Beautiful Ballycastle

If you’re exploring the coastal scenery of County Antrim, in the northeast of Northern Ireland, you will come to the lively seaside town of Ballycastle. The town, which was named Best Place in Live in Northern Ireland by the Sunday Times in 2022, is not only a great base for exploring the beautiful Causeway Coast and Glens, but it has lots to see and do, boasts a thriving food scene and is a gateway to Rathlin Island.

The first thing you’ll notice about Ballycastle is that it’s a lovely old heritage town with lots of charming shopfronts and historic buildings. A good way to get a sense of the history of the place is with the Ballycastle Heritage Trail. One of the highlights of the trail is Ballycastle Museum in the 18th century courthouse on Castle St, which covers everything from a folk history of the Glens to Bronze age archaeology.

The town also has connections to folklore – you will see the sculpture of the four swans of the Children of Lir while strolling the seafront. The legend from mythology tells that when the children were turned into swans, they spent 300 years on the Sea of Moyle between Northern Ireland and Scotland.

There’s plenty to do outdoors here, with walks, sandcastles, surfing or swimming on the mile-long Ballycastle Strand blue-flag beach, quiet walks on the Tow River Path or in Ballycastle Forest. Golfers will love Ballycastle Golf Club’s 18-hole course which dates back to 1890 and has spectacular coastal views. The town has regular events and is the centre of fun at the end of August, when visitors descend for the Ould Lammas Fair which started back in 1606 and runs in the main square, the Diamond. The area comes alive with market stalls, a fairground and fireworks. Look out for yellowman, a local chewy honeycomb with the texture of toffee, sold in bags at the fair.

If you’ve worked up an appetite exploring, drop into Mortons’s Fish Ballycastle at the harbour for fish and chips, with cod and haddock fresh off the boats, or drop into the restaurant in O’Connor’s Bar on Ann St for specials like seabass and haddock, and to take in a traditional music session.

Foodies should also check out Ursa Minor Bakehouse on Castle St, which uses traditional baking methods for its delicious sourdough loaves and pastries (look out for tasty seasonal lunch specials), and the delicious breakfasts at Thyme and Co on Quay Road, which specialises in locally sourced homemade food.

If you love the water, sign up for one of the diving and fishing trips from Ballycastle Harbour during summer. Ballycastle is also the gateway to Rathlin Island – the island is over 9km off shore and the ferry takes around 25 minutes, with amazing views of the coast. Rathlin Island is ideal for a nature escape, for walking and birdwatching. You can look out for heritage sites or walk to the three lighthouses, Rathlin East Lighthouse, Rue Point Lighthouse or Rathlin West Lighthouse.

Take a walk from the harbour to this “upside-down” lighthouse and visit the RSPB Seabird Centre to learn about Northern Ireland’s largest seabird colony here.

Rathlin is also popular for spotting seals and puffins. You can hire bikes on the island, and for overnight stays there are B&Bs, a hostel and glamping. For a daytrip further afield, Ballycastle is 22km from the Mull of Kintyre in Scotland – there are ferries in summer and the crossing takes around 1.5 hours.

Ballycastle is also a fantastic base from which to explore the Causeway Coastal Route, a spectacular stretch of coastline which takes in highlights such as the Giant’s Causeway, the geological wonder with its 40,000 basalt stone columns; Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge which crosses over a deep chasm to a tiny island; and the ruins of Dunluce Castle, which sit on a cliff face.. Driving the route, you will see lots of unusual rock formations, inlets and bays along the way.

Game of Thrones® fans can visit Fair Head – the 183-metre-high sea cliffs were used a filming location for Dragonstone in Game of Thrones. Other Game of Thrones filming locations within driving distance include the Dark Hedges, south of Ballycastle on the road to Ballymoney, and Ballintoy Harbour to the west, which was the Iron Islands.

Finally, driving south-east from Ballycastle, the coastal road will take you along the Nine Glens of Antrim – with forest parks, rivers, waterfalls, castles to explore as well as the heritage villages of Cushendun and Cushendall.