Experiencing best Causeway Coast has to offer with luxuriant stay at beautiful Ballygally

Arriving at the impressive Ballygally Castle that dates all the way back to the 17th century and boasts its own turrets pointing upwards towards a clear blue sky on a fresh spring morning, you are immediately taken in by the proximity of the sea, the lapping waves that whip our hair back from our faces and the salty aroma of the bay, the proximity of the water immediately inducing a becalming affect on my travelling companions and I.

Most people have heard the lore about this historic building - now one of the jewels in the Hastings Hotel portfolio - being haunted by one Lady Isabella Shaw, for the past 400 years, and those intrigued by the supernatural have descended upon the hotel for years wondering if they will see any evidence of paranormal activity in its now notorious Ghost Room. It is from the window of this room, high up in its own turret, that the wife of Lord James Shaw, then proprietor of the estate, is said to have leapt to her death after being incarcerated and starved by her husband for being unable to bear the son he so badly wanted.

This fascinates me, but on such a bright morning dark and ghostly themes seem incongruous and we sit down to a quick cuppa in the hotel's superbly decorated Garden Restaurant, with its high ceilings, warm hearth, and airy brightness as the first tulips of spring bloom from the windows that look out onto a majestic garden replete with mallards and a rushing stream.

The intricate wood carvings with their Game of Thrones imagery on all downstairs doors - the north coast was an important location for much of the filming of the HBO series - immediately catch the eye as we take in the stylish lobby.

We are introduced to our tour guide Mark Rodgers (Só Sirecht Tours) who has promised to accompany us on a busy day of sightseeing that includes a drive along the scenic Causeway Coast with its rugged geology, greenery and blue, blue sea. We wind our way through sleepy Carnlough and beautiful Ballycastle through arches of rock, and past nooks and crannies on a twisting road that boasts such beautiful scenery, even catching glimpses of Rathlin, leaving you wondering why we don't shout about the beauty of the Causeway Coast a lot more than we do.

There is something magical about the kingdom of Dalriada - and clearly the producers of Game of Thrones were immediately impressed by and attuned to its rocky magnificence.

We are headed to Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, first erected by industrious salmon fishermen in 1755 and suspended almost 100ft above the Atlantic Ocean, home to the aforementioned shoals as well as basking sharks, dolphins and porpoises.

To get to this outstanding bridge between rocky verdant inclines you can take a two kilometre coastal walk that will offer you views of the Scottish Isles on a clear day and allow you to spot all kinds of wildlife including guillemots, razorbills, kittiwakes and fulmars.

When we arrive at Carrick-a-Rede I gasp at the bridge that seems so perilously high above the water and wonder exactly how steady it is, because, my goodness, the drop below to the roiling Atlantic would be quite a fatal drop indeed. But I needn't have worried. The bridge is very well reinforced and I focused on the beauty of the hilltops rather than looking down, as we made our careful crossing.

As part of our bespoke tour Mark takes us down to an old fisherman's cottage on the other side of the bridge that dates back to the 1700s. He unlocks the door and we step back in time immediately, a time when muscular, wiry men smoked tobacco and supped whiskey between hauling nets of salmon across the bridge or sat together near the transistor radio communing between what was heavy manual labour heaving shoals of fish and ice.

Back then the bridge was not so user-friendly but made from suspended rope and wood that would have swayed violently in the wind as the bravehearted men made their odyssey.

Next it's off to the Giant's Causeway, a UNESCO World Heritage Site owned and run by the National Trust, Europe's largest conservation charity.

It is, of course, outrageously beautiful and unusual in its strange conglomeration of basalt hexagonal rocks. The landscape is so wildly singular it draws thousands of international visitors each year.

We've opted for a superb 'Whiskey on the Rocks' package wherein our tour guide Jimbo explains the geology and our lovely representative from Bushmills talks to us about the process of crafting this magnificent whiskey before serving us each a glass of 16-year-old, which immediately warms the palette and sends a rush of heat to the back of the throat.

Arriving back at beauteous Ballygally we disperse to our rooms which are spacious, modern, bright and airy with the most divine super king size beds bedecked with super-fluffy pillows.

After reconvening in the lobby we are taken up to see the infamous tower bedroom by long-serving member of staff Norma Craig, where Lady Isabella is said to have leapt to her death. Norma leads us carefully up the winding stone staircase to the Ghost Room.

Norma tells us all about Lady Isabella and strange occurrences in the hotel, like glasses and other objects moving on their own and unusual noises and apparitions having been reported. Tourists interested in the paranormal dare each other to spend a full night in the Ghost Room to see if they can have a brief encounter with the spirit world.

But now we've too hungry to become ghostbusters and instead make it down to the Garden Restaurant for a delicious three-course meal made using the finest local produce as the wine flows generously.

We dine on prawn cocktails, succulent steaks with chips, mushrooms, tomatoes and onion rings and pepper sauce, before polishing off a cheese board and then heading to the hotel bar for cocktails. But we can't stay up late as we've booked into the delightful new Sea Dip & Warm Sip Package.

Which means we are up like larks, and phone ahead to reception to prepare our robes, hot water bottles and flasks of hot chocolate as we dare to brave an early morning swim in Ballygally Bay with its gorgeous golden sands.

Once we dip our toes in it's not long before we become acclimatised to the water and we wade out into shallow depths looking out towards a blue-grey horizon.

Cold sea swimming has many well established health benefits, and coming out of the water we feel immensely refreshed and energised for the day ahead.

As amateurs we couldn't stay in too long, but if you're an experienced swimmer there is a vast expanse of water here for you to fully submerge yourself in.

After our bracing cold dip we head back to our rooms - the hotel is a mere five minutes away in our slippers - for a hot shower and then to the Garden Restaurant for a Full Irish. Bliss.

Book your Sea Dips & Hot Sips package today from only £95 per person sharing including luxurious overnight accommodation and an early splash in the sea before warming up with the hotel's dry robes, hot water bottle, slippers and flask filled with a hot drink of your choice. It's a mere few footsteps back to your hotel for a hot shower and a Full Irish. Visit www.ballygallycastlehotel.com. Só Sirecht is Northern Ireland’s only ultra luxury tourism experience provider. Visit www.sosirecht.com.