Portstewart Strand was one of Seamus Heaney’s seven wonders

Earlier this year, the Nobel prize-winning poet-who died last month-selected his favourite places across the globe..

In an interview for the January/February edition of Intelligent Magazine, he lists the our own glorious Portstewart Strand as his top beach on the planet.

He said: “The beach in Portstewart in County Derry is the first place where I encountered the ocean. It is a mighty curve of sand and dunes running for a mile and more.

“It retains for me the aura of original wonder and, of course, there was the mystery of the courting couples in the dunes.”

His list included his favourite journey, hotel, city, building, view and work of art.

Heaney was considered by many as the greatest poet of his generation. Ever since the publication of “Death of a Naturalist” in 1966, he drew inspiration from the details of his childhood in rural Northern Ireland.

Heaney (74) was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1995 “for works of lyrical beauty and ethical depth, which exalt everyday miracles and the living past”.

Alliance councillor, Yvonne Boyle, said: “He was a great talent and charming and humble to speak to. We can be proud that he came from among us.”