Roadtrip on Northern Ireland's Coastal Causeway
Dazzling with stunning blue Atlantic waters and stunning cliffs and coastline, Northern Ireland’s Coastal Causeway route is billed as one of the best road trips in the UK. As UK residents, we had to find out for ourselves!
Logistics:
Head over to the main Belfast post to discover our Northern Ireland logistics as it can be quite tricky!
Activities
Along the Coastal Causeway, there are plenty of quaint seaside villages to discover as well as scenic drives and overlooks. Rather than “one way” to do the trip, I highly recommend reading about every option as each traveller will be different. We preferred the scenic overlooks and fun food places over the scenic drives (probably because we just wrapped up our mainland UK road trip). I utilized this great website to read about the various options, then plotted out various options. Plus, since we had essentially 48 hours, we could spend even more time than our previously failed Belfast trip.
Here are some of the highlights that we recommend:
- Carrickfergus Castle: One of the oldest medieval forts, this site is especially historic as most of Ireland’s history has started here since it is really close to Scotland and Belfast. The castle is open to the public, except during COVID, and is a great pitstop along your journey.
- Glenarm Castle: Home to the Earls of Antrim, Glenarm has been their base of power for over 600 years. While the castle and home is not always open to the public, they have terrific gardens and my mom highly recommends their cafe for a nice cuppa - especially on a rainy day!
- Torr Head & Marugh Bay: Tiny roads leading to beautiful lookout points.
- Carrick-a-rope: With a rickety rope bridge over the sea, it is one of the most famous attractions! Book tickets well in advance.
- Giant’s Causeway: With giant stones stretching out into the sea, Giant’s Causeway is the best attraction.
- Mussendun Temple: Another beautiful old structure with great views of the ocean. Book tickets in advance.
- Portrush: As we stayed here, I might be a little biased! This is a beautiful seaside town with beaches, great food, and wonderful B&Bs!
- Bushmills: Home of the famous Irish whiskey, the village and the distillery are a great visit. Check out times and tickets before visiting.
- Slemish: Known for St Patrick’s origins, it is also a beautiful drive!
- Dark Hedges: If one likes the Game of Thrones, this is probably the most famous set in Northern Ireland.
Carrickfergus
Located just outside Belfast, our first stop on the Coastal Causeway is Carrickfergus, an medieval Norman castle sitting on the coast. The village was really pretty with tiny houses and then this castle in the background!
Although we quickly learned we could not visit it due to COVID, the walk along the water was worth a stop!
Rather than rely on the castle’s information, there are helpful signboards outside that tell the history. Founded on the site where King Fergus (first king of Ireland) landed, Carrickfergus castle has played a really important part in Northern Ireland’s history. Many wars began at this site, including the failed Robert Bruce invasion in the 1100s and the successful William of Orange invasion in the 1600s.
Glenarm Castle
Our next stop on our highway was the famous Glenarm Castle! With beautiful walled gardens and a lovely tearoom, we wanted to stop! However, we were about 30 minutes away from closing and rain and gardens do not mix. Thus, we wandered around the grounds! Being the seat of the Earls of Antrim for over 600 years, the castle is not available to viewing since they still live here. The castle grounds have loads of shops, from bakery, fudge shop, and a village store! From the village, there are cute streets combined with great coastal views. We were impressed!
A Drink of Bushmills
After a long, wet drive along the Northern Irish coast, a burst of sunshine appeared as we arrived in the sleepy village of Bushmills. Due to COVID, the distillery was sadly closed but I wanted to try and find Bushmills in the village of Bushmills! Knowing that the distillery was closed, we opted for the Old Bushmill Inn as I heard the drinks are great here! However, the weather played a role again as the great sunshine combined with it being a Friday afternoon, and in Northern Ireland meant that outdoor patio was very crowded. Thus, we left to head to our B&B and hopefully come back later!
Pretty Portrush
Portrush
Luckily, Portrush is less than a 15 minute drive from Bushmills. As a beach and classic seaside coastal town, Portrush has plenty of activities! With plenty of sunshine, the locals were out on the beach - even though it was 20C / 60F with wind! It was very cold compared to the “warmer” UK beaches! After checking into our room at Avarest B&B, we went to one of the best burger bars (according to our hostess) at Kiwi Brew Bar!
Pretty Portrush
Located on the high street, Kiwi Brew Bar is a New Zealand pub and bar and has tons of drink choices and massive burgers. While I could have opted for a Bushmills, I really didn’t a hard drink at a beer bar. Plus, it didn’t fit with my massive burger! I ordered the Bomb Scare, which is a cheeseburger with onion rings, lettuce, and their special mayo sauce while MF had the fried chicken. Initially, I thought I won but MF had to roll me back to the B&B so I think she really won!
Giant’s Causeway
As Northern Ireland’s premier tourist attraction, Giant’s Causeway is a wonderful walk through magnificent scenery, locations, and views.
Giant's Causeway
Huge Stones
Free versus Paid
Similar to our Stonehenge experience, after we arrived/paid for our visit, we discovered how to visit Giant’s Causeway for free! Because the causeway is a national park, anyone can walk on the grounds. Meaning, if you find a parking spot either in a paid lot or nearby, the visit can be completely free!
The only missing perks are the air conditioned building, “free” parking at the center, and guided tour or headsets.
Travel Tip: There is a slightly less expensive parking lot on the road leading to the Giant’s Causeway center.
Guided Tour
Because we paid for the experience, we went all in for the guided tour. Usually every 30 minutes, the guided tour covers the geology, legends and myths, and actual history of the site. While I took diligent notes on the geology, all I care to repeat is the rocks are really old and made from basalt rock that slowly formed over time. While no one is exactly sure how the stones came to be, geology is slowly improving over time!
However, the best story is the legend of Finn McCool! After several confrontations with the Scottish giant, he finally had enough and started building a bridge to challenge the Scottish giant. However, once Finn realized how BIG the Scottish giant was, he ran back across the bridge. The Scottish giant chased Finn back to his house. Before the giant arrived, Finn changed into a baby’s outfit. Once the Scottish giant realized that the guy he was changing was a baby, the giant ran away really quickly and tore up the bridge. Thus, Giant’s Causeway was born!
Loving the view!
Beautiful Day
Once the tour was over, we had a chance to explore the amazing stones on a beautiful day! With full sunshine, we hopped, skipped, and jumped on the stones! Because we arrived early, we enjoyed the pictures and views before the crowds arrived.
(Sunny) Dark Hedges
Famously depicted in Game of Thrones for a long 30 second scene, the Dark Hedges are a beautiful landmark! With beech trees lining the boulevard, it gives an eerie feeling - if it was a cloudy day! Because we had perfect sunshine, the “dark” hedges were just really green and pretty hedges! We should have come the previous day when it was pouring down rain! Although we had some crowds on our little walk, we had excellent photos and enjoyed our stroll through the sunny, dark hedges.
Lost and Found at Portstewart Beach
Roadtripping back to the beach, we stumbled upon Portsteward beach - although everyone else in Northern Ireland realized today would be a great beach day if one could stomach low 60 degrees! Unlike our other UK beaches, this one people could drive onto the beach with their car similar to Daytona Beach, FL! I do wonder how often they get to go to the beach though…
Because we were very late to the beach day, we opted for a great little beachside cafe with great food and views called Lost and Found. How I wish we were more hungry!!! MF tried her first latte, which she promptly handed over to me to finish while we shared chorizo and avocado tacos. Yummy!! We also “split” a wonderful salted caramel brownies… I actually ate most of it….
Sunshine in Portrush
Because we failed at the Portstewart beach and the Mussenden Temple due to COVID and crowds, we decided to go back to Portrush and enjoy the free beach views and clear sunshine! Sometimes it is nice to take it slow although we didn’t understand how people were at the beach since it was really cold and we were in our jackets!
Dunlace Castle
Situated on the cliffs outside Portrush, Dunlace Castle is now in ruins, but it provides fantastic views. Parking is really simple and free, but we didn’t care to pay the admission cost so we went and saw the free parts! Learning our lesson from Giant’s Causeway… Either way, the pictures are pretty neat here so we enjoyed the free pictures.
Murlough Bay
On the Coastal Causeway, there are plenty of one-off drives depending on your tastes! For us, we love scenic overlooks so we decided to go to Torr Head and Murlough Bay. Known for amazing views of the Irish Sea and maybe Scotland, both lookout points involve tiny, tiny roads and many hills… MF would be thrilled! Joking!
After I scared MF with my driving to the Murlough Bay, we parked and we could see everything! From Scotland to the “beaches,” it was a beautiful lookout point. Unfortunately, Torr Head was closed due to COVID and construction so we had to sadly cut our trip short so MF only had to experience 1 tiny one way road with hills and many cars!
Here are some more pictures of our great Northern Irish Roadtrip to help remember and inspire our next trip!
The UnChartered Summary
In rain or sunshine, the Coastal Causeway always has great surprises and lovely views. From the rainy drive on our first day to the perfect sunshine on our last two days, we enjoyed the tiny roads and green hills of Northern Ireland.
- Portrush is an excellent base to explore Northern Ireland’s green countryside. We had plenty of tasty restaurants and if one is lucky, it’ll be sunny and the beach will actually be enjoyable. Avarest B&B is an excellent place to stay with kind hosts and a great full Irish breakfast.
- Before driving to all the wonderful pitstops, check online if they are open as a lot were closed or required pre-purchased tickets before arriving.
- Giant’s Causeway is a must-do, although I wonder if we could have seen it for free if we just parked in the free lot.
- I am so sad that we missed out on Carrick-a-dede rope bridge but we couldn’t visit due to COVID, I guess that means that we will have to return!