Things you didn't know about... Co Armagh

Northern Ireland's orchard
Co Armagh, known as the Orchard County because the land is so fertile for apple-growing, is the smallest of the six counties that make up Northern Ireland, with an area of 1,254 sq km.

Armagh's saintly connection
The county town of Armagh, officially declared a city in 1996, is the ecclesiastical capital of all Ireland. It has two cathedrals, both dedicated to St Patrick, who founded his first church here in 444 AD.

Pack up your Troubles
South Armagh may have been the most militarised region in western Europe during the Troubles, but peace has brought dividends in tourism. The fortified lookout posts that were a feature of the area are now being dismantled, restoring the landscape to its original beauty.

Favourite Beckett actor hails from Armagh
The actor Patrick Magee was born in County Armagh. Magee, who was in Zulu, A Clockwork Orange and Chariots of Fire, was one of Samuel Beckett's favourite actors. Beckett even wrote a play especially for him—Krapp's Last Tape.

Lennon and Armagh
The footballer Neil Lennon, captain of Celtic until 2007, also hails from Co Armagh.

Armagh's volcanic history (keep your hair on)
Slieve Gullion is an extinct volcano in the south of the county, and its highest point. It is a focus for many mystical legends and traditions, and parts of the mountain form an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Superstition has it that if you bathe in "The Lake of Sorrow" at the top, your hair will turn white.

Gulliver's travels might have started in Armagh
Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver's Travels, spent his summers in Armagh. Swift's own first edition of the book, with amendments and markings in his own hand, can be found in Armagh Public Library.

That's how to bowl along the road
County Armagh and County Cork in the Irish Republic seem to be the only places in Ireland where road bowling is played—though it's catching on in Canada, New Zealand and West Virginia. It's a combination of bowls and golf, played along a country road course (up to 4 km) and has been around since the 1600s.