The North Antrim coast and Giants Causeway have been the focus of tourist attention. investment and adulation in recent years.

And along with the Mourne mountains and Fermanagh lakes, they have been nominated as a potential site for Northern Ireland's first national park.

But another less-trumpeted part of Northern Ireland has crept up behind all these beauty spots to win a place on National Geographic's list of the 101 Top Scenic Drives In The World.

The mountain range, which straddles counties Londonderry and Tyrone, was praised for having "wild beauty, ideal trails and dreamy villages".

Hannah Shields, the first woman from Northern Ireland to climb Mount Everest, said the accolade was justified.

She told the BBC: "National Geographic's magazine is followed all over the world.

"It was one of my inspirational guide books travelling the world. I saw pictures and read about places and wanted to go and see them.

"To have something like this on our own doorstep is amazing. The Sperrins are beautiful and when you are in the middle of them there is so much to do and see."

The Sperrins claimed number 88 on the list.

Pauline Gormley of the Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB) said the news was "fantastic".

She said: "While the Sperrins is Northern Ireland's largest mountain range it is also probably the least explored."

(NE)