Car-free exploration of County Antrim’s dramatic north coast by train and ferry

A car-free trip along County Antrim’s coast can be done using trains, buses and ferries, offering dramatic sea views and stormy winter weather, the writer reports. The route makes the area accessible without driving and showcases beaches, cliffs and coastal villages. The author began at Ballygally Castle, which offers a Sea Dips and Hot Sips package with dry robes, hot-water bottles and flasks, and notes the castle is celebrating its 400th birthday this year; the oldest part was built in 1625.

Larne is described as well connected, with a railway station and regular boats from Scotland; getting there from the writer’s home in Essex involved three trains, two underground stops, two buses and a ferry (foot passengers from £38 each way, cabins from £35). Highlights along the route include windswept Sallagh Braes, dramatic cliffs that have appeared in Game of Thrones and The Northman, Glenarm Castle (the ancestral seat of the earls of Antrim) and the Gobbins cliff path, which is due to reopen early in 2026 as a newly upgraded circular route.

The writer also notes Portrush’s recently refurbished Adelphi hotel (rooms from £152 a night) and local links such as the twice-hourly bus 402 connecting Portrush with the Giant’s Causeway and Bushmills; the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge was closed to visitors by strong winds on the day described, so the author took the mile-long scenic path to the viewpoint.

Key Topics

Culture, County Antrim, Ballygally Castle, Larne, Glenarm Castle, Giant's Causeway