Overview
Capecastle’s claim on anyone’s attention is a tunnel – one of only two narrow-gauge railway tunnels ever built in Ireland. It carried the Ballycastle Railway north under the western slopes of Knocklayd, and it’s still there, north of where the station used to be. The station itself is gone: opened on 1 February 1882, closed to goods in 1927 and shut for good on 3 July 1950, it has left no trace on the ground.
The village is otherwise a quiet scatter of houses on the A44 between Armoy and Ballycastle in County Antrim, part of the Causeway Coast and Glens. Be honest with yourself before you make the trip: for most visitors this is a footnote on the way to the coast, not a day out. Come for the tunnel and the story, or don’t come at all.
The Ballycastle Railway
The Ballycastle Railway opened in 1880, a 3ft narrow-gauge line running roughly 13 miles from the market town of Ballymoney up to the seaside resort of Ballycastle, with Capecastle the last stop before the coast. The whole project was reportedly tendered for under £40,000, bridges and tunnel included.
Capecastle was a small station, but not a sleepy one: the stationmaster was paid jointly by the railway, which gave him 12 shillings a week, and a local quarry, which topped it up with another four – a hint that the place handled more quarry traffic than its size suggests. Light green engines and dark brown coaches worked the district until the line closed in the 1950s, after which the track was lifted.
The tunnel and the greenway that isn’t
What survives is the stone tunnel on the old trackbed, with farmland and the outline of Knocklayd around it. It’s free and open, in the sense that nobody stops you, but it is not a developed attraction. There is no formal greenway here – despite years of proposals to reinstate the Ballymoney-to-Ballycastle line as a walking and cycling route and to restore the tunnel, nothing has been built. Campaigners have pushed the idea (you’ll see it billed as the ‘Greenway of Thrones’, after the filming country nearby), but until it happens the trackbed is rough, informal ground, not a maintained path.
If you do walk to the tunnel, treat it as rural heritage rather than a trail. The ground is uneven, vegetation crowds the edges, and the tunnel floor holds standing water after rain, which is most of the time. Bring waterproof boots and a torch, and don’t count on getting cleanly through.
Practical information
- Access: Free, with no opening hours, but informal – the trackbed is not a maintained route and crosses working countryside, so keep to clear ground and away from farm gates.
- Parking: Only roadside pull-ins along the A44. Park considerately and never block field or house entrances.
- Public transport: Buses run along the A44 Magheramore Road, with stops at the junction with Islandarragh Road.
- Footwear: Waterproof boots and a torch if you mean to reach the tunnel; the interior is dark and wet.
- Facilities: None in Capecastle – no toilets, café or shop. Ballycastle and Ballymoney are where you stop for anything.
Nearby
- Ballycastle – The coastal end of the old line, with the beach, harbour and the 15th-century Bonamargy Friary.
- Armoy – The next village inland, best known among bikers for the Armoy Road Races.
- Ballymoney – The market town at the southern end of the railway, with its museum and town centre.