Overview
The family who built Red Bay Castle got here in a hurry. The Bissets had fled Scotland after Walter de Bisset was accused of murder, bought the Glens of Antrim from Richard de Burgh, the Earl of Ulster, and around 1224 raised a Norman motte-and-bailey on this headland north of Cushendall. What you see today is later and much reduced: a two-storey fragment of sandstone wall on a rise above Glenariff, looking out over Red Bay and the Irish Sea.
Be clear about what this is before you go. It is a scheduled monument on private farmland, visible from the Antrim Coast Road rather than a site you tour. There is no car park, no signage of note, and only a stub of the tower left standing. Treat it as a five-minute stop with a good view, best folded into a run along the coast to Glenariff, not a destination in its own right.
History and clan ownership
The Bissets held the headland through the 13th century, and it passed to the MacDonnells of Antrim when John Mor MacDonald married Margery Bisset – the Bissets built the castle, the MacDonnells inherited it. During the 16th century the MacDonnells kept it as a two-storey tower house watching the sea route between Ireland and Scotland. In 1565 Shane O’Neill of Tyrone burned it; Sorley Boy MacDonnell rebuilt it, but the peace never lasted. A restoration in 1604 came to little, and Cromwellian forces reduced the castle to its present state in 1652. Locally it is still called McQuillan’s Fort.
The ‘red’ in the name has nothing to do with the castle and everything to do with the ground it stands on: a cave in the red sandstone cliff below the headland.
The ruins
The surviving wall is built of local sandstone, not the basalt you see everywhere else along this coast. That is most of what’s left – a length of thick masonry and the footings, enough to read the tower’s footprint but not much more. The ground is uneven with loose stone and steep drops near the cliff edge, there are no barriers or railings, and the sandstone turns slippery after rain, so wear boots and keep well back from the edge.
Walking the coast and photography
The headland links into the wider coast path. From near the ruins a shoreline route runs past the short Red Arch tunnel on the A2 and on towards Glenariff Forest Park, with its waterfalls and woodland, for anyone wanting a longer walk. The Glens of Antrim rise behind.
Photographers tend to come at either end of the day: early light brings sea mist against the stone, and sunset warms the cliffs and water. The open ground suits wide-angle shots of the wall against the bay, and with almost no one else about you can set up a tripod freely.
Practical information
Red Bay Castle is free and open all year, with no staff, tickets or set hours. It sits on private land, so keep to the roadside and field boundaries, respect the markers, and keep dogs on a lead.
- Parking: no dedicated car park. Roadside parking is available in Cushendall; the village is the simplest place to leave the car.
- Facilities: none on site. Bring water and a jacket – the coastal wind turns quickly.
- Accessibility: uneven ground, stone and steep drops. Not wheelchair accessible.
Getting there
- By car: from Belfast, the A2 north along the Causeway Coastal Route takes roughly 1½ hours. The castle is visible from the road; pull in safely near Cushendall.
- By public transport: Translink runs buses from Belfast’s Europa Buscentre to Cushendall; the nearest stop is a 10–15 minute walk away.
- On foot: from Cushendall it is a 30–40 minute walk north along the coast road.