Ballycastle factfile

How to get to Ballycastle
Ballycastle lies in Northern Ireland's County Antrim at the foot of Knocklayde Mountain. The nearest airports are Belfast International Airport or Belfast Harbour Airport. The main connecting roads are to Coleraine and Armoy.

Ballycastle through the ages
Ballycastle would have been little more than a collection of cabins until the 17th century. It sprang up around a castle settlement and developed both as a market town and later as a seaside resort. Tuesday has been market day ever since the first market was established in about 1612.

How Ballycastle got its name
The name Ballycastle derives from the Gaelic words for "castle" and "town". The castle in question was built in 1609 by Randolph, Earl of Antrim, but its remains were eventually demolished over 100 years ago.

Things to see and do around Ballycastle
Ballycastle provides the perfect base from which to organise day trips exploring Northern Ireland. Nearby you will find the Nine Glens of Antrim, Carrickarede Rope Bridge, the Giant's Causeway and the Bushmills Distillery.

Scotland is just a few miles away—indeed, a ferry used to connect Campbeltown, near Paul McCartney's beloved Mull of Kintyre, with Ballycastle, and locals on both sides are campaigning to have the route restored.

Ballycastle is the main port for Rathlin Island. Just a short ferry ride away, this wild and ancient isle is the only inhabited island off the north coast of Ireland.

Famous landmarks in Ballycastle
The celebrated Giant's Causeway consists of over 40,000 stone columns, created by cooling lava. Legend has it that it was constructed by the giant of Irish folklore Finn MacCool, to be used as a series of stepping-stones to Scotland.

Sports and leisure in Ballycastle
Ballycastle Golf Club is one of the oldest in Ireland. It was founded in 1890 as an 18-hole course with a mixture of parkland and link holes. Golfers enjoy spectacular views of the Margy and Carey rivers, the ruins of the 12th-century Bonamargy Abbey, and the surrounding coastline.

Arts and culture in Ballycastle
The town is famous for its annual Oul' Lammas Fair, which has been taking place for over 300 years. On the last Monday and Tuesday of August, visitors flock from far and wide to sample the "dulse" (a reddish seaweed) and local candy called "Yellow Man".

Natural beauty spots around Ballycastle
Ballycastle is surrounded by the lush Nine Glens of Antrim. Here, visitors can discover valleys full of rivers, waterfalls, flowers and birds—a great source of Irish myths and legends.

Ballycastle's claim to fame
Bushmills Distillery is famous all over the world. In 1608 the distillery became the first in the world to be granted a licence to produce fine malt whiskey.