A modest tower at the end of a good walk
Rue Point marks the southern tip of Rathlin Island, where the channel between the island and the Antrim mainland narrows to about two and a half miles. The tower itself is honest rather than spectacular: a squat, black-and-white, six-sided concrete lighthouse, 11 metres tall, flashing a double white signal every five seconds (Fl (2) W 5s) out to 14 nautical miles. Even the guidebooks concede it isn’t Rathlin’s most impressive light. What earns the trip is the walk out to it and the grey seals on the rocks below.
It runs automatically now, with no keepers, monitored from Rathlin East Lighthouse. Access is free and unrestricted, and on a clear day you can see across the Causeway Coast to the Mull of Kintyre in Scotland.
Getting there and the walk
There is no road to drive and no parking at the lighthouse. You leave the car on the mainland at Ballycastle, take the ferry to Rathlin, and make your way south from Church Bay (there’s free parking at the ferry pier). It’s about 4 miles (6.4 km) each way, over a track, a field crossing and a paved lane, and roughly 90 minutes on foot at an easy pace.
If you’d rather not walk both ways, two local minibuses run from the ferry pier part-way towards Rue Point. A return ticket is £5 for adults and £3 for children, cash only. They drop you short of the lighthouse, so you still finish on foot over uneven, sometimes muddy ground. Wear proper shoes; this is not a route for wheelchairs or buggies, whatever you may read elsewhere.
One real warning
Don’t trust the calm. A visitor in March 2026 described a sudden, outsized wave at low tide, on a day with no wind, that washed people across the rocks and left injuries. The water here can do that. Keep well back from the edge even when the sea looks flat, and keep an eye on children.
History
The push for a light on Rathlin’s southern tip began in July 1914, when the Derry Chamber of Commerce petitioned the Commissioners of Irish Lights following a memorial signed by Master Mariners. Sanction came in November 1914, but the war delayed everything. A temporary white double-flashing light went up for the Admiralty in November 1915, joined by an acetylene fog gun in April 1917; a storm later that year wrecked the temporary structure and the light was moved onto the surviving fog-gun trestle.
The six-sided concrete tower standing today was built between 1920 and 1921. The fog gun was never much use. After repeated breakdowns it was withdrawn on 1 January 1931 and shipped off to Barr Point near Larne Lough. The light was converted to electric operation on 9 October 1965, running on duplicated 50-volt batteries charged by diesel alternators, and in March 2004 a modern optic was fitted and the station connected to the mains.
Wildlife
Grey seals are the near-certainty here, hauled out on the rocks around the point and Mill Bay, best at low tide or early morning. Rathlin is a designated Special Protection Area: the celebrated puffin colonies are up at the RSPB West Light cliffs to the north, but the grasslands and shore around Rue Point hold curlews, oystercatchers and, in July and August, small tortoiseshell butterflies. Irish hares and rabbits are common in the fields on the way down.
Practical information
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Opening hours | Open 24 hours, 365 days a year |
| Admission | Free – no tickets required |
| Getting there | Ferry from Ballycastle to Church Bay, then about 4 miles (6.4 km) south on foot |
| Minibus | Two run from the ferry pier part-way to Rue Point; return £5 adults, £3 children (cash only) |
| Parking | Free at the Church Bay ferry pier; none at the lighthouse |
| Facilities | None at the lighthouse; toilets, a café and a shop in Church Bay |
| Accessibility | Not suitable for wheelchairs or buggies; the route is long, uneven and can be muddy |
| Best time to visit | Low tide or early morning for seals; check tide tables, as coastal sections get damp at high water |
Navigation & safety
The lighthouse is an active aid to navigation. Stay behind the railings, mind temporary signage during the seabird breeding season (April–July), and treat the water with respect even on calm days. The lane is fully exposed to Atlantic wind, so bring a windproof layer year-round.
Nearby
- RSPB Rathlin West Light Seabird Centre – Northern Ireland’s largest seabird colony and the unusual ‘upside-down’ West Lighthouse, at the far end of the island.
- Kelp House – a restored 18th-century kiln telling the story of the island’s kelp-harvesting trade.
- Standing Stone – a prehistoric marker in the fields inland from the lighthouse.
Start with a coffee in Church Bay, walk or ride the minibus south, and time your return for low tide; that’s when the seals are up on the rocks and you stand the best chance of catching them on the way back.