Get a flavour of magical Tyrone... you won't be disappointed

Great heritage, lots to do and plenty of fun
The wonderful history and heritage of the Sperrins and much, much more... great activity options, interesting visitor attractions and many festivals all add up to a great holiday in Tyrone.

You will feel very much at home in Tyrone, which has a proud reputation as Ulster's friendliest county.

But a warm welcome and helpful advice are by no means the only treats that await you in this wonderfully diverse county. Tyrone offers a marvelous range of cultural, heritage, activity and entertainment options that all add up to a great holiday experience.

This is Sperrins Region country - a mix of archaeological treasures, visitor attractions and heritage sites that reflect the area's unique traditions and background. When you visit and tour these parts, you will hear how the Celt, Norman, Viking, Plantation settler and Huguenot refugee have all contributed to the make-up of the Sperrins today.

There's much to see and do in this intriguing county. When it comes to active pursuits, you will be spoilt for choice. Fishing, pony trekking and golf (this is home to international golfling star, Darren Clarke after all) are but some of the varied options on your doorstep.

Activities on hand for all the family range from leisure and activity centre pursuits to cookery and painting courses.

There's a wealth of visitor attractions, from museums such as the award-winning Ulster American Folk Park in Omagh and Gray Printers Museum in Strabane to the Tyrone Crystal Visitor Centre in Dungannon, where you can check out the delicate art of crystal making.

For ancient heritage sites, you can choose from a wide selection, ranging from St. Patrick's Chair and Well at Altadavin Forest in Augher to the famous Beaghmore Stone Circles to the west of Lough Fea beside Davagh Forest.

Whatever your desires and your budget, there's great accommodation facilities to be had throughout the county. From luxury hotels and fine guesthouses to bed & breakfasts, self-catering and caravan & camping, it's a matter of taking your pick.

Festivals, fine pubs and restaurants, shopping, lots of arts and crafts... the list of attractions is endless in this special part of Northern Ireland.

There are also great opportunities to do some interesting touring while in the county. Whether you are driving, cycling or walking, or indeed prefer to avail of the various tour services available, there's wonderfully intimate and atmospheric towns and villages to be explored. Not to mention very picturesque and varied countryside, with uncrowded roads and byways.

It all awaits you... let your imagination flow, and let this distinctive county captivate you!

THE HIGHLIGHTS

Get the low-down on Irish emigration at Ulster American Folk Park
A visit to this extensive open-air museum at Castletown, just outside Omagh will give you a great insight into the life and times of Irish emigrants down through the years. For instance, you can see, up close, a full-size reconstruction of a sailing ship of the type which carried thousands of Irish emigrants across the Atlantic in the early 19th century!

As you stroll through the museum, you will also get a real sense of what it was like to live in Ireland in the 18th and 19th century. Find out what led thousands of Ulster people to seek out a new life across the Atlantic.

Tour the many authentically furnished Old and New World original and replica buildings that form part of this unique "living history" experience. See costumed demonstrators go about their everyday tasks in the traditional manner of a bygone age.

Get crafty! Visit great craft centres in the county
Tyrone has a great tradition of craft skills and you can get a fine insight into this by dropping into two excellent visitor centres. At the Tryone Crystal Visitor Centre in Dungannon, witness the delicate skills at work and see the fine displays of crystalware. Nearby in Dungannon, a visit to The Linen Green, a wonderfully refurbished linen mill, affords the chance to see some of the finest Irish fabrics. While there you can also take in an exhibition on the rich industrial heritage of the area at the Moygashel Visitor Centre.

Go back to Neolithic times
Watch out for the passage grave containing the remains of 6th century Queen Anya, Queen of Oriel, just north of Augher off the B83 road. Knockmany Chambered Cairn, at the top of Knockmany Forest, dates back to Neolithic times. Don't forget to look out, in particular, for the incised decoration on the cairn, which is similar in style to the great earthworks of the Boyne Valley in Co. Meath.

Be adventurous - learn a new skill!
For a holiday and experience with a difference, why not try out one of the novel activities on offer at a special group activity facility called www.learn2tyrone.com Through this facility, groups of between 10 - 15 people (and bigger in certain cases) can embark on exciting 4X4 vehicle driving (at 'Todds Leap', Ballgawley), painting workshops (at 'Dermot Cavanagh Workshops' in Moy) and cookery lessons (at 'Cook with Norah') in Dungannon. You can avail of excellent accommodations linked to this facility in Fivemiletown and Dungannon.

Get (literally) the real flavour of Tyrone!
Don't forget to check out one of the 14 first-class quality approved places to eat out which are attached to the Tyrone Good Food Circle. Northern Ireland's first Good Food Circle, the Tyrone network offers excellent choices to suit all pockets and wonderfully fresh and appetizing local produce.

PLACES TO VISIT

Clogher
When you're in Clogher, you are in one of the most ancient places in Ireland. It was once the capital city of the ancient principality of Oriel. Drop into the local Cathedral, one of its most famous buildings, to see the 'Clogh-or', one of the 'Three stones of Erin' preserved. Another significant attraction in the area is Carnmore Mountain where, legend has it, Beith, said to be a grandson of Noah, landed from a 'second ark' with 30 beautiful women! Nearby you will see the mountain of Slieve Beagh, right on the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic, which is linked to this legend.

Dungannon
Boasting an impressive lofty position affording fine views of the surrounding countryside, Dungannon has a wealth of historic buildings as well as excellent leisure amenities for young and old. The town was the seat of the mighty O'Neill Clan and was also a major rail junction. A number of interesting buildings are well worth exploring - keep an eye out for the curiously designed former police station in particular. It seems that the plans for this building got mixed up with those for a police station along the Khyber Pass in India!

Augher
Strategically situated in the picturesque Clogher Valley, Augher has much to interest the visitor. To the west is Spur Royal Castle, a typical Plantation castle with an interesting history dating back to 1615. Marvel at the views, as the romantic castle overlooks a tree-edged lake. This area is also a noted angling centre, with the River Blackwater and the lakes of Dunroe and Fymore providing great prospects.

Donaghmore
St. Patrick is said to have founded a religious centre here in the 5th century. Watch out, in particular, for the impressive 6m-high cross, dating from the 9th century, that stands at the end of the village. This is one of Ulster's finest early Christian monuments. Another sight worth noting is the stone pillar erected in the local graveyard to the great Irish chieftain, Hugh O'Neill by a descendant of his, a professor at Aberdeen University.

Ballygawley
You will find many relics of a bygone age around this attractive village, including Sess Kilgreen, a fine-chambered tomb, and the ruins of the Franciscan 15th century St. Kieran's Church, with its very early cross. The church is located at nearby Errigal Keerogue, from which you can get breathtaking views of the area.

LOTS TO DO

Tyrone has great natural amenities and fine leisure facilities to suit many tastes. You will get many opportunities to combine great relaxation with interesting activity pursuits throughout the county. The following are just some of the choices on offer:

The angling enthusiast has some great waters to sample around the county, and great services on the doorstep. Options range from Altmore Trout Fishery, with its vast 70 hectare of hillside, moorland and forests sprinkled with great fishing stretches, to Eskragh Lough Fishery and Outdoor Pursuits Centre.

If you fancy trying out your golf swing on your holiday break, then Tyrone has much to offer. You can choose from fine golf courses in Benburb Valley, Clogher Valley, Dungannon and Aughnacloy. As well as good sport, you can enjoy the fresh clear air and the beautiful countryside.

A visit to the county promises to be a fun occasions for all the family and one of the attractions is the choice of well-appointed leisure centres available. There are great facilities for the younger folk at places like Aladdin's Kingdom in Omagh and leisure complexes in Dungannon, Omagh and Cookstown.

With Tyrone being the birthplace of such creative people as writers Benedict Kiely, Flann O'Brien and Seamus Heaney, it's no surprise that the arts are well represented when it comes to things to do in the county. Watch out for interesting shows at the Bardic Theatre in Donaghmore and keep an eye for what's happening at centres such as the Craic Arts Centre in Coalisland and the Burnavon Arts & Cultural Centre in Cookstown.

You are never far away from an interesting festival or event when you visit Tyrone. There are lots of community and special interest festivals planned right through the year... get the up-to-date information on what's happening while you're in the area and you will be fully entertained. Events range from the 'Branny Ramble', an 11km walk around the Grant ancestral homestead in Dungannon) in June and a 'Picnic in the Park' in Dungannon in August to the Sperrins Hill Walking festival also in August.

ATTRACTIONS TO SEE

With such rich history and heritage, it's no surprise that Co. Tyrone has many excellent visitor attractions for people to see.

These include:

Take to the bogs!
Avail of a great opportunity to see the wonders of nature - visit two interesting centres in the county that give an insight into the fascinating development of bogs and peat land. You can stroll along boardwalks and safely see wildflowers and the essence of boglands close up at the Peatlands Park in Dungannon. Marvel at the treasure trove of artefacts related to the rich history of Ireland before and after the Ice Age at the Island Turf Craft Bog Musuem in Coalisland. There you can also see an 'indoor bog' and a showroom with a range of Celtic crosses, harps and jewellery.

US Presidents' ancestral homes
It's not often you get to see one, never mind two, ancestral homes connected with American Presidents but this treat awaits you in Co. Tyrone. You can explore the cottage at Ballygawley with close ties to Ulysses Simpson Grant, the Commander of the victorious Union troops in the American Civil War and two-time US President. The Grant Ancestral Home is open all year round.

A visit to the Wilson Ancestral Home at Dergalt near Strabane will throw light on the ancestral links of the 28th President of the U.S., Woodrow Wilson with the area and on the wider and extensive Ulster-American connections.

Sperrin Heritage Centre
Imagine the possibilities on a visit to this interesting visitor attraction located 14.5km east of the village of Plumbridge. You can unearth the story of how the beautiful mountainous landscape of the area came to be carved in the first place from glacial drifts. You can even hire a pan and go searching for 'gold' in a nearby glistening mountain stream. What harm if it turns out to be only iron pyrites - it's the adventure and fun that count!

Castlederg Visitor Centre
From Davy Crockett to Joe Sheridan... you will find many fascinating stories at this interesting centre where you can sample the rich heritage of Castlederg and the Derg Valley. Remember the Alamo and be reminded of how Davy Crockett was reputed to be born of Castlederg stock! One man with definite local roots was Joe Sheridan, the man who famously invented the drink of Irish Coffee at the flying boat base in Foynes, near Shannon Airport. You can also take a journey back in time too and learn of the Castlederg to Victoria Bridge tram.

Blessingbourne Carriage & Costume Museum
Let your imagination flow as you view the enchanting collection of old coaches, carriages, cabs and buggies from another era. There is also horse-drawn machinery to be admired as well as a fine collection of fashion from yesteryear. Watch out for an 1825 London to Oxford stagecoach at this museum, located at Blessingbourne, near Fivemiletown.

HOT TIPS
Check out Carleton's Cottage at Springtown, near Clogher, to find all about the great Irish writer, William Carleton, born in 1794 as one of 14 children of a tenant farmer. Described by WB Yeats as 'the greatest novelist of Ireland', Carleton based a lot of his writings on his Clogher Valley childhood. A summer school is held in the locality in August each year to celebrate his memory.

Visit the Ulster American Folk Park in July and watch, in awe, as thrilling scenes from the American War of Independence are re-enacted as part of special celebrations marking American Independence Day.

Let the younger folk feed the farm animals and roam through the adventure playground. Enjoy a walk with all the family amongst the panoramic Sperrins mountains. And after all the activity, relax over a cup of fresh farm tea... it all awaits you at Barrontop Fun Farm in Donemana near Strabane.

Watch out for what is believed to be the first high cross in Ulster - the 10th century Ardboe Old Cross located on a rocky height on the shores of Lough Neagh. Standing 5.6m high and 1m wide, this national monument has 22 panels depicting biblical scenes. Local legend has it that the cross was built with the help of a 'magic cow' which stepped out of the lake and provided the workmen with lashings of cream, milk and butter for as long as they needed them!

Go beetling at Beetling Mill! It may sound like you're an ardent follower of the Beatles but this refers to something very different. Beetling, in this case, means pounding linen with hammers to give garments their sheen and this mill, near Cookstown, is the last place in Ulster where you can see this being done. Afterwards, you can boast to your friends that you had lesson in beetling and scotching!

For county profiles, suggested drives and great holiday ideas, click here

FURTHER INFORMATION
For further information on any of the items featured above, or on the county in general, please contact:

Flavour of Tyrone
Killymaddy Tourist Information Centre
190 Ballygawley Road
Dungannon
Co. Tyrone BT70 1TF
Tel: 0044 (0)28 8776 7259
Fax: 0044 (0)28 8776 7911

Email: info@flavouroftyrone.com
Web: www.flavouroftyrone.com

Sperrins Tourism Ltd
The Manor House
30 High Street
Moneymore
BT70 45 7PD
Tel: 0044 (0)28 8674 7700
Fax: 0044 (0) 28 8674 7754
Email: info@sperrinstourism.com
Web: www.SperrinsTourism.com