STANDING on the gnarled, wind-honed rocks high above a boiling sea, it's easy to understand why top boy band Westlife believed they were flying without wings I am perched on Malin Head, at Ireland's most northerly point. Directly ahead, the next landfall is Iceland, to my left, and far beyond the swirling clouds, is America.

In a sweeping half-moon behind me, the rugged, unspoiled Inishowen Peninsula rolls out across this little known spear of North West Ireland.

This truly is a land filled with music and not just from Kian, Mark and Shane, three of the Westlife boys who hail from Sligo town, a song's echo away across a few hills.

Here, the air vibrates with the sound of booming waves and dancing, swooping birds calling to each other through the eddying gusts of Atlantic wind.

Yet the true beauty of a break to this little-known and very much understated part of Ireland, is you can do as much or as little as you want. If it's history you're after, they've got legions of it straddling the centuries. If it's good food, mixed with the locals' impish, laid-back sense of fun, you'll be swamped at every wayside halt.

There's golf to play on a mighty roll of carefully manicured courses and mile upon bright yellow mile of unspoilt beaches to explore.

Or if, like me, you simply want to take a look at the day, you can easily lose yourself down the narrow, winding lanes, tiny coastal towns and dinky fishing ports.

It's these unique, shifting contrasts that passionate local tourist board chiefs hope will turn on the tap of holiday and short break success.

The region's biggest plus point is that it is just over an hour's flying time from Manchester, making the country's North West an almost irresistible choice for work-worn visitors.

Sandwiched between Lough Foyle and Lough Swilly, the Inishowen Peninsula stretches, dips and slides over 100 amazing miles in a complete, distinctive world of its own.

Start your jaunt by car, bus or bike along R238, a truly magical scenic coastal drive from Buncrana, the region's stunning gateway: it is one of the most revealing journeys of your life.

Breathtaking coastal views from the Mamore Gap sweep you onward through towns with tinkling names, Dunaff, Clonmany and Ballylifin, famed for sea angling.

Take in the ancient monuments at Carndonagh and, like me, stop off to drink in the tearing, wild beauty of Malin Head. Yes, this land really is a place to conjure up those forgotten dreams Then put your brakes on and spend some time chilling out at Greencastle, a whimsical, slightly unkempt, fishing port on Lough Foyle.

It's a curious jumble of trawlers, cute cottages, some thatched, and mounds of fishing gear ribboned with the tang of the sea.

And there, as a backdrop across the waters in the hazy middle distance is Magilligan Point, a ferry shuttle away in Northern Ireland.

Greencastle boasts excellent eateries and a fine maritime museum complete with fishing boats, fascinating charts showing wrecks spread over recent centuries and oodles of beautiful sepia photographs capturing its fishing and seafaring heritage.

Brave men in waterproof gear stare out at you from The Rocket Carts, sturdy wooden contraptions, with giant, steel-hooped wheels, that were pulled into the breakers by horses before rockets carrying life-saving lines were fired at crews on stranded vessels.

Even more curious is the faade of former coastguard cottages that houses a small, but genuinely inspirational, Planetarium run by an American. Ah, but this is Ireland. I discovered that there is no finer, calming sight than to study the velvet heavens above this little port stippled with a glorious bowl of stars.

Back to earth, I am drawn to McGrory's, a roadside restaurant, hotel and dance mecca, which, like so many things in Ireland, has just grown and grown This cosy collection of properties in Culdaff, started life as a humble general store in the 1920s, run by Minnie and John McGrory. It was a place where you could get everything from a bicycle to a clay pipe.

But, like Westlife, it became all that was good about singing and a respected crucible for live musicians. The simple old-fashioned sing-songs grew and the McGrory's son, John Joe, and his wife, Deirdre, took them to another level, with top Irish and international performers entertaining to huge audiences.

These contrasts are heightened by a visit to the Doagh Famine Village, which gives you a real insight into Irish history and captures much of the country's history in a stark, but distinctly humorous, reality.

I returned to present day with a true showbizzy moment: an overnight stay at the elegant Georgian Rathmullan House, overlooking two miles of beach at Lough Swilly. Stunning food and rooms the size of small bowling greens. Now that really is Westlife!

Ken Bennett visited North West Ireland as guest of Tourism Ireland. For information on holidays, accommodation and travel, call them on: 020-7518-0800, click on its website: www.tourismireland.com , or write to: Tourism Ireland, Nations House, 103 Wigmore Street, London W1U 1QS.

Flights were provided by new, low-cost carrier Aer Arann, which has daily flights from Manchester and Birmingham to the City of Derry Airport, one hour's drive from Inishowen. They also fly to other parts of Ireland from the South of England. Call: 0800-587-2324 or click on: www.aerarran.com .

Ken stayed at the 24-room Rathmullan House, Lough Swilly, Rathmullan. Tel: 00353-074-915-8188, or visit: www.rathmullanhouse.com .

For information on McGrory's of Culdaff, Inishowen, County Donegal, tel 00353-074-937-9104 or click on: www.mcgrory.ie .

Doagh Famine Village, Doagh Island, Inishowen, County Donegal, is open every day from Easter to the end of September, 10am5.30pm. Call: 00353-86-846-4749 for information and party bookings.