Cushendall calls itself the capital of the Glens of Antrim, and the geography earns it: three of the Nine Glens – Glenaan, Glenballyeamon and Glencorp – funnel down to the sea here, under the flat-topped bulk of Lurigethan Mountain. It sits on the A2 coast road (Irish: Cois Abhann Dalla, ‘foot of the River Dall’), with the Mull of Kintyre in Scotland visible across the water on a clear day.
Treat it as a base rather than a destination in itself. The village is handsome and walkable, but the best of the area is just outside it: the cliff walk to Layd Old Church, the waterfalls of Glenariff, and the coast road north to Cushendun. The beach, while pleasant, is a modest 250 m of sand and shingle – come for the glens, not a beach holiday.
The village and the Curfew Tower
Cushendall grew on the north bank of the River Dall in the 1600s, originally called Newtownglens. It owes much of its character to Francis Turnly, who took over the estate in 1809 and built many of the fine buildings still standing, including the Curfew Tower at the central crossroads. Built in 1817 of local sandstone, the tower was a lock-up – a place to hold ‘idlers and rioters’. It’s now owned by the Scottish musician Bill Drummond and runs as an artists’ residency, which is a fitting second life for the oddest building in town.
The four Georgian streets survive largely intact, and in 1973 Cushendall became only the second place in Northern Ireland to be designated a Conservation Area. One thing that surprises visitors: this corner of Ulster is hurling country. The local club, Ruairí Óg, founded in 1906, is one of the strongest in the north, and the sport is part of the village’s identity – there’s even a hurling mural.
Layd Old Church
The standout short walk is the cliff path north to Layd Old Church, about 1 km from the village along the shore and up onto the headland. The ruined church, long associated with the Franciscans, became the principal burial place of the MacDonnells of Antrim, and the graveyard sits in a genuinely dramatic spot above the North Channel. It’s the one thing to do if you’ve only an hour.
Oisín’s Grave, Red Bay and Glenariff
In the hills above the village is Oisín’s Grave, a megalithic court cairn linked by legend to Oisín, the warrior-poet of the Fianna. The legend is younger than the stones by some margin: the cairn is around 5,000 years old, far older than the medieval tales. A second cairn was added beside it in 1989 in memory of the poet John Hewitt, who loved the glens.
A short drive south, the ruins of Red Bay Castle stand on a hilltop over the bay. It was first built by the Bisset family in the 13th century; the remains you see are from a later 16th-century castle held by the MacDonnells, before Shane O’Neill burned it during his wars with them. Inland, Glenariff Forest Park covers about 1,185 hectares, with waymarked trails from 1 to 9 km, a boardwalk waterfall walk and a café – the most popular hike in the area, and the visitor centre and waterfall boardwalk are wheelchair accessible.
The beach and the water
Cushendall Beach is a sheltered 250 m strip of sand and shingle just north-east of the centre, with a car park, toilets and a children’s play area at the northern end, and the nine-hole golf course bordering the south. It’s calm and good for a stroll or a paddle rather than a long day’s swim. The Cushendall Sailing & Boating Club runs learn-to-sail courses over the summer. Dogs are welcome year-round but restricted on the main beach from 1 June to 15 September.
Getting there and practical notes
- By car: Cushendall is on the A2 coast road. There’s a car park at the beach entrance; parking is generally free but may be charged on peak summer weekends.
- By bus: Ulsterbus service 150 runs from Ballymena (which has the rail connection to Belfast) to Cushendall via Glenariff. The coast road from Larne is the scenic driving alternative.
- Facilities: cafés, pubs, B&Bs and a shop in the village; toilets by the beach car park, generally open in season. The promenade and beach access are level, but the cliff path to Layd is not suitable for wheelchairs.
- Festival: the Heart of the Glens festival fills the village for a week each August with music, dance and the Lurig Run, a tough 3.5-mile race up and over Lurigethan – worth timing a visit around, or avoiding, depending on what you’re after.
Nearby
- Cushendun – a National Trust village of white-rendered cottages, 3.4 miles north, with the caves used as a Game of Thrones location.
- Ballycastle – a livelier seaside town with a harbour and the Rathlin Island ferry.
- Antrim Coast and Glens – the wider Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty this all sits within.
Park up, walk the cliff path to Layd Old Church first while the legs are fresh, then point the car at Glenariff for the waterfalls – that’s a full, good day out of Cushendall.