Northern Ireland: welcome to the land of giants

Chris Carter visits Ballygally Castle and the Grand Central Belfast Hotel in search of larger-than-life stories and legends

Ballygally Castle aerial shot
(Image credit: Hastings Hotels)

Northern Ireland is a land of giants, ghosts and dragons. On the north Antrim coast, you will find the Giant’s Causeway, a rocky outcrop of 40,000 hexagonal basalt columns reaching into the Irish Sea. Joan, our guide from the National Trust, explained its ancient origins. It was, she said, created by the Irish giant Finn McCool. 

He built it to reach his giant neighbour, Benandonner, with whom he had a score to settle and who lived over the way in Scotland, darkly visible in the distance. McCool was big (judging by the fossilised shoe he left on the beach). But Benandonner was bigger. And when McCool clapped eyes on his rival, he decided the tête-à-tête could wait and hurried home. But Benandonner followed. 

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Chris Carter
Wealth Editor, MoneyWeek

Chris Carter spent three glorious years reading English literature on the beautiful Welsh coast at Aberystwyth University. Graduating in 2005, he left for the University of York to specialise in Renaissance literature for his MA, before returning to his native Twickenham, in southwest London. He joined a Richmond-based recruitment company, where he worked with several clients, including the Queen’s bank, Coutts, as well as the super luxury, Dorchester-owned Coworth Park country house hotel, near Ascot in Berkshire.

Then, in 2011, Chris joined MoneyWeek. Initially working as part of the website production team, Chris soon rose to the lofty heights of wealth editor, overseeing MoneyWeek’s Spending It lifestyle section. Chris travels the globe in pursuit of his work, soaking up the local culture and sampling the very finest in cuisine, hotels and resorts for the magazine’s discerning readership. He also enjoys writing his fortnightly page on collectables, delving into the fascinating world of auctions and art, classic cars, coins, watches, wine and whisky investing.

You can follow Chris on Instagram.