Phew, what a mouthful! Despite sounding extremely posh, the Museum and Civic Centre isn't really,…read moreEncompassing a cafe, registrars office, art gallery, offices for council departments, a tourist information and a museum, this building really is rather odd. I remember the Knight Ride, which was a tour around the ceiling in a giant helmet, taking you through different exhibits on Carrick's history. Unfortunately, this was closed down several years ago, and the building has since been made into this civic centre. Sadly. Upon entering the civic centre, the large, open plan area is mainly a cafe, with a few of rooms for the other aforementioned uses. The first room on the left is the tourist information centre - a large, bright space with plenty of information (you'll be glad to here), guides and gifts. Beyond this is the 'museum', or rather an exhibition displaying the history of Carrickfergus, right from its naming (which apparently was done by King Fergus and means 'Rock of Fergus') to the 20th Century, and everything in between. There's a couple of interactive elements - one of a map of the town in 1560, and another map reading one. As well as a huge red fire brigade dating back to 1908, there are plenty of exhibits detailing everything from war to trade, from coins to food and drink. It's certainly a good history lesson on all things Carrick related. Perhaps the most interesting snippet of information that I discovered was the huge influx of people to Carrickfergus between 1951 (when only 8,500 lived there) and 1998 (when 38,000 was the population). It just really begs the question, "what on earth were they thinking?!" Ahh, who knows. Carrick isn't all that bad...

Located at the far end of the Carrickfergus Civic Centre, unfortunately it is probably easily…read moreoverlooked by those not au fait with Carrick! I used to pop in to have a sandwich made up when I worked in the area, and they were always quick, fresh & good value - much better than the Subway across the town! As well as fresh sandwiches/salads, they tend to offer several different cooked options like pies & soups. As previous reviwer stated, it has comfy seats & decent coffee (also does a selection of home-made desserts). Worth a visit if you're in the area.

I'm a fan of this as much as it is possible to be a 'fan' of taking my car for the MOT, however for…read moreme, this is by far the handiest MOT test centre to where I live, really easy to find, and a very straightforward process in terms of getting booked in. Hassle free for progressing through your MOT while you wait in the seated area, and getting back on your way (hopefully with a pass!)

A recent edition to the parish and is a state of the art hall, large inside with two floors and its…read moreown kitchen, the local badminton club use it on Mondays and the indoor bowling club on Thursdays. Also used by the wi but other than that it seems a shame its not used more. Is always very well maintained and is set in the church grounds

Carrickfergus' main Post Office has been, not in the town centre, but within the local Co-op…read moreSupermarket which is across a very busy main road and acros the harbour carpark so not at all convenient to the townsfolk. That's how its been for some years now but, that being said, there's plenty of parking available the office itself is a good size, usually 3 or 4 windows open. Handily enough you can use the supermarket trolleys to transfer large and heavy parcels to and from your car therefore gets my vote for convenience in those circumstances.

Beautiful building in the centre of Coleraine town. There is always some event being held them from…read morehistory and world wars 1 and 2 to irish dance competitions and mother and baby information mornings. Definately worth checking out.

An excellent library (but pity it doesn't have parking facilities). The childrens area is a good…read moresize and very well stocked, albeit the seating for accompanying parents sometimes isn't adequate and a bench or two more would be helpful. Computers available in this area too and a couple of desks to sit and read at (or sometimes colour in). Upstairs is the main library, with more computers (and there are computers for the adults downstairs too), served well by stairs and a lift. There are toilets on site, but you need to ask for a key. A Local Studies section is a great boon to folk wanting to do some research and the staff are very knowledgeable and approachable in relation to the subject. If you are in a hurry, there is a self service section downstairs where you can scan through your books without waiting for a librarian to do it.

The public library service has moved to Pat's Brae in Ballymena town centre. The closest carparking…read moreis available at the Tower Centre. It is now situated in a large two-storey building and has photocopying, computing and archive facilities. Library users may now borrow both books and audio/video materials. The Education and Library Board still own the building at Demesne Avenue but it now only contains the Teacher's collection, Schools Library Service and Historical Research departments.

This post office has a good, old-fashioned feel about it (albeit on the negative side, it can feel…read morea little dark inside), with helpful staff. As well as the usual post office counter services, it also carries a small range of gifts and a large range of cards. For locals in the village visiting on foot it is ideal, but less so for car users, as parking is limited to whatever space is available on the very, very, very busy road in front of the premises, hence only the three stars.

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.