Adventure activities in Northern Ireland are plentiful
By ELEANOR MCGILLIE 10 February, 2017
Land activities, water activities and air based activities – you name it she has done it, well, almost everything. Eleanor McGillie spent eight years working closely with tourism providers in the south west of England where she was introduced to surfing, gliding, race tracks, archery, ballooning, zip lining, cave exploration, SUP and much more. Living back at home, Live It Experience It is like a dream come true.
I have always been someone who is willing to try something different. Growing up in the middle of the County Tyrone countryside meant I spent any free time out around the fields, climbing trees, crossing rivers and streams and getting mucked to the neck.
Great craic!
So I had no real barriers. BMX bike riding, skateboarding, surfing and go-karting were firm favourites when I was younger. I am not such the youngster anymore – but I love the great outdoors and what better playground than our rugged landscapes, vast swathes of countryside, our out of this world coastal routes and walks, our lakes, mountain ranges, castles and National Trust properties.
We are actually spoiled for choice.
But sometimes, those of us living in Northern Ireland don’t quite know what’s on our own doorstep, so, if we don’t know, how can we pass on to our visitors what there is to experience here.
There are so many amazing activities in Northern Ireland. Live It Experience It is a perfect platform for us all. It’s fantastic for businesses who want to showcase what experiences they have to offer visitors, for people in Northern Ireland who want to have a peak to see what activities in Northern Ireland we can participate in, and, it’s brilliant for the international traveller coming to our wee country for a bit of Northern Irish hospitality.
As a journalist I have travelled to many top tourism destinations in the world reporting on what they have to offer. The thing is, apart from warmer and drier summers, Northern Ireland is right up there! We have what it takes to be a world class tourism destination.
We have a wealth of water activities in Northern Ireland. Our coastline is perfect for surfing, coasteering, boating, diving, SUP, kite surfing, land surfing, fishing, wake boarding, canoeing, kayaking and more.
And as for land activities, we have horseriding, rallying, go-karting, golf, cycling, countryside sports, mountain biking, paintballing, Ilama trekking, motorsports, military combat, hiking, climbing, grand prix, archery and much more.
As for setting our sights a little higher, we have flying schools, helicopter companies offering tours, ballooning, sky diving and zip wire locations. The air tours of our coastlines are superb.
And to top all of that off, we have fantastic places to eat. Our food and drink producers do a fantastic job, our chefs are meticulous and are fantastic ambassadors for Northern Ireland and our tearooms, restaurants, kitchens and hotels really step up to the plate.
And of course we have accommodation for everyone. You may want to go glamping or camping or you may just love your hotels, guest houses and B&Bs. You may also want to hire your very own camper and cruise around our country roads.
No matter what you want – we have it here in Northern Ireland.
So, being the adventure lover, food lover and tourist that I am in my own place, I can’t wait to get to experience as much as I possibly can about Northern Ireland. I hope you enjoy all of the blogs which our team will be writing. If you too would like to contribute your experiences please email hello@liveitexperienceit.com and we’ll take it from there.
Live It Experience It’ is a group of journalists and travel writers who tell the story of our members. We work collaboratively with our members, which are tourism businesses, to promote Northern Ireland through water, air and land based activities, food and drink and great places to stay. Together we let our visitors know of all of the amazing things Northern Ireland has to offer. To become a member business in of ‘Live It Experience It’ call our office on 028 3756 8436 or please submit your information through our online form. T&Cs apply – Sign Up Here Let us tell your story! Live It Experience It is the NW200 tourism partner for 2018.
