Overview
Around 1660, engineers cut a channel through solid rock here so that boats could get past the rapids on the Lower Bann. That cutting is where the name comes from. Before it, everything moving up or down the river had to be unloaded at Coleraine, carried overland and reloaded further on. It is easy to drive straight past today: look for the small Canoe Trail sign on the left, about a kilometre beyond the Somerset Riverside Retail Park.
The site itself is a set of lock gates, a broad weir and sluice flood-gates on a good-looking stretch of the Bann in County Londonderry, locally called the ‘Salmon Leap’. It comes alive when a boat is locking through, so if you can, time your stop for that.
A history cut through rock
The Cutts was funded by the Honourable Irish Society during the Plantation of Ulster, part of a larger effort to make the Bann navigable all the way from Coleraine up to Lough Neagh. The Society’s men blasted the channel through the rock and installed lock gates, turning a barrier into a working waterway.
The Bann was once one of Ireland’s most productive salmon rivers. Commercial salmon traps operated here until 1995, taking as many as 2,500 fish a year in the best seasons; their remains are still visible on the far bank, a plain reminder of the river’s working past.
Wildlife
The weir’s fast water and deep pools make this a good spot to watch river birds. You will rarely stand here long without a grey heron on the far bank, and kingfishers turn up too, low and quick over the water. Bring binoculars.
What to see and do
- The lock and weir: A short walk along the bank brings you up close to the gates and the weir. It is at its best with a boat passing through.
- The Best of the Bann cruise: White River Charters run the M.V. Kingfisher on this river trip, locking through The Cutts itself, with tea and cake on board. Check the operator for current sailings and book ahead.
- Mountsandel: A short walk away lies one of the earliest known human settlements in Ireland, dated to around 7600–7900 BC. Local legend says the Celtic princess Creeve threw herself into the waterfall at The Cutts.
- Bann Estuary: Further downstream, the estuary has bird hides and walking paths along the tidal flats.
Safety and access
This is not a spot to paddle or clamber over: the water below the weir is deep and fast-flowing, and the edges are no place to let children run. Take real care.
The Cutts is on Castleroe Road, Coleraine (BT51 3RL), with free parking on site, about a kilometre from the Somerset Riverside Retail Park and roughly a mile’s walk from Coleraine town centre. The paths around the lock are uneven with some steps, so they are awkward for anyone with limited mobility. By car it is off the A2 from Coleraine; Belfast International Airport is the nearest, about 45 km away.
Come for half an hour, wait for a boat to work through the lock, then walk on to Mountsandel, where people were living nine thousand years ago – the two ends of the Bann’s history within sight of each other.