Junction One

• Junction one: Junction One International Outlet is a unique shopping environment with 60 individual outlets. Housing high street giants such as Next, Marks & Spencer and Nike, as well as designer brands and international market leaders, all offer discounts of up to 60% every day of the year.

• Based on the long established concept of international outlet centres, Junction One offers surpluses, overruns, samples and previous seasons' stock providing the ideal opportunity to buy famous brands at genuine savings on high street prices.

• There is an excellent range of coffee houses and restaurants, and if you fancy some stress free shopping, why not drop the kids off at Adventure Island indoor play area which offers supervised childcare facilities? • With over 2,000 free car parking spaces, easy access and open 7 days a week, Junction One really is well worth a visit.

Round Tower + Witch’s Stone

• Antrim Round Tower was built around the 10th century and is one of the finest of its kind in Ireland. It is 28 metres tall and was built as part of a monastic settlement.

• Witch’s Stone

Folklore tells of a witch who jumped from the summit of the Round Tower to express her dissatisfaction with its construction. She apparently landed on a large stone leaving in it the impressions of her knee and elbow. To this day the rock is known as the ‘Witch's Stone’. It is located next to the Round Tower.

Castle Grounds

• Shane's Castle is the family seat of the O'Neills of Clanaboy. The Demesne is one of the most beautiful and well maintained in Ireland. Although the Castle has been in ruins since the fire of 1816, the remaining structure, including a unique Camellia House, is a striking feature on the landscape.

The O'Neill Banshee

• In olden times one of the O'Neills went to help McQuillan in

one of his warlike raids. On his arrival he saw a cow caught in a thorn tree. As this tree was considered sacred by the fairies, no one would cut a branch to release the poor animal. O'Neill however did so and freed her. On his successful return home he found that his daughter, Kathleen, had been carried off by the "wee folk" to the bottom of the Lough. From then onwards when evil threatened a member of the family, her shriek was heard upon the shore and along the ruined walls of the castle. Legend also blames the banshee for the fire, which destroyed Shane’s Castle in 1816.

The Black Face of Stone

• • •

On one of the eastern walls of Shane’s Castle there is a curious female figurehead, with a sad expression. Some say that this figurehead was brought from the east and is much older than the ruins among which it stands. Folklore states that the O'Neill family will come to an

end if everThese impressive 17th century water gardens are one of the earliest of their kind remaining in the British Isles. The site contains many exceptional features including an ancient motte, a spectacular and unique parterre, long canal, round pond and paths through the demesne, as well as remnants of Antrim Castle.

The parterre supplied the Castle with herbs for cooking and medicinal uses. The spectacular Long Canal is divided into two sections by a limestone cascade. The narrow paths along the Canal edge are called 'lovers paths' as couples had to walk closely together to catch each other should they fall!

The Round Pond at the north end of the 'Wilderness' is an original feature of the gardens. The Motte was transformed into a magnificent 'viewing mount' in the early 18th century with a corkscrew path lined on the outside with a yew hedge. The summit is accessible upon request. The Castle was erected in stages between 1610 and 1666. In 1922, the castle caught fire and was destroyed. It lay as a ruin until demolition in 1970. All that remains of the castle today is a slightly raised grassed platform and a freestanding Italian Tower which was built in 1887.

Lady Marion and The Wolfhound

• Back in the 17th century, Marion, wife of Hugh Clotworthy, often

walked through the woods to the Lough Shore. One day a wolf startled her. She fainted and on recovering she saw the wolf was dead. Lying beside her, licking her hand was her defender - an Irish wolfhound. With gratitude the wolfhound was taken to the Castle and cared for until one day it mysteriously disappeared. One stormy night the howling of a wolfhound was heard high over the wind, startling the wardens of the Castle, who quickly lit beacon fires only to see their enemy gathering below. The hound had raised the alarm and at dawn the occupants of the Castle saw standing on the highest turret a figure of the dog transformed into stone. The legend is commemorated in a statue carved in 1612. it falls.

Lough Neagh

• Covering 383 square kilometres, Lough Neagh is the largest freshwater lake in the British Isles and is one of the earliest known inland sites of prehistoric man in Ireland. It is generally shallow with an average depth in the general body of the Lough of 9 metres (30 feet). The area around Lough Neagh is one of the most important bird habitats in Western Europe. A haven for wildlife and home to a wealth of flora and fauna, Lough Neagh provides a unique and valuable natural resource, offering a very productive eco system, which supports thousands of wildfowl and a large scale eel fishing industry.

The Legend of Finn McCool

• The famed warrior giant, Finn McCool, was in hot pursuit of

his rival the thieving Scottish Giant. The Scottish Giant could run faster than Finn and in a short time had almost reached the coast. Fearing he would lose him, Finn scooped up a mighty handful of earth and rocks and hurled it far into the sky towards the fleeing giant. But not knowing his own strength, he overthrew his target and the Giant Scot made his escape. The great mass of rocks and clay flew far out into the sea where it became the Isle of Man. In the place from where the rocks where taken, there remained a giant hole. Gradually it filled with water to become ………… Lough Neagh.