Castle Hill in Dungannon was always sealed off, occupied by the army base and covered in masts and…read moreblast walls. thankfully the peace process saw the army move out, leaving the hill ready to be opened to the public once more. I never tire of climbing to the top of the hill and seeing the amazing panoramic views for miles around - all 9 counties of Ulster visible on a clear day or so they say! You really get a sense of how this was in days gone by a place of such power and influence. In recent years the hill has been beautifully landscaped and made more accessible through the opening of the Ranfurly House development. This contains a really good interpretive centre on the O'Neills, the flight of the Earls and the more recent history of the area, a cafe and the Square Box theatre space. There are galleries and meeting rooms too. The cafe is excellent with locally sourced treats and food, great sandwiches and soups and an amazing range of proper barista coffees and teas which is unmatched in the town. Quite reasonably priced too and the fact that its fairly quiet shows that this little gem is a bit too well hidden! The hill continues to develop with a new event space and viewing platform about to open to the public which will hopefully bring more visitors and acts to this part of the world!

Emain Macha or Navan Fort's one of Ireland's major archeological sites. It was an ancient capital…read moreand home to the Celtic Kings of Ulster. I've been to Navan Fort numerous times but never visited the Centre located at it therefore went today to check it out. If you're going it's quite interesting to read up first on the Ulster Cycle of Tales, Queen Macha, Red Branch Knights and Cuchullain so you have some background knowledge. However guided tours can be arranged and there's a lot of information both in Navan Centre and Fort itself anyway. The Navan Centre is beautifully designed to fit in with and compliment the landscape. It's architecturally perfect for the location being circular and organic in appearance with an emphasis on grass, stone and wood. Inside there's a cafe, gift shop, exhibit rooms and toilets. On our visit today we picked up some gorgeous free posters and postcards. I couldn't resist some of the Celtic themed jewellery in the gift shop which was reasonably priced. Even if not a tourist I think most people will see quite a few gift items they might want to buy. Staff are very helpful and offered us free booklets, information and maps. We also stopped at the cafe for a bottle of mineral water and a tea which cost only £2.20 in total. This coffee shop is lovely with comfortable seating and serves a range of scones, tray bakes, sandwiches, paninis and some hot dishes such as lasagna and soup. There's outside seating as well which is delightful for a dry sunny day. Car parking is free and outside the Centre there are functioning replicas of 2000 year old Celtic houses with Living History Actors in full dress to chat to you, perform and entertain. The walk from Centre to Fort is short taking only 10-15 minutes. Along the way you'll find an Ecology Trail, sculptures and information points. Navan Fort itself is a bit of an uphill walk. There are stone steps to help though be careful because in wet weather the earth can be slippy. Once on top of Navan Fort there are beautiful views over Armagh so it's well worth the climb. Overall a trip to Navan Centre and Fort makes for an excellent and very interesting day out. Plus you can take the kids and dog with you and make it a full family event. Definitely one of the top things to do if you're in Armagh.

Palace Stables Heritage Centre is a restored Georgian stable block and it's located beside the…read morePrimates Palace, formerly the home of the Archbishop of the Church of Ireland. I visited the Palace and Heritage Centre recently for the Armagh Craft Fair. It was an amazing day out. Craft traders had stalls within the Palace, Heritage Centre and the Palace Demesne grounds. Everything you could want was for sale - ceramics, sculpture, artworks, jewellery, designer felt and clothes - perfect for unique gifts. An art exhibition by local artist JB Vallely was displayed over 3 floors in the Palace. Primates Palace itself is an impressive building of white, bright, elegant, spacious rooms. The grounds are a breathtaking delight. There is also a small Primates Chapel with beautiful stained glass windows. It was very busy and my only disappointment being that we didn't arrive early enough to ensure a full and proper look at all crafts on display. Also, I would have loved to have sat for an hour or so in Palace Stables square outside the Moody Boar restaurant, soaking up the sun, listening to the live music and sipping an Armagh cider. Unfortunately we couldn't get a seat. However it's a fabulously beautiful place to visit and I'm already planning a return trip...

This post office/Eurostar is good for shopping might be a wee bit expensive but there is quite good…read moredeals on it might get overcrowded around 3pm every week day but still it's worth a wee shop and the food deli is cheap and deli is very nice

Despite being from Armagh I've never visited the Gaol. Although I no longer live in Armagh I took…read morethe opportunity today, whilst visiting family, to take a Gaol Tour. There are rumours Armagh Gaol is to be renovated into a hotel and although I'm unsure if this is still happening I thought today might be my last opportunity to see this building before it's changed forever. The tour was eye opening and our tour guide brilliant, entertaining and informative. We heard about the Gaol's history which dates back to the 1780's (it closed its doors as a working prison in 1986). At different periods men, women and children were imprisoned and executed here. It was eerily fascinating to see the whole Gaol including cells and all the different levels. The building is slowly decaying with peeling paint, crumble and decay setting in. A derelict, sad atmosphere lingers and although we took the daytime 12.30pm tour it was a great experience on Halloween. I imagine the late evening tours would be brilliant, creepy and scary! At £7 per person for an approximate 50 minute tour it was extremely good value for money. The prices vary slightly with late night tours being a bit more expensive, but family tickets and concession rates are available. I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Armagh Gaol, would highly recommend it and hope this building is developed into a tourist attraction instead of being converted into a hotel.

A recent edition to the parish and is a state of the art hall, large inside with two floors and its…read moreown kitchen, the local badminton club use it on Mondays and the indoor bowling club on Thursdays. Also used by the wi but other than that it seems a shame its not used more. Is always very well maintained and is set in the church grounds

Armagh City Library located on Market Street is a public library offering book borrowing, free…read morewifi, public computers, audiobooks, newspapers and faxing, scanning and photocopying facilities to members. It's a warm, welcoming, small library located in a beautiful, square, Georgian style building dating from 1815 (the building itself is called Market House). There are some comfy chairs and sofas to relax in and as with all libraries a peaceful, quiet vibe pervades. If you are a member of public Libraries NI you can use your library card in any public library. So if you are visiting Armagh from Belfast or Newry, or anywhere else, you can use the full Armagh City Library facilities and also return or borrow books there. For locals Armagh library run various events including adult and children's book and reading clubs, patchwork quilting and knitting groups throughout the week. I love public libraries and wish more people used them. If you want a book which is not in your local branch, for a few pence, you can order a copy in from another library. Why spend a fortune buying traditional or electronic books?! Nowadays even top, popular, best sellers and new release books are available free from public libraries or can be ordered in for you. It's also free and easy to join a public library - just pop in with proof of identification showing your name and current address e.g. a bill or driving licence. Painless! So go on - do it!

Located on the same grounds as the Ulster American Folk Museum. Good collection, but it seems to…read moresupport the workers in the Folk Center, according to the staff member who helped us. She was quite eager to assist us--so helpful!