I lived in ‘Norn Iron’ during the 1960s and 1970s. They weren’t happy times, with the Troubles overlaid on the stunningly beautiful province that, almost overnight, went from being among the world’s safest places to, well, you know the rest... After leaving Ulster, I rarely returned for decades. But when we spent a week there recently, what a difference I discovered.

Visit Titanic Belfast

Central Belfast, once bleak, ravaged and security-fenced, has been revitalised with wonderful shopping, dining and entertainment. Where the Troubles once played out, there is new vitality and open-top bus tours to sights as diverse as Belfast’s copper-domed City Hall and the iconic murals depicting Ulster’s oh-so-complicated history on each side of the city’s peace line.

From childhood, I vividly recall a skyline dominated by Black Mountain and Harland & Wolff’s massive shipyard cranes. Now, the Titanic Belfast attraction is a must-see tribute to the yard’s most infamous ocean liner. Check out Belfast’s new ‘non-sectarian’ sport of ice hockey at the SSE Arena too. And Belfast Zoo – the scene of a recent, well-publicised-albeit-short-lived, red panda escape bid!

Try a delicious Ulster fry

After breakfasting on a delicious – utterly cardiac-unfriendly – Ulster fry, visit County Down via Bangor’s seaside promenades and the landscape-dominating red-stone folly of Scrabo Tower. Then explore the sleepy Ards Peninsula, neo-classical Mount Stewart House and wildlife rich Strangford Lough where, decades ago, I watched wildfowl, seals and basking sharks in wonderful yachting waters.

Visit Portaferry’s Exploris Aquarium before crossing fast-flowing Strangford Narrows. Listen carefully to the words of Van Morrison’s ‘Coney Island’ as you enjoy the beautiful Lecale District. Then pause at Ardglass harbour to buy ‘Mussels and some potted herrings’ – just in case you too become famished before dinner. Finally, before returning to Belfast, explore the Mourne Mountains that sweep spectacularly down to the sea at Newcastle.

Many treats await you

These are just a few of the treats awaiting you in the six counties of wonderfully welcoming Ulster. From Belfast to Fermanagh’s breathtaking lakes, or Carrickfergus Castle to the basalt magnificence of Antrim’s Giant’s Causeway, put Van the Man, James Galway or Snow Patrol on play and explore the magical land that 30-years’ Troubles couldn’t destroy.

And while you’re there, please say ‘Bout ye?’ to the Province for me as you tuck into that Ulster fry with its potato farls and the sizzling Cookstown sausages that gone-but-not-forgotten Belfast boy George Best advertised on the TV of my youth.