Things you didn't know about... County Londonderry

The Nobel art of winning
County Londonderry can lay claim to not one but two Nobel Laureates. In 1995, the Nobel Prize for Literature went to Seamus Heaney, the poet and author born in Castledawson, County Londonderry.

The politician John Hume was also born in County Londonderry in 1937. In 1998 he shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Unionist leader David Trimble.

Bound for the New World
Lisahally, near Derry City, County Londonderry, is the most westerly port in the UK. In the 1800s, it was from here that many hopeful emigrants set sail for America, in search of a better life.

County Londonderry gave us cold feet
Actor James Nesbitt, star of the thirtysomething drama Cold Feet and of our Yellow Pages television advertisements, hails from Coleraine, in County Londonderry.

Happy landing for County Londonderry
When Amelia Earhart landed in County Londonderry in 1932, she became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. Her flight lasted 15 hours and 18 minutes and was filled with dangers: a broken altimeter meant she had no idea how high she was flying.

After she brought her plane down on the Derry coast, she was nicknamed "Lady Lindy", after Charles Lindbergh, the first person to fly non-stop between New York and Paris.

A very modest gold rush...
In the 1980s, gold was discovered in County Londonderry's Sperrin Mountains. So far it's failed to produce any millionaires...

Thanks be to County Londonderry for our songs of praise
Many of our most popular hymns were written by Mrs Cecil Frances Alexander, the wife of the Bishop of Derry and Raphoe. They include Christmas favourites like All Things Bright and Beautiful and Once in Royal David's City.

County Londonderry hits the right notes
At the age of five, the singer Dana moved with her family from London to County Londonderry. In 1970, aged just 18, singing All Kinds Of Everything, Dana bagged Ireland's first Eurovision win.

Other musical types from County Londonderry include Feargal Sharkey, the lead singer of the Undertones, Neil Hannon from The Divine Comedy, and Nadine Coyle from Girls Aloud.

Now that's what we call a top pint...
The A6 or the Glenshane Pass built across County Londonderry's Sperrin Mountains is the location of Northern Ireland's highest pub.

Oh Derry Boy
The town of Limavady, County Londonderry, was the home of Miss Jane Ross, who wrote The Derry Air (known by some as The Londonderry Air), more commonly known as the tune to Danny Boy.