A new visitor centre, worth over £2million, has officially opened at the edge of Lough Neagh.

Part-funded by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) the Gateway Centre at Lough Road, Antrim offers a great base for cycling and canoeing activities as well as new restaurant and terrace, tourism information, exhibition space telling the story of Lough Neagh and showering facilities. The Centre is also the home of Lough Neagh Rescue.

Environment Minister Edwin Poots said: "I recognise the importance of tourism to our rural communities and economy so I am delighted that we have invested £0.5million from our Rural Tourism Scheme into the Gateway Centre at Lough Neagh, which provides an interactive space telling not only the story of the lough but also providing a focal point for tourists to plan their visit.

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"I believe that investing in tourism projects in rural areas, will enable not only linkages to be made to other local attractions, but also the development of 'tourism corridors', which will encourage and increase visitor footfall from tourism hotspots into the great rural outdoors.

"It is clear from my visit here today, that the creation of visitor experiences showcasing our natural landscape and that are compelling and accessible to all, can offer long term sustainability and growth for rural tourism in Northern Ireland. I wish this project every success going forward."