Overview
You can’t go up Blackhead Lighthouse – it’s private and the lantern is an active aid to navigation – but you can stay the night in the keeper’s house, and the coastal path that gets you there is the real reason to come. The octagonal stone tower has guided vessels into Belfast Lough since 1902, standing where the sheltered water gives way to the open North Channel. From the car park at Whitehead, a Victorian cliff path threads woodland, ducks through two tunnels, and runs along a wooden catwalk at the foot of the cliffs to reach it.
If you’re short on time, walk the out-and-back to the lighthouse and turn round; if you have the morning, do the full loop around the headland. Either way it’s a stop on the Causeway Coastal Route that combines coastal walking, maritime history and dependable wildlife.
History and heritage
The Belfast Harbour Board first applied for a lighthouse at Black Head in 1893 and was refused. A second request in 1898, backed by Lloyd’s and the Belfast Chamber of Commerce, won funding from the Board of Trade and Trinity House. Construction began in 1899 and the light was first exhibited in 1902.
The tower is 16 metres (52ft) tall, octagonal, with its lantern and gallery painted white. The main two-storey keeper’s house is linked to the tower by an enclosed walkway, with a separate superintendent’s house alongside. The lighthouse was electrified in 1965 and automated in 1975; its explosive fog signal was discontinued in 1972, not at automation. The light has a focal height of 45 metres (148ft) and now uses a 920mm catadioptric annular lens – a replacement for the original Fresnel optic – showing one white flash every three seconds, visible up to 27 nautical miles. It’s a Grade B+ listed building. The surrounding cliffs and intertidal zones are an Area of Special Scientific Interest for their seabird colonies and coastal ecology.
Walking the Blackhead Path
The path was laid out by the Victorian railway engineer Berkeley Deane Wise, about 4km north-east of Whitehead, and loops around the headland. It needs bridges and two tunnels to do it, and includes a wooden catwalk at the base of the cliffs – the most memorable stretch. The main loop runs roughly 5km and takes two to three hours at an easy pace; a shorter 2.4km there-and-back leads straight to the lighthouse and is the better option if time or legs are limited. Early morning gives the best light for photographs and the best odds of marine wildlife.
What to see and do
- The lighthouse exterior: the white tower on its cliff edge is the obvious photo, with Belfast Lough, the Copeland Islands and Scrabo Tower beyond. The tower itself is closed to visitors.
- Sea cave catwalk: the raised wooden walkway runs along the base of the cliffs past caves and tidal pools, best at low tide.
- Wildlife: the ASSI cliffs hold gulls, terns and kittiwakes; seals haul out on the rocks, and dolphins, porpoises and the occasional minke whale pass offshore. Winter brings waders to the shoreline.
- Lightkeeper’s houses: three restored keeper’s houses are let through the Irish Landmark Trust – House One sleeps 5, House Two sleeps 7, House Three sleeps 4, with a two-night minimum and rates from £398.
Eating and nearby
After the walk, Whitehead has cafés and pubs, including the Lighthouse Bistro a short walk from the station, plus Shores.Whitehead and The Boat House Barista. Along the way you can stop at Smith’s Forge to make a small metal keepsake with a local blacksmith. The Whitehead Railway Museum and the Gobbins Coastal Path are both close by if you’re making a day of it.
Practical information
- Getting there: the trail starts at the Blackhead Car Park on Old Castle Road, Whitehead (BT38 9NE), reached via the A2 from Carrickfergus or Larne. Translink buses connect Whitehead to Belfast, and the village is on the Belfast–Larne railway line.
- Parking and access: parking at the Blackhead Car Park is free but fills quickly on summer weekends. You can’t park at the lighthouse itself unless you’re staying overnight – the general public reach it on foot only. The steep, uneven coastal terrain means the route is not suitable for wheelchairs or pushchairs.
- Dogs: dogs are welcome but must be kept on a short lead, especially near the cliff edges and nesting birds.
- Safety: wear footwear with grip – the path mixes gravel, planks and damp rock, and the catwalk gets slippery after rain.
Check the tide before you set out: low tide opens up far more of the caves and tidal pools under the catwalk, which is the part of this walk you’ll remember. If you want to stay over, book the keeper’s house well ahead through the Irish Landmark Trust.