Overview
Randalstown’s best short walk runs along the top of a railway viaduct that hasn’t carried a train since the 1950s. The eight-arch sandstone structure crosses the River Main on the eastern edge of town, about 22 m (73 ft) above the water, and since the late 1990s its deck has been a level walkway and cycle path. The town itself sits between the river and the shore of Lough Neagh, a short drive south of Antrim, with a population just over 5,000 and a streetscape kept largely intact since it was made a Conservation Area in 1996. The M22 has junctions at both ends of town and Ulsterbus routes 110 and 122 stop here, which makes it an easy base for this corner of Antrim.
The viaduct
Charles Lanyon drew it, and William Dargan – the contractor behind much of Victorian Ireland’s railway network – built it in 1855–56, to carry the Belfast and Northern Counties Railway over the Main. Eight arches, 73 ft high. When the line closed, the structure was left standing and later reworked into the walk you can do today: flat, open at both ends, and worth timing for a clear evening, when the low light catches the stonework.
History
The settlement grew around a medieval motte on the west bank of the river and was originally known as An Dún Mór, “the great fort”. In the 14th century the O’Neills of Clannaboy built Edenduffcarrick nearby, later renamed Shane’s Castle, tying the town to that estate for centuries. The name Randalstown was adopted in 1667, for the marriage of Randal MacDonnell, 1st Marquess of Antrim, to Rose O’Neill.
The town has a revolutionary streak: the 1798 rising in Antrim was set in motion at a meeting in McClean’s Inn here. By the 19th century, local iron-working had earned it the nickname “Iron Mills”, and the Old Bleach linen mill followed in 1864. A memorial in the town centre recalls that industrial past, near the red-brick mill chimney that still stands over the rooftops.
Randalstown Forest and the World of Owls
If you have an afternoon rather than an hour, this is the reason to come. Randalstown Forest – about 430 acres (174 ha), once the deer park of Shane’s Castle – is mixed woodland of spruce, larch, oak and ash, with marked lakeside trails, a fallow-deer enclosure holding 20 to 25 animals, and two small nature reserves along the Lough Neagh shore.
Sharing the site is the World of Owls, Northern Ireland’s only owl, bird-of-prey and exotic-animal centre, and one of the UK’s largest owl collections; TripAdvisor named it the province’s Best Small Visitor Attraction. Go in knowing what it is: a self-funded charity run by volunteers who care for rescued animals, not a polished zoo. Some of the staff find it hard to chat with visitors, so ask if you’re unsure of anything, and note that it closes in dangerous weather. There’s no need to book – adult £5.50, child (3–15) and OAP £4.50, under-3s free, open Tuesday to Sunday, 11am to 6pm from March to October and to 4pm in winter, last admission an hour before closing.
Antrim Castle Gardens
A short drive north lies the 400-year-old Antrim Castle Gardens, with 17th-century Anglo-Dutch canals, a Victorian pleasure garden and a sensory garden designed for visitors with autism or dementia. There’s a tea-room on site for light refreshments.
A guided walk
For the town’s history rather than its woodland, a Blue Badge guided tour covers Randalstown’s 18th- and 19th-century past: the medieval origins, the linen and iron trades, the gateway to Shane’s Castle and the repurposed viaduct.
Practical information
Getting here – By road via the M22 (junctions at both ends of town) and the A6. The nearest train station is Antrim. Ulsterbus 110 (Cookstown–Antrim) and 122 (Ballymena) both serve the town.
Parking – Street parking in the town centre is free, and the Randalstown Forest car park at 25 Mount Shalgus Lane is free as well.
Accessibility – The forest paths and the viaduct walk are level and suitable for wheelchair users, though occasional timber board diversions occur during forestry work. Antrim Castle Gardens has accessible toilets, disabled parking bays and an EV-charging point.
Leave the car in the forest car park at 25 Mount Shalgus Lane: from there the owls, the deer enclosure and the lakeside trails are all a short walk, and it costs nothing to park.