This is a land of blue mountains and forest parks, mazy lakes and windswept moors, white Atlantic sands, an inland sea. In fact, it's a country that is just pretending to be small.

Dozens of small towns are hidden away down among the green places of the countryside, and fishing villages string out along the shores. The towers and steeples of parish churches mark the high ground beyond trimmed hedgerows. The country's turbulent past, which still resonates today, has also helped shape the landscape.

Distinctive field patterns, for instance, are especially striking, and so are ruined castles. Built from the 12th century onwards, and once symbols of both oppression and reassurance, they are now among Ulster's finest architectural treasures.

Driving in Northern Ireland is to recapture motoring's glad confident morning. The roads are excellent, with miles of motorway and dual carriageway, and you are never much more than half an hour from the sea. Minor roads are well signposted and there are convenient places for picnics and sites for caravanning or pitching a tent. The only traffic jams are flocks of sheep or cattle changing fields. In the summer you may have to pull over occasionally to let the music-makers pass, with their pipes and brilliant banners, marching to a festival in town.

Self catering cottages in Northern Ireland : County Kerry : Wicklow cottage holidays : Donegal holiday accommodation : Galway accommodation lettings : Dublin apartments : County Mayo holiday home : Waterford accommodation : Tipperary cottage holidays : Galway lettings : County Mayo accommodation : Wexford holidays : UK self catering accommodation : Wales holiday houses : Derbyshire holidays : Lake District cottage holidays : Holiday lets Scotland : County Down accommodation