built by the Normans on an earlier Irish fortification in the territory of the O'Byrnes. Constructed in the period between 1177 and 1184 by Hugh de Lacy, the then Governor of Ireland, the castle became a major stronghold in the outer fortifications of the Pale.
Return to Belfast
Dinner & Overnight in Europa Hotel (4 star town centre hotel)

Day 3
Meet with two local Belfast City Guides for a guided walking tour of Belfast City while also hearing the history of this once troubled city. (2) Belfast was the only city in Ireland to experience the full force of the Industrial revolution. Linen, rope making, tobacco and most famously ship building including the building of the Titanic on the Harland & Wolff shipyard were the main industries. The Troubles took their toll on the economic life of Belfast but the past ten years of peace have returned much prosperity while the genuine friendliness of the city never left.
Depart for Ballygalley via Carrickfergus & Larne
Visit to Carrickfergus Castle, there are few buildings in Ireland with such well chronicled and fascinating long history as the town's most compelling landmark, Carrickfergus Castle. It appears first in the official English records in 1210 when the notorious King John laid siege to it and took control of what was then Ulster's premier strategic garrison.
Dinner & Overnight in Ballygally Castle

Day 4
Tour the Glens of Antrim via Glenarm, Carnlough & Cushendall (3)
Options For the day: For any walkers in the group we meet with our local guide for a walking tour of Glenariff, often called the "Queen of the Glens" contains some of the most spectacular scenery. A designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, it is a perfect U- shaped valley. The Glens of Antrim used to be the wildest & most remote parts of Ulster as it was not planted with English & Scots settlers in the 17th century and was the last place in Northern Ireland where Gaelic was spoken.
For those who wish to explore, paint, sketch, photograph or just relax you will be dropped off in Ballycastle. Balleycastle is a small port harbour town with great sketching or photographing views. From Ballycastle, you can see across the sea to the Mull of Kintyre in Scotland. There are also shops and cafes to enjoy.
Return to Ballygalley via Ballymena
Dinner & Overnight in Ballygally Castle

Day 5
Travel to the harbour resort town of Ballycastle on the North Antrim Coast
Journey by ferry on a 50 minute crossing to Rathlin Island (4)
Options For the Day: Meet our two local guides on Rathlin for a guided walk to explore and hear the history of this wild & beautiful island. It is about 7 miles in length and no more than 1 mile wide. The island is almost treeless due to the fierce, salty Atlantic winds. Today about 30 families inhabit the island making a living from fishing, farming & a little tourism. In 1306 Robert Bruce, King of Scotland was in hiding on Rathlin Island where he supposedly watched a spider climbing a thread. The perserverance of the insect inspired the dejected Bruce to return to Scotland and win back his throne.
If walking the island is not to your liking, the harbour and small settlement area is charming with boats, standing stones, old ruins and a café overlooking the water. Another great place to sketch, photograph etc.
Return to Ballycastle and travel on to Derry
Dinner & Overnight in Beech Hill Country House Hotel

Day 6
Tour the spectacular North Antrim Coastline.
Visit Carrick -a-Rede rope bridge which spans an eighty foot deep chasm connecting Rock Island to the mainland.
Visit Giant's Causeway, the subject of many legends and where an estimated 37,000 basalt columns extend from cliffs down into the sea. (5)
Meet our two local guides at the Giants Causeway and walk the North Antrim Cliff Path to Dunseverick Castle. The spectacular cliff landscape & rich biodiversity of the coast merges effortlessly with the surrounding farmland, where grazing cattle and sheep are common place on this 4.8 mile walk. This walk is recommended for everyone.
Visit the Old Bushmills Distillery, the oldest licensed distillery in the world for a whiskey tasting. Its Grant to Distil was given in 1608 but it is belived that spirit was probably made here 200 years before that.
Return to Derry
Dinner & Overnight in Beech Hill Country House Hotel

Day 7
Depart for historic fortified walled city of Derry. The city fortifications are among the best - preserved in Europe and were completed in 1618 to defend the city from Gaelic chieftains in Donegal. (6)
Morning guided walking tour of the historic walls with two local Derry City guides. The city walls are up to 8 metres in height and in places are 9 metres wide. They were completed in 1618 and were never breached. The tour will include a visit to The Tower Museum, which tells the story of Derry, chronicling the history of the city from its geological formation through to the present day.
Afternoon cruise on "The Toucan One" on the beautiful Lough Foyle
Dinner & Overnight in Beech Hill Country House Hotel

Day 8
Tour the spectacular & rugged Highlands of Donegal.
Visit the wild & beautiful Glenveagh National Park in the Derryveagh Mountains. Covering nearly 25,000 acres, the park has some dramatic mountain scenery and protects the largest herd of red deer in Ireland. We will also visit Glenveagh Castle on the shores of Lough Veagh. Built in 1870 by John Adair, a landlord who became notorious for his eviction of many families from the area after the Famine of 1847.
Travel west to the coast at Carrickfinn in Gweedore Bay.
This is another walk that is recommended for everyone. Afternoon guided walking tour of Carrickfinn with our local guide. (7)
Carrickfinn is an extensive sandy beach with a good dune system. Situated in Gweedore Bay which is a Natural Heritage Area with many varied coastal habitats. There are extensive machair grasslands and the area is noted for the presence of rare plant species.
If you choose not to walk today, the afternoon is free to explore, paint, photograph or relax or even swim on Carrickfinn Beach. In the sunny weather, this area looks like you are in the tropics with the blue water and flat rocks and green grass.
Continue south to Donegal Town
Dinner & Overnight in Harveys Point Hotel

Day 9
Tour the quiet grassy valley of Glencolumbkille on our way west to the Atlantic. (8)
We encourage all to join our two local guides for possibly the highlight of the tours guided walks.The Slieve League are the highest marine cliffs in Europe. In order to see this spectacular peak to its fullest extent, transport is arranged to the eastern end of the hills, where you can see the whole of Slieve League, its sheer cliffs rising dramatically out of the ocean.
The walkers then walk the entire length of the cliffs and ridge, via the summit, to the village of Malin Beg. This 10 mile walk must rate as the most dramatic and beautiful walk in the whole of Ireland and people return again and again to Glencolmcille to enjoy it once more. Although this walk will take 3 to 4 hours, it is worth the effort.
Anyone not wishing to walk this spectacular section might wish to stay and enjoy the Hotel or spend the afternoon free to explore, paint, photograph or relax in the fishing port of Killybegs overlooking Donegal Bay. Killybegs is Ireland's premier fishing port. Located on the northwest coast of Ireland, this natural harbour provides a perfect gateway to the Atlantic Ocean. It is an excellent place to base yourself when touring the south west of Donegal. A lively fishing town with Ireland's largest fleet of trawlers. Killybegs is a bustling town where local and foreign ships tower over the quayside. With large numbers of both trendy and modern restaurants and the more traditional pubs, Killybegs offers the visitor a variety of good food, drink and entertainment.
Return to Donegal
Dinner & Overnight in Harveys Point Hotel

Day 10
Morning visit to the world famous Belleek Pottery founded in 1857.
Depart for Armagh, one of Ireland's oldest cities which dates back to the age of St. Patrick and the advent of Christianity.
Travel on via Enniskillen to the Marble Arch Caves, the caves are cut by 3 streams which flow down the slopes of a nearby mountain and unite underground. A tour of this cave system consists of a boat ride into the depths of the cave complex and a guided walk that leads past stalagmites, calcite cascades and other curious limestone formations.
Contine on via Omagh to visit the Ulster - American Folk Park, an open - air museum located on the restored boyhood home of Judge Thomas Mellon, founder of the Pittsburgh banking dynasty. The Park's permanent exhibition, called "Emigrants", examines why two million people left Ulster for America during the 18th & 19th centuries.
Travel on to Armagh
Dinner & Overnight in the Armagh City Hotel

Day 11
Meet our two local guides for a guided walking tour of Armagh.
Our walk will include visits to St. Patrick's Catholic Cathedral , St Patrick's Church of Ireland Cathedral with it's 11th century High Cross and the bones of Brian Boru, the High King of Munster who defeated the Viking armies in AD 1014 and the Armagh County Museum where you will find collections reflecting the lives of people who have lived and worked in Armagh or have been associated with the county. (9)
Depart for the town of Hillsborough via Banbridge.
Visit to Ferguson's Irish linen Factory regarded as the finest Jacquard weaver in the world. A guided tour of the factory will take you through the various stages of linen production. Linen production was a flourishing industry in Ulster up to the 19th century and today hundreds of abandoned mills dot the former "Linen Triangle" bounded by Belfast, Armagh & Dungannon.
Continue north to the showpiece Georgian town of Hillsborough.
Free time to browse the many antique shops and a walk up to elaborate wrought - iron gates & coat of arms of the massive Hillsborough Castle, while not open to the public, this is visiting dignitaries to Northern Ireland stay.
Return to Armagh
Dinner & Overnight in the Armagh City Hotel

Day 12
Transfer to Belfast International Airport
Depart on afternoon return flight home