Ballymoney’s oldest building is a roofless church tower from 1637, and for most visitors the town is a half-hour stop on the way to the coast rather than a destination in itself. It sits on the A26 between Belfast and Coleraine, 48 miles from Belfast, with a population of 11,048 at the 2021 census. Two things bring people here: a free self-guided heritage trail through the centre, and the fact that this is Joey Dunlop’s home town, eight miles from the Dark Hedges.
If you only have twenty minutes, skip the full loop and walk the short cluster around the Town Hall, the 1637 church tower and the Joey Dunlop Memorial Garden. The rest of the trail is pleasant enough, but those three are the ones a local would point you to.
The heritage trail
The Ballymoney Heritage Trail is a self-guided walking tour of 16 points across the town centre. It starts at the Townhead Street Car Park (BT53 6BE); pick up a free printed guide from the Visitor Information Centre opposite before you set off, as the route is signed by the guide map rather than on the ground.
The first stop is the Town Hall (1866), the Victorian centrepiece that now holds the arts centre and museum. From there the trail takes in the Town Clock and Masonic Hall – commissioned by Randal MacDonnell, 6th Earl of Antrim – and the 1637 Old Church Tower, the town’s oldest surviving structure, built under Sir Randal MacDonnell after the original church was lost in the upheavals of the 17th century. The route follows paved footpaths, is fully wheelchair accessible, and loops back to the Town Hall inside two hours.
Joey Dunlop and the museum
On Castle Street, the Joey Dunlop Memorial Garden is a quiet tribute to the road racer who remains Ballymoney’s most famous son. Inside the Town Hall, the Ballymoney Museum traces local history from Mesolithic finds through to the Second World War, with a section on the area’s motorbike road-racing heritage that is the reason a fair share of visitors come at all. Admission is free.
The Visitor Information Centre shares the building. It has free Wi-Fi, multilingual maps, a shop selling local crafts and motorcycling-road-racing merchandise, and a booking service for the Giant’s Causeway and Carrick-a-Rede. The whole building is accessible, with lifts and toilets.
Out to the Dark Hedges
The Dark Hedges sit about eight miles north-east near Armoy – an avenue of beech trees planted in the 18th century to impress visitors arriving at Gracehill House, and now far better known as the Kingsroad from Game of Thrones. Be warned: it is one of Northern Ireland’s busiest photo stops, and the lane itself is closed to traffic, so park at the estate car park or the nearby hotel and walk in. Ballymoney also makes a workable base for the wider Causeway Coast, with the Giant’s Causeway, Dunluce Castle and the Antrim Coast Road all within easy reach.
Town events
Two long-running events anchor the calendar. The Ballymoney Drama Festival, founded in 1933, bills itself as Ireland’s oldest drama festival and runs each March. The Ballymoney Show, an agricultural exhibition dating to 1902, returns each June with livestock competitions and craft and food stalls.
Getting there and parking
Ballymoney railway station is on the Belfast–Derry line, with hourly trains from Belfast Great Victoria Street, and regular buses run to Coleraine, Ballycastle and the coast. By car, the A26 links straight to the M2. The Townhead Street Car Park beside the Visitor Information Centre is the handiest place to leave the car for the trail and museum; check the signage for current charges before you walk off.