Bentra Mini Golf

Eighteen holes of putting between garden gnomes and plastic windmills - that's Bentra Mini Golf just outside Larne. It's the sort of place that looks tackier in the photos than it actually is on the day. The course winds through proper little themed sections, nothing fancy, but there's enough variety to keep things from feeling tedious.

Families with kids aged five to twelve will get the most mileage out of it. Teenagers tend to find it beneath them, and adults without small children attached usually breeze round in twenty minutes flat. The obstacles are fair rather than gimmicky - you won't spend half an hour stuck on one hole. It's free to enter, though you'll need to rent clubs and balls, which costs a few quid per person.

Allow forty-five minutes to an hour if you're taking your time and actually playing properly. Go early on a weekday if you can; weekends get busy with birthday parties and school groups.

It's ideal if you're staying at Down to Earth Wild Camping nearby and the weather turns a bit dodgy - better than getting rained on during a proper walk, and close enough that you're not burning petrol for the sake of it. Larne town centre has decent cafes if you fancy a brew afterwards. Don't expect anything cutting-edge or Instagram-worthy, but it does the job on a casual family day out.