Giant's Causeway
The Giant’s Causeway is Northern Ireland’s top tourist attraction, and only World Heritage Site. A dramatic coastal landscape steeped in local mythology, the Causeway draws up to half a million visitors a year from around the world.
The Causeway consists of around 40,000 polygonal basalt columns, jutting out into the sea amid a spectacular coastal landscape of cliffs, headlands and crashing waves.
Geologists explain that the Causeway was created during a period of volcanic activity some 60 million years ago. The famous columns were formed when lava cooled quickly upon flowing into the sea. The surrounding cliffs also demonstrate the many lava flows that have shaped the spectacular North Antrim landscape.
Local folklore offers an alternative explanation for the Causeway’s creation. The story goes that it was built by the Irish Giant Finn MacCool so that he could cross the Irish Sea to Scotland to challenge a rival giant, Benandoner. Finn is also credited with the creation of the Isle of Man, which is said to have been formed when he scooped a massive sod of earth to launch at his rival. The resulting hole filled with water to become Lough Neagh.
Among the quaint names given to the Causeway’s many strange formations of rock are the Giant’s boot, the organ and the wishing chair.
The Causeway Coaster bus service runs from the visitor centre to the Grand Causeway throughout the year. The route, though steep, can also be walked.
The wider Causeway area offers excellent opportunities for keen walkers. The Causeway Coast Path extends east for some 12 miles to the famous Carrick-a-rede Rope Bridge. Interpretative panels along the route provide information about the history, mythology and scientific interest of the area.
How to get there
- Train: Service from Belfast or Londonderry to Coleraine
- Bus: Causeway Rambler (Ulsterbus no 376) between Bushmills & Carrick-a-Rede runs in the summer; or Ulsterbus no 252 is a circular route via the Antrim Glens from Belfast. Both stop at the Causeway.
- Cycle: NCN route 93 runs past Causeway
- Car: on B146, 2ml from Bushmills. Drive time: Belfast 1 hr 15 mins
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Dunseverick Castle
Dunseverick Castle and the peninsula on which it stands were given to the National Trust in 1962 by local farmer Jack McCurdy.
The castle was occupied until its capture and destruction by Cromwellian troops in the 1650s, and today only the ruins of the gatelodge remain. A small residential tower survived until 1978 when it eventually surrendered to the sea below.
A small picnic area and car park overlooking the ruins are hidden just behind nearby houses. The Causeway Cliff Path also runs past on its way to Dunseverick Harbour to the east and to the Giant's Causeway to the west.
How to get there
- Train: Service from Belfast or Londonderry to Coleraine
- Bus: Causeway Rambler (Ulsterbus no 376) Bushmills to Carrick-a-Rede; or Ulsterbus no 252 is a circular route via the Antrim Glens from Belfast. Both stop at Dunseverick Castle if requested.
- Car: on B146, 5ml from Bushmills, 9ml from Ballycastle. Drive time: Belfast 1.15 hrs, Giant's Causeway 4mins
- Cycle: NCN route 93 runs past Dunseverick Castle.
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White Park Bay
The spectacular sandy beach forms a white arc between two headlands on the North Antrim Coast. Its secluded location means that even on a busy day there is plenty of room for quiet relaxation. The beach is backed by ancient dunes that provide a range of rich habitats for bird and animal life.
White Park Bay was donated to The National Trust by the Youth Hostel Association of Northern Ireland in 1938 and is among the most painted and photographed scenes in Northern Ireland.
How to get there
- Train: Service from Belfast or Londonderry to Coleraine
- Bus: Causeway Rambler (Ulsterbus no. 376) Bushmills to Carrick-a-Rede; or Ulsterbus no. 252 is a circular route via the Antrim Glens from Belfast. Both stop at WhitePark Bay if requested.
- Car: on B146, 6.5ml from Bushmills, 7.5ml from Ballycastle. Drive time: Belfast 1.15 hrs, Giant's Causeway 10mins
- Cycle: NCN route 93 runs past White Park Bay
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Larrybane / Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge
For more than 300 years a rope bridge has provided the only form of access to Carrick-a-rede Island for local fishermen. Although still used by the fishermen, the bridge is now much more heavily used by the many thousands of visitors who come to the site each year. Suspended over a 30m chasm, the bridge sways and wobbles underfoot and crossing it requires a strong nerve and a head for heights.
The surrounding area is known as Larrybane, meaning ancient white site, referring to the great limestone cliffs near the bridge. Archaeological evidence suggests the site was inhabited by Neolithic man, and remains have also been found of an ancient promontory fort dating from around 800AD.
A quarry was in operation at Larrybane until the early 1970s, mining the limestone for chalk. The area provides some of the most spectacular views along this part of the coast – of Rathlin Island to the north and the Scottish coast to the east. Larrybane also marks the beginning of the Causeway Coast Path, which stretches 12 miles west to the Giant's Causeway.
How to get there
- Train: Service from Belfast or Londonderry to Coleraine
- Bus: Causeway Rambler (Ulsterbus no 376) Bushmills to Carrick-a-Rede; or Ulsterbus no 252 is a circular route via the Antrim Glens from Belfast. Both stop at the Carrick-a-Rede
- Car: on B15, 7ml from Bushmills, 5ml from Ballycastle. Drive time: Belfast 1.15 hrs, Giant's Causeway 10 mins
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Murlough Bay and Fair Head
Fair Head is one of the great headlands of Ireland, its sheer face rising some 600 feet above sea level, making it Northern Ireland’s tallest cliff face. Its impressive profile can be seen from Ballycastle and many other points along the North Coast.
The gentler slopes and wooded areas of Murlough Bay to the east provide a contrast to the starkness of Fair Head.
Both sites are accessible by car and offer excellent walking opportunities, more challenging at Fair Head than at Murlough. The easiest point from which to explore Fair Head is from the Trust’s car park at Coolanlough (at the end of the Fair Head road), with a walk of about a mile north to the cliff-top. Murlough Bay is best explored from the main car park at the top of a steep narrow lane down to the shore. There is another small car park at the foot of the steep road. Cars should be not be taken beyond this point, as the road is liable to subsidence.
How to get there
- Train: Service from Belfast or Londonderry to Ballycastle
- Bus: The coast road past Fair Head/Murlough Bay is unsuitable for buses. However, buses to Cushendun or Cushendall pass through the small village of Ballyvoy, 2.5 miles from Fair Head, 4 miles from Murlough Bay
- Car: Off the Torr Road from Ballyvoy, 7 miles from Ballycastle, 11ml from Cushendun. Drive time: Belfast 1.25 hrs.
Layde
Layde enjoys a secluded coastal site nestled among the scenic Glens of Antrim. A path runs from the National Trust car park to a small beach, passing the ruins of Layde Church which dates from around 1300. The graveyard surrounding the church was for many generations the chief burial ground for the ruling McDonnell family. Amongst those buried there is Dr. James McDonnell who organised the Belfast Harpers’ Festival of 1792 – an event designed to reverse the decline of traditional Irish harp music.
How to get there
Car park located less than half a mile from the centre of Cushendall along the short length of coast road opposite the square tower. Cushendall can be reached either from Ballycastle (15 miles) by the A2 or from Ballymena by the B14 (18 miles).
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