Six of the seven stretches here sit on the Causeway Coast, and three of those belong to Portrush alone. East Strand runs 2.5 km from the middle of the town out to Whiterocks, backed by the dunes that hide Royal Portrush golf course; Whiterocks is the far end of that same sand, under pale limestone cliffs the sea has cut into arches and caves. The Portrush Coast entry covers the town as a whole, its three Blue Flag beaches and the clifftop path heading east.
Further along, Bushfoot Strand and Runkerry Beach are two names for the same 1.2 km beach below Portballintrae, listed separately because both names are in common use. It is a serious surf break and a bad place to swim, but the old tramway through the dunes makes it a quiet back way to the Giant’s Causeway. White Park Bay, east again, is a three-mile chalk-backed strand in National Trust care, with cattle grazing the dunes and sand that hums underfoot when it dries. Swimming is unsafe there too.
Waterfoot is the outlier, a kilometre of sand at the mouth of Glenariff on the east coast, with two play parks, a 1.8-mile walking loop, and Red Bay and the Scottish coast in view. Lifeguards, where they exist at all, are a summer arrangement, so the season matters more than the weather for anyone planning to get in.
A three-mile chalk-backed strand in National Trust care where the dry sand hums underfoot and cattle graze the dunes; a walk, not a swim.
Runs 2.5 km from the middle of Portrush out to Whiterocks, a reliable Blue Flag beach with a surf school, seasonal lifeguards and loan beach wheelchairs.
The whole-town view of three Blue Flag beaches, dependable Atlantic surf and the clifftop path running east towards Dunluce Castle and the Giant's Causeway.
A kilometre of sand at the mouth of Glenariff with two play parks, a walking loop and free parking; calm and family-minded, but no lifeguard.
Blue Flag sand beneath limestone cliffs the sea has cut into arches, caves and stacks, best at low tide; free parking and a boardwalk down.
7 of 7 shown — tap a pin for the place.
White Park, antrim
White Park Bay is a three-mile chalk-backed strand between two headlands on the north Antrim coast, in National Trust care since 1938. When the upper sand dries it hums underfoot, cattle graze the dunes as part of a conservation scheme, and a ruined 18th-century school that once taught Lord Castlereagh stands above the path. Swimming is unsafe here, so come for the walk, the wildlife and the quiet.
Portrush, antrim
East Strand runs 2.5 km from the middle of Portrush out to Whiterocks, backed by the dunes that hide Royal Portrush golf course. It is a reliable Blue Flag beach and one of the north coast's surf spots, with Troggs Surf School based here, seasonal RNLI lifeguards and free all-terrain beach wheelchairs on loan in summer.
Portrush, antrim
Portrush sits on Ramore Head at the heart of the Causeway Coast, with three Blue Flag beaches – East Strand, West Strand and Whiterocks – championship golf at Royal Portrush, reliable Atlantic surf, and a clifftop path east toward Dunluce Castle and the Giant’s Causeway.
Waterfoot, antrim
Waterfoot Beach is a kilometre of sand at the mouth of Glenariff, the largest of the nine Glens of Antrim, backed by dunes, two play parks and a 1.8-mile walking loop. Free to park and open all year, it's a calm, family stretch with Red Bay and the Scottish coast in view, though there is no lifeguard.
Portrush, antrim
Whiterocks is the eastern beach of Portrush, a Blue Flag stretch of sand beneath pale limestone cliffs that the sea has cut into arches, caves and stacks. Surfers come for the reliable Atlantic waves, walkers for the clifftop path along the Causeway Coast Way, and photographers for low tide, when the rock formations are at their best. There is free parking, a boardwalk to the sand and lifeguards in high summer.
Portballintrae, antrim
Portballintrae, antrim
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