Northern Ireland has 539 kilometers of gorgeous coastline, 320 km of which can be viewed on the Causeway Coastal Route. Running from Belfast to Derry, this route is popular among road trippers not just for the scenery, but for the historical significance and mythology that ties the immediate area to the greater United Kingdom. These factors make traveling along the Causeway Coastal Route the perfect holiday trip – as long as you know where to stop along the way.
Planning for the Trip
Since the Causeway Coastal Route is only a few hundred kilometers, it can be completed in an afternoon. However, owing to how much they’ll miss if they rush the trip, a person should take their time on the route. This means that a little bit of planning is required. Expanding the trip to last a day is good; making it last a few days is even better.
For the longer road trip, food, clothing, and assorted provisions should be packed, while nighttime shelter should be arranged. Accommodations along the route include the Fullerton Arms, a hotel and restaurant in Ballintoy, and the Marine Hotel in Ballycastle. But perhaps the most important consideration is the dependability of the vehicle you plan to take on the trip. The route covers all kinds of terrains that only a well-equipped and durable vehicle can handle. If you have any concerns at all, bring a roadside car kit to be safe. And if the worst were to happen, be prepared to call on towing services as they’ll be able to tend to your predicament within a matter of minutes.
What to See
Once you have all your provisions selected, you can choose among the dozens of historic and scenic landmarks as your destinations between drives. Dunluce Castle is a fantastic option. The ruins of this once-prestigious 13th century castle lie on the cliffs of County Antrim between Portballintrae and Portrush. Many people have seen the castle on Game of Thrones, where it is a stand-in for the House of Greyjoy. Another Game of Thrones filming location you can visit along the route is The Dark Hedges, a path of arched trees also in County Antrim between Armoy and Stranocum. The Dark Hedges was used for the Kingsroad in Season Two.
Game of Thrones’ settings aside, the most famous landmark on the Causeway Coastal Route, after which the route was named, is Giant’s Causeway. Consisting of 40,000 hexagonal columns up to 39 feet high, this natural wonder had long been considered the work of a giant that desired a path across the North Channel. In reality, the pillars are cooled lava from a 50-million-year-old volcanic eruption.
Norther Ireland is home to all sorts of man-made and natural wonders, and many of them can be seen on the Causeway Coastal Route. Road trippers should rejoice at the route’s existence. Where else can you see such a diversity of UK landmarks in such a short amount of time?
