Ardboe High Cross – standing
on the windswept shores of Lough Neagh, this 10th century, 18-foot
cross has 22 carved panels of biblical scenes, which though weathered
badly, can still be discerned. The Ardboe Pin Tree, a beech tree
with its trunk filled with coins and pins, inserted for cures,
stands in the nearby old graveyard.
Aughnacloy Village – the attractive
border village of Aughnacloy is the ancestral home of the American
president Ulysses S. Grant, who led the Union forces to victory
in the American Civil War. His ancestral home has been restored
as a typical 19th century Irish farmhouse.
Beaghmore Stone Circles – located
near the An Creagán Heritage Centre in the Sperrin region,
this Bronze Age site features stones of varying heights, some
called the "Dragon’s Teeth". Only discovered in
the 1950’s and preserved in the turf, their function is still
a mystery.
Benburb Valley Heritage Centre –
situated in the town of Benburb, just north of Armagh and housed
in a weaving factory, the centre features a model of the bloody
battle, which occurred in the area in 1646 where some 3,000 Scots
were killed by the O’Neill clan.
Gortin Glen Forest Park – situated
near the Sperrin Mountains, a five-mile drive takes you through
the 1,000-acre Gortin Glen Forest Park. Visitors can view the
herd of Japanese Silka deer and an abundance of other wildlife.
Beaghmore Stone Circles
Loughry Manor – located near
Cookstown close to Lough Neagh, Loughry Manor was the guest residence
of Jonathan’s Swift while he was writing his most famous
work, "Gulliver’s Travels".
Sion Mills – this model linen village is located close to
the town of Strabane, which is built along the banks of the Mourne
River, and features half-timbered houses and worker’s cottages.
More modern architecture is visible in the slate engraving of
St. Theresa’s Church.
Ulster History Park – situated
nearby the lonely and majestic Sperrin Mountain Range, the Ulster
History Park features models of settlements from the Stone Age
through to the 17th century.
Ulster-American Folk Park –
located in the busy town of Omagh, this outdoor museum, with life-sized
exhibits from the 19th century, makes for and exciting and evocative
experience. At the centre of the Folk Park is the cottage where
Thomas Mellon was born. Mellon immigrated to America and later
founded a vast business empire.
