Causeway Coastal Route Part 2

Hey everybody, welcome to the second part of our causeway coastal route series. Our last one finished off at Red bay a beautiful beach at the town of Waterfoot. Travelling northwards from here we reach Cushendall, Cushendun and Ballycastle.

Cushendall is a busy little village on the coast, from Waterfoot you will drive under the arch by the coal pier which featured in Sons of Anarchy, pass by the Yacht club and lifeboat station before passing over the bridge. Parking and toilets are available here and there are a few shops to stop in and restock. There is a coastal cliff path walk here which leads to the Layd Church – a 13^th century Franciscan church with great views, this area will always be important to us as it is where we got engaged.

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View of Cushendun from the Torr Road

Not far along the coast is our next stop of Cushendun, this little village is popular for its beach. As you enter Cushendun before you cross the river is a row of Cornish style buildings and a statue of a goat to commemorate “Johann” the goat who used to wander the village – created by artist Deborah Brown. Further along the road with the goat statue you will discover Cushendun’s sea caves, made famous by Game of Thrones. We have also read that one of the local pubs has a door commemorating the series, however we will have to wait until lockdown is lifted to be able to check this out.

There are two routes to take from here to Ballycastle, the main road and the Torr Road, if we have visitors, we always choose the Torr Road, however it isn’t for the faint hearted. This single lane road winds its way along the coast at parts it drops down to the sea below. However, it has some amazing views and a couple of places to stop, the main one being Torr Head.

Torr Head is a place steeped in history due to its position, it overlooks the North Channel to Scotland with beautiful views on a clear day. The waters in this area are known for being treacherous and the current and swirls can be seen as you make your way along the Torr road. There is car parking available at the foot of the Torr and we recommend taking the time to climb to the top where you can go to the look-out post and get great views over the Channel.

On the way to Ballycastle you will notice signs for Fairhead, this is another great place to visit in passing and on our last visit all the car parks were full. Dotted around Fairhead you will find lime Kilns and there are old mine shafts. The area has impressive cliff faces that are popular with climbers and it has an amazing coastal walk – caution advised! This is an area we want to explore more and to write about in future as there is so much to see.

The road from Fairhead will bring you to the Hunters Bar and you might be glad to see a main road again, following this will lead you to Ballycastle, passing the beach and golf course. The next blog in this series will cover Ballycastle to Bushmills. Until then stay safe and keep planning the next adventure!