Motorhome Holiday Ideas - Five Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Northern Ireland

For a country of relatively small landmass, Northern Ireland, like much of the British Isles, is blessed with a great variety of scenic areas that draw visitors from across the world.
Although it might not be the first place that comes to mind when planning a motorhome holiday, those who love to take the path less trodden and discover landscapes that others are less likely to visit will not be disappointed by the mountains, countryside and coastlines of Northern Ireland.
The country has a total of nine officially designated Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs).
For my money, the following five are the pick of the crop.
1.
Lagan Valley Easily accessed from Belfast, where motorhome hire is widely available, the Lagan Valley is a haven for wildlife enthusiasts and nature lovers.
Designated an AONB in 1965, the area boasts beautiful riverbank habitat along the course of the River Lagan, meadowlands and forests.
It is also an area with a rich history and many fine estates, as well as early Christian monuments that are a big draw for archaeology enthusiasts.
2.
Causeway Coast Encompassing the world famous Giant's Causeway, this stretch of coastline is perhaps the jewel in the crown of Northern Ireland's natural riches.
There are 18 miles of spectacular rocky beaches, cliffs and headlands.
The Giant's Causeway draws visitors from across the globe with good reason - the unique volcanic rock formation looks almost like it was carved from the landscape, so perfect are its arrangement of steep, plateaued stones.
The area is replete with campsite facilities to rest the motorhome at day's end.
3.
Ring of Gullion The evocatively named Ring of Gullion is defined topographically by the hills of the Ring of Dyke, created in ancient times when a vast volcano's caldera collapsed.
With all this talk of rings, it comes as no surprise that the landscape conjures images of the mythical habitat of J.
R.
Tolkien's fable, The Lord of the Rings.
It's a magical area of County Armagh and well worth a visit.
4.
Strangford Lough Cut off from the Irish Sea by the Ards Peninsula in County Down, Strangford Lough (a combination of "strong fjord" in Norse and "loch" in Irish) is a popular tourist destination, famed for its quaint fishing villages, dramatic mud flats and fast-running tidal narrows.
It is a unique area of British coastal habitat and is abundant in wildlife, recognised internationally for its importance and strictly maintained by local conservation authorities.
5.
Mourne Spanning almost 58,000 hectares of unspoilt natural habitat, the Mourne mountains are regarded as arguably the most picture-perfect mountainous region in all of Ireland.
Celebrated in song and poetry, the twelve peaks of Mourne include the 850m high Slieve Donard, which is Northern Ireland's highest mountain.
The high peaks slope dramatically down through moorland, ancient forest and fen to the rugged coast.