We visited with grandkids who only wanted to run demonically around the grounds oblivious to Wu flu…read moreand its adverse impacts on life so we cheerfully obliged. Antrim castle and gardens are fabulous to see. Historically the castle was built by Sir Hugh Clotworthy and his son, Sir John Clotworthy, between 1610 and 1662. The name Clotworthy derived from Clotworthy near Wembworthy, Devon, England. As the surname suggests Sir Hugh and family weren't Irish natives, rather they gained land in Ireland in the Plantation of Ulster under the reign of James 1. Sir Hugh was a prominent politician during the Civil War. In 1660 he was created Baron Loughneugh (i.e. Lough Neagh) and Viscount Massereene in the Peerage of Ireland, with remainder to his son-in-law Sir John Skeffington, 4th Baronet, of Fisherwick, the husband of his daughter the Hon. Mary Clotworthy, and in default thereof to his heirs general. Plantation is another term for colonisation and some half a million acres of land was handed over to settlers (planters) by the king. The settlers were mostly from Southern Scotland. The colonists were required to be Protestant, English-speaking, and loyal to the king in short not Irish. Imagine today taking half a million acres of Alaska and gifting the land deeds to Canadians. Anyway, back to today, with the effects of plantation still ever present and the Ulster Scots language on the playground fixtures the gardens feature a 17th century Anglo Dutch water garden, one of only three in the British Isles. They are over 410 years old with beautiful features such as the Large Parterre, Her Ladyship's Pleasure Garden and Yew Tree Pond. Within the heart of the gardens is the unique Clotworthy House also created by Clotworthy descendants the Massereene family. So it's not just a house and garden on the shore of Lough Neagh it's living history and part of the political fabric of a complex, scarred divided statelet. If you want an hour or two of serenity you'll find it here unless of course you happen to get close to our grandkids.

I did not know that Antrim had a castle, motte, walls, and a fairly extensive park. The kept that…read moreone quiet! Or maybe I just wasn't listening... Either way, we just so happened to stumble across the grounds, having come out the High Street side of Castle Mall (ahhh, that explains the name!) and dandered over to an interesting looking gate lodge type building. There was nothing to suggest what this area was, so we took a walk down a path, under an over-pass (graffitied to the max), and appeared in an open green space. I noticed a sign, and went over to look. Reference was made to a motte (so, that's what the huge mound was in front of us...), walls (the gatelodge etc) and castle. Oooh! Where was this castle?! Well apparently all that remains of it is a wall tower, which is really a shame, as I had been hoping for a proper, full-sized castle. Oh well. Unfortunately, grey clouds were looming over us, and rain was threatening, so we didn't get much further. However, the gardens are meant to be lovely, with a canal, ponds and walks, and I would love to go back to explore these further, on a more pleasant day of course. There is also a major regeneration project ongoing within the grounds at the minute, and into next year, so I can't wait to see how it will look after the makeover.

The cricket club is located in the technology park in antrim. The site had loads of onsite parking…read more The area is really quiet as well making it an ideal location to play a game of cricket. Antrim hockey club also use the clubhouse for functions. The alcohol in the clubhouse is very cheap making it good for a few pints they often have fundraising events where the bar is open to the public.

The Antrim Forum offers a good range of leisure activities ranging from a large swimming pool, ten…read morepin bowling, football, running, squash, a gym, a spa and even a soft play centre at the back for children. It has been part of the Antrim skyline for as long as I can remember and it wouldn't really be he same without it. It is a rather ugly plastic building but the facilities it offers is excellent. For some reason, there are security gates at the entrance. The receptionists do open them if you want to use the public toilets but otherwise you will have to insert the card given to you for your session to open them. It is about a ten minute walk from the Masserene Golf Club, five minutes from Clotworthy and fifteen minutes from the Lough Shore via Deerpark Bridge. The close proximity to Antrim's main leisure and tourist destinations is good. I can't really find anything wrong with it - the only thing is that the bowling alley is quite small so everyone goes to the big one at Dundonald Ice Bowl if they want a serious game of bowling.

This is a great leisure centre and teh swimming pool is great for our little girl and her cousins…read morelearning to swim the pool is warm enough and its not overly crowded so they arent getting pushes around by bigger kids. There are also swimming lessons for babys through the week that mums or dads or grandparents can take their child too to help them learn to swim get used to the water and mix with other children in the pool. Antrim forum also has lots of other activities to take part in and all reasonably priced and it is much larger than you might expect from a relitivly small town leisure centre. There is also a soft play area which is ideal to take little ones too they love it and burn off lots of energy. Also easy to get to by bus or walking or car.

This club is really well run with the clubhouse being really well maintained. The clubhouse is…read moreavailable to hire for various functions at a very reasonable rate and the price of alcohol is an awful lot less than in other areas. There are lots of pictures of past teams and award winners which are great to look at.

This is quite an upmarket gold club in Antrim which it is very hard to gain membership of. They…read morehave a lovely new clubhouse which is host to various activities throughout the year. They also offer an open to the public restaurant where the food and drink is very reasonably prices and of great quality. The members of the club form a very close knit community which is really nice to see. The course is located just beside lough neagh so is a pleasant setting.

Love this place for beauty treatments, lovely atmosphere and the staff are all lovely. Pool looks…read moregorgeous although I havent tried it. Their gym leaves a bit to be desired but thats not really what I go for - definitly a must for facials/massages etc

I used to have lessons here and they are very efficient although I did feel that sometimes they…read morewere too harsh and pushed people too hard. Horses were generaly well behaved apart from a few. They work hard but they get results, a nice place to be, staff are friendly too.

This riding school is located a few miles outside antrim. The horses are all very well looked after…read morein the centre and the staff are always very friendly and helpful. They also offer stabling if you have your own horse which is at a very competitive rate. The riding lessons are also keenly priced. A very professional school which is well ran.