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The area around Ballymena was designated the County Antrim and Glens Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1988. A tour around the area offers some of the most breathtaking natural scenery in all of Northern Ireland and the best place to start to see as much of it as possible is by booking one of the many hotels in Ballymena, which lies at the heart of the region.

One of its highlights is the Ecos Environmental Centre, which is located just to the east of Ballymena. Set in 220 acres of floodplain, the centre’s aim is to highlight and educate both children and adults about environmental issues. The visitor centre has a wealth of interactive activities. These are all enjoyable and engaging whilst also educating visitors, especially children, about the world’s food and energy resources and how they can be sustained. As well as being able to calculate their own environmental footprint, visitors can also learn about the habitat of wild animals, both far away or where they live themselves. Some of the latest green technology is displayed and explained, as is the centre’s own use of renewable resources.

Outside the visitor centre, a five-mile path takes visitors around parkland that contains lakes and ponds, mature trees and meadows. The Ecos Nature Park is managed by Ulster Wildlife Trust to maintain and encourage the natural flora and fauna of the local habitat. Summer in the park sees thousands of butterflies flitting from wildflower to wildflower to find the nectar that is in such great supply. Visitors can close their eyes for a moment, the better to listen to the wild birds that abound in the park – skylarks, meadow pipits, snipe, dunnock and grasshopper warblers can all be heard and seen.

The park is just as fascinating in winter, when flocks of lapwing fly above or come down to feed on the insects in the meadows. In the lakes, geese and swans are joined by mallards that will be grateful for the bread crusts visitors are encouraged to bring along with them. Finches, linnet and teal are also a common sight in the park. One other uncommon sight is the shy, secretive otters that have been spotted occasionally on both the lake and the river Braid.

The centre is also home to a conference centre. This features a conference theatre that can seat up to 120 people, as well as a large meeting room for up to 50 people, exhibition hub, seminar room and boardroom.

In an area of the country that is just brimming with beautiful, unspoilt countryside, the Ecos Environmental Centre is ideally placed to highlight why our beautiful planet deserves to be protected and cherished. For a visit here or to many of the other natural delights of County Antrim, booking a stay in a hotel in Ballymena will put all that it has to offer, if not exactly on your doorstep, then just a short trip away.