Skirting the Irish Sea and rugged North Atlantic coast, the Causeway Coastal Route is a scenic drive taking the A2, B15 and A2 again in an arc between Belfast and Londonderry. The journey through County Antrim includes bracing beaches, craggy cliffs, biscuit tin villages, fishing hamlets, sweeping bays and ancient fortresses. Such is its raw, elemental beauty that Lonely Planet has voted it the No.1 region in the world to visit.

Taking the A2 north out of Belfast, with the sea to your right, one passes Carrickfergus Castle, one of Ireland's best preserved Medieval buildings.

In Carnlough, just over an hour into the drive, is the Londonderry Arms Hotel. It was built in 1848 as a coaching house for the Marchioness of Londonderry, and was later owned by Winston Churchill. Quirky rooms are available, decorated tastefully with antique furniture, including the one Sir Winston slept in. The scenery between Cushenden and Ballintoy Harbour may be familiar to fans of Game of Thrones, the latter – located alongside the B15 - doubling as the Iron Islands. Settlers here have been traced back 9,000 years. You may wish to take the A44 south at Ballycastle to visit The Dark Hedges, an atmospheric avenue of twisted beech trees that was filmed for GoT.

For brunch and dining, The French Rooms in Bushmills is a nod to the region's Huguenot settlers, who were greatly involved in the Ulster linen industry. It serves Gallic classics such as tarte flambée and roast suprême of guinea fowl. For grub more typical of the coast, the best fish n' chips can be found at Morton’s in Ballycastle. Nobody’s cod and haddock comes fresher. Should you prefer to stick to the theme of the Portofino M, you may wish to eat at Amici in Portstewart, overlooking the ocean, which takes enormous pride in its charcoal oven pizzas.

Keep driving west along the coast and you'll come to the Giants Causeway, a UNESCO World Heritage site comprising 40,000 interlocking basalt columns. Legend has it this was built by mythological giant warrior Finn MacCool to get halfway to Scotland and challenge a Scottish giant to some fisticuffs. Further along the A2 is Bushmills, home to the Old Bushmills Whiskey Distillery, and the ruins of Dunluce Castle, perched dramatically on the cliffs, which inspired CS Lewis’ Narnia. For brunch and dining, The French Rooms in Bushmills is a nod to the region's Huguenot settlers, who were greatly involved in the Ulster linen industry. It serves Gallic classics such as tarte flambée and roast suprême of guinea fowl. For grub more typical of the coast, the best fish n’ chips can be found at Morton’s in Ballycastle. Nobody’s cod and haddock comes fresher. Should you prefer to stick to the theme of the Portofino M, you may wish to eat at Amici in Portstewart, overlooking the ocean, which takes enormous pride in its charcoal oven pizzas.

Fascinating ruins and sheltered gardens are to be found in County Londonderry's beautiful and mysterious Downhill Demesne, a National Trust property affording spectacular views of Mussenden Temple and the North Atlantic. The basalt cliffs at Binevenagh give a panorama from Lough Foyle to Donegal. Guarding the entrance to Lough Foyle is another beauty spot, the remote Magilligan Point nature reserve – a paradise for twitchers. This is the tip of one of the largest sand dune systems in the British Isles.

From here, it's a 40-minute drive to Ireland's only remaining walled city, Londonderry. Park the car and cross the River Foyle via the suspended Peace Bridge, a symbolic walk from Derry’s ‘waterside’ to the ‘cityside’.

Pictures are for illustration purposes only and may not be specifically representative of the exact locations mentioned in the text.