Townlands
 |  |
Aghadowey
This rich agricultural and farming townland lies within a stone’s throw of the rivers Bann, Agivey and Wee Agivey and is one of the finest angling areas of the North. For golfers, there is a nine-hole parkland golf course at the Brown Trout Golf & Country Inn. Stock car racing takes place on the Aghadowey Track beside Mullaghmore Airfield and is a popular sport here.
Aghadowey- Dubhtach’s (Duffy’s) Field – is a pleasant rural community a few miles due south of Coleraine. Typical of a Borough of fascinating contrasts, it is a name equally familiar to gentle anglers and thrill-seeking skydivers! Situated on the Agivey River, it is a popular game fishing centre and home to The Brown Trout, one of the oldest hostelries in the country, which also offers a nine-hole golf course.
The area has a rich tradition in the production of linen, and from the plantation period also includes the site of the 17th Century ironmonger’s castle.
The skies above Aghadowey were once filled with the noise of fighter aircraft taking off from Mullaghmore Airfield during World War ll; now it is the drone of small aircraft flying from the nearby airfield and the sight of skydivers drifting down to the Wild Geese Parachute Centre.
Articlave
Articlave - Ard na Claiomh, the Height of the Sword - lies along the main Coleraine to Castlerock road. In ancient times a second road ran through the village, linking the Bann and the sea to the hilltop fortress of Dunkehern (Dun Ceithern), crowning the 800 ft isolated hill known locally as The Sconce.
The Sconce was an imposing circular cashel, its three metre stone walls incorporating a network of tunnels and chambers. It witnessed centuries of bloody conflict as tribal fortunes waxed and waned in the rivalries for the land around and ultimately the throne of Ulster. A strategically important stronghold for the Red Branch Knights, it was believed by some to have been a power-base of Niall of the Nine Hostages, founder of the O’Neill dynasty.
Articlave itself was founded in 1611 on the plantation estate given to the Clothworkers Company. By 1622 its community had a cornmill and a church, although the latter fell victim to King James’s troops as they retreated after failing to take Londonderry. The present parish church, with its imposing tower, replaced it a few years later. Beside its entrance a sundial dating from 1823 is inscribed: “Tis greatly wise to talk to our past errors and ask them what report they bore the Heaven”.
A mile north-west of Articlave is the National Trust property of Hezlett House, which was built in 1691 on the solid bedrock, with an unusual cruck truss roof. Furnished by the Trust in late Victorian style it is open, along with its museum of farm implements, for six months of the year, from April. Details of opening hours can be obtained by telephoning 028 7084 8728.
Macosquin
Macosquin – Magh-Cosgrain, the plain of Cosgran, a very ancient family line – lies where the rich pastureland starts to swell from the Bann Valley towards the ridge of forested hills that lie to the west.
Although now barely a mile from the spreading edge of Coleraine, it is a village of distinctive character with a history that stretches from pre-history to being a centre of medieval learning and later of great importance in the Northern Ireland linen industry.
The village itself is believed to have originated with the establishment of a monastery in the 6th century and in 1172 the Cistercians built an abbey, one of the abbots of which, John, later became Bishop of Derry. Both monastery and abbey were influential establishments and centres of pilgrimage for learned clerics and scholars. Their remains can no longer be identified, but the abbey is believed to have survived until the early seventeenth century.
The linen industry too has disappeared from the scene and Macosquin is now a quiet residential village surrounded by pleasant countryside and woodland areas, developed with scenic walks, viewpoints and picnic sites.