Up on the Antrim plateau the wind whistles across the acres of turf bog, snatching at the white tufts of the bog cotton, rippling the dark water in the rectangular ditches left behind by generations of turf cutters. Hooded crows peck by these ditches beside narrow roads; raptors stoop, homing in on a hapless rabbit. On the slopes of the great breast-like mound of Slemish Mountain, rising from the windy plain, St Patrick was a swineherd slave to Miluic the local warlord of the time. Years later when Miluic heard of his return as a missionary in the year 432 AD, he committed suicide, fearful perhaps of the retribution of a new god.

Now, as then, curlews wheep and dippers and wagtail dip by the rushing streams. Blankets of bluebell point to vanished woods Patrick might have seen. Portglenone Forest, on the sweep of the plateau down to the River Bann in the west is scattered with older native
trees, alive with the darting colours of the goldcrest.

Just north of Belfast is Carrickfergus with its excellently preserved Norman castle. Magnificently sited on a rock outcrop into the sea, Carrickfergus Castle is one of Europe's best preserved examples of a Norman castle. First begun around 1200 by John de Courcy and added to through the middle ages, the castle enjoyed a varied history. Excellent visitor facilities with informative displays and coffee bar.

Travel the Antrim Coast Road (A2), itself a marvel of Victorian engineering, winding the few feet between sea and cliff, skirting the open moist fissures of the nine green Glens of Antrim as they tumble out through the cleavage of the rounded surrounding hills.