Destination Golf Global (Winter 2019) * | Page 32

Bushmills Inn (see fact box at bottom of article), and this is where you’ll get a real taste of the north. The Old Inn, Crawfordsburn – one of the oldest hotels in Northern Ireland – is situated near the seaside town of Bangor and the village of Helen’s Bay in County Down and famed as a unique wedding venue, and its tranquil setting is perfect for romantic getaways or just a quiet drink in the cosy parlour bar. Similarly, the Bushmills Inn, just down the road from the Giant’s Causeway and Royal Portrush Golf Club, is what you might call the real deal. Walls seemingly five feet thick and virtually all the original architecture immediately bring you back to ‘ye days of olde’. But if you’re planning a golf trip here your ‘one stop shop’ for accommodation should be the Hastings Hotels chain. Their seven remarkable hotels, it would be fair to say, have all the bases covered for your adventure. Ballygally Castle, situated along the Causeway Coast near Larne, will be a big hit with Game of Thrones fans – drenched as it is in that iconic show’s memorabilia, including the stunning, hand- carved door into the garden restaurant - and is neighbour to the cliff-top experience that is Cairndhu Golf Club. The Everglades Hotel in the country’s ‘second city’ of Derry, prides itself on offering ‘maximum It also boasts one of my favourite bars – and I relaxation with minimum fuss’ and is close to have had occasion to visit a few in my time – on courses such as Foyle, Portstewart and Castlerock this island. Everywhere you look there’s a cosy – and even has the City of Derry golf course on snug or an artefact hung on the wall that beckons its doorstep. you to investigate. 32 Destination Golf .TRAVEL