Trip to Lisburn: enjoy shopping and nature in the heart of Northern Ireland

Lisburn sits in Northern Ireland. It is lively and full of old stories, green views plus new shops. In the 1700s it thrived on linen - now it keeps old stone and brick while adding glass but also steel - walkers who want trees and shoppers who want bags both feel at home.

People come to shop. The Lagan Valley Shopping Centre holds chain stores that sell clothes, phones as well as gifts. On Saturdays the open air market sells carrots, bread and scarves sewn by neighbours. If you like old things, several side street shops display dark wood chests, war medals or cracked plates.

When you need a break from pavements, grass and water wait. Hillsborough Castle Park stands ten minutes away - you stroll past a 1700s house also trimmed hedges. The River Lagan runs slow and wide - you follow a flat path, hire a small boat or take photos of swans next to bridges. The Lagan-Town trail leaves the river, crosses fields and returns by lanes quiet enough for bikes.

Culture plus sport fill the evenings. The Lisburn Museum shows looms, white cloth and the smell of flax. A theatre puts on plays, a cinema shows new films but also two golf courses welcome drivers and irons. Canoe hire at the river lets you paddle against the current until your arms tire.

Food ranges from quick to filling. Harpers Café serves soup, brown bread as well as tea in soft chairs. Lisburn Grill chars steaks and salmon with Irish butter besides Asian spices - you sit back after bags or boots grow heavy.

Stay for two days or ten - Lisburn hands you shops, paths, castle walls and a plate of something hot, all within one small pretty town.