The A2 is the road that does its best to hug the 185 miles of ragged Northern Ireland coastline. As a result it crosses every major Nothern Irish River the Bann, Lagan amd Foyle, it also is one of, if not the, most scenic routes in Northern Ireland. It offers views of Scotland, the Isle of Man along its course. It also is a geologists dream overing many points of interest along its route.

It skirts the coast of of three counties Londonderry, Antrim and Down. In this second part of our journey we follow the road from the country boundary between Portstewart and Portrush, head out past the Giants Causeway, take in the most sceneic steatch of the road, passing through all nine of the famous Glens of Antrim as we meander down the Antrim Coast Road, past a prime example of Norman castle building and enter Belfast.

The Journey Continues

As we cross the county boundary from Londonderry into Antrim we are still on the route of the North West 200 motorcycle race. Still going against the race direction. We head past Carrick Dhu caravan park on the right and the ruins of Ballyreagh Castle (Dunferte Castle) on the coastline to the left. The castle belonged to the MacHenry's but was destroyed in 1684 by the English Deputy Sir John Perott.

The road takes quite a sharp downhill turn into Portrush at what is Black Hill corner on the circuit. However, to you left you will see a panorama over the Mill (or West) Strand towards the town , harbour and Ramore head.

Portrush (Port Rois in Irish)

The A2 and the circuit take us under the railway through Church Corner and then through Metropole.

The Church in question is Glenmanus Reformed Presbyterian Chruch, situated on the kink where the Portstewart Road meets the Glenmanus Road. The Reformed Prebyterians trace their lineage back to the Covenantors who, unlike the majority of Ulster Presbyterians, rejected the revolution settlement of 1690. The Convenantors objected to the lack of recognistion of the Covenants of 1638 and 1643 and the failure to recognise the kingship of Jesus Christ in the settlement. It was built in the 19th Centuary by Samuel Patton who had married Anne Nevin whose brother Robert was the minister of the Reformed Prebyterian Church in Londonderry.

The Metropole corner is named after the old Metropole Hotel which used to stand on the corner that bears its name opposite the Portstewart Road where it joins the Coleraine Road. It is hear that our route leaves the North West 200 circuit to skirt around the south of the headland and out via the Bushmills Road.

From the Irish name for Portrush Rois means headland and the protruding headland, rising to a pinicle at Ramore Head, which forms the northern tip on Portrush. The headland contain most of the towns shops, hotels and recreation facilities. On its western shore it also provides a large sheltered harbouring, the eastern side has the smaller Portandoo Harbour. Above the Harbour next to Ramore head there used to stand the taller Crannagh Hill but it was quarried away to provide the rock to create the habour's pier.

In the shadows of Ramore Head is the Portrush Bowling and Tennis Clubs. The Bowling Greens have been the venue for an annual tournament in July. Also around here used to stand a castle known as Castle an Teenie (Castle of Fire) because a light was shone from it on stormy nights to warn sailors of the rocks all around.

In 1855 the Railway reached Portrush when the Ballymoney, Ballymena, Coleraine and Portrush Junction Railway Company built the distinctive mock-Tudor style station. Five years later the Belfast and Northern Counties Railway Company took over he line.

In 1881 the Railway Company acquired an established hotel (since 1837) at the Northern End of Main Street right in the the centre of the town and renamed it the Northern Counties Hotel. Up until the early 1990s it was the centrepeice of the town before it was destroyed by fire. A new hotel stands on its site today but the site had previously been the site of an Abbey.

The Northern Counties former bathhouse now houses the Countryside Centre which displays the natural history of the North Coast.

Next to the Railway Station is the largest Amusement Park in Ireland. The Railway Company realised they had to provide entertainment for the visitors using their station and staying at their hotel. So in 1925 they invited Evelyn Chippenfield and her husband Francesco Trufelli to establish the park. She had acted as agent to his Royal Italian Circus on its Ireland tour in 1923. So Barry's was established and has been a hive of activity ever since. The name was arrived at when the couple considered her surname too long and his too foreign. The first delivery van to turn up had the name Barr on the side so with an additional 'Y' an amusement institution gained its name.

The major natural attraction near Portrush is the World Heretage site at the Giants Causeway. Surveys were carried out to lok at expanding the railway out along the coast to Ballycastle via the Causeway, however no railway line was ever built. But in 1883 the Giants Causeway, Portrush and Bush Valley Tramway Company opened the world's first hydo-electric narrow gauge tramway initially only to Bushmills before being extended to the Causeway. The power was generated from the Walkmill Falls near Bushmills. The trams ran until 1949 but the stretch from between the Causeway and Bushmills was reopened in 2001 using a steam and diesil locamotives. Our next part of the A2 follows the route of the tramway.

Heading east out of Portrush you come across the Royal Portrush Golf Course which hosted the 1951 British Open, the first and only time the Open Championship has been held outside mainland Britain, when Max Faulkner lifted the Claret Jug trophy. The club was founded in 1888 and acquired Royal Patronage in 1892 under George, Duke of York, later King George V. As well as being the only Irish club to host the Championship Royal Portrush is also the only Irish club to have an winner in Fred Daly the 1947 champion.

The golf course is also rumoured to the be the location that King Magnus Barefoot of Norway died in battle in 1103. He had attempted to capture Ireland in 1102 with the aid of the King of Connaught. However, having waited to be resupplied by Connaught Magnus took some of his troops inland across the boggy land behind the dunes. He saw the King of Connaught approaching and turned to return to his ship only to ambushed by Irish soldiers on all sides.

The Skerries and White Rocks

Across the dunes from the golf course is the Curran (or East) Strand which stretches from the Arcadia and the East Promanade in Portrush the whole way to the White Rocks. North of the strand between 1 and 4 kilometres off shore are the Skerries a group of seventeen islets which help create a natural breakwater.

The furthest east islet is called Island Dubh and is named after Tavish Dubh who was a pirate who frequented the Skerries. Apparently he trrawted an attempt by Edward Bruce (c. 1275-1318) to invade North Antrim when in 1310 he captured four ships bound with provisions for Bruce's men at Coleraine. When Dubh delivered these instead Bruce was furious and not long after abandoned his attempts to invade this part of Ireland.

The White Rocks stick out like a sore thumb amonst the basalt that form most of this coastline. These limestone cliffs have been eroded away to caves, tunnels and arches by the Atlantic breakers. Many of the formations bear names such as Shelagh's Head, the Giants Head, the Wishing Arch, Elephant Rock and the Lion's Paw. The A2 is actually at this point travelling high above the network of tunnels and caves that can only be accessed from the sea. The cliffs are home to numerous seabirds and hawks. The White Rocks lead along almost to the precarious sight of Dunluce Castle clinging to its clifftop.

Portballintrae (Port Bhaile an Trá)

The road heads inland slightly to bridge the River Bush which means we skirt behind Portballintrae. The name means harbour of the settlement of the shore. To the east of the Bushfoot is a small, natural, horseshoe bay which has long been a fishing port. It has two original thatched cottages the Old Coastguard Station and Seaport Lodge, the latter was built in the 1770s as a bathing lodge by the Leslie family. The Leslie family had a large estate in the area and were prominent landowners in North Antrim.

To the east of the town is the Bushfoot strand which is overlooked by the listed Runkerry House. The sandstone house was built in the 1860s by Sir Edward Macnaghten of the family that owned the nearby Dunderave Estate. In 1951 the house was handed over by the family to the Northern Ireland government for public use thence it served as a retirement home, residential activity centre and rehabilitation unit. In 1996 it was closed and sold by public aution without consulting the local community about any public or social use it could be put to.

It was bought by the Talon Group who said they would develop it into a 5 star hotel and World class golf course. Although the house has been enlarged and landscaped without objection by the National Trust. However, the development led to a right of way issue for the new exclusive development. As a path leading to the Black Rock salmon station was latered. From here exceptional views of the Giants Causeway have been witnessed by the public since the 19th Century.

Bushmills (Muileann na Buaise)

The A2 bridges the Bush at Bushmills home since 1608 of the Oldest licenced Whiskey distillery in the world. Its licence was granted by King James I to local landowner Sir Thomas Phillips. Long before the licence whiskey had been distilled here. In 1276 Sir Robert Savage and his troops tasted some illegal 'aqua vitae', there is also a mention in the Book of Leinster c. 1160. The company in the 1800s owned a sailing ship the S.S. Bushmills that shipped its product across the Atlantic. The various owned of the distillery down the years include the Boyd's, who promoted the brand world wide, the Irish Distillers Group, Pernod Richard and Diageo, but the recipe and flavour remains the same.

However, the town was formerly known as Portcaman but the water powered industries that developed in the 17th Century gave the town its name, somehow Portcaman Whiskey doesn't have the same feel. As well as Whiskey the town was a centre for corn, flax and spade production and milling. Upstream to the south of the town are the weirs where the turbines were situated that once powered the Causeway-Portrush tramway. The town now is a conservation area with over 90 listed buildings.

The Giant's Causeway

To the north of Bushmills on the east bank of the Bush you can catch the train to take you to the Giants Causeway. The A2 heads out of Bushmills towards the Causeway but not directly to its visitor centre or along much of its picturesque length. However, this is one time that the diversion from the road is one that should not be missed, especially as the minor road the B146 is not necessaritly the road less travelled.

The myth of the battling giants Finn MacCool and Benandonner leading to the building and distruction of the Giant's Causeway is one legend that every child in Northern Ireland learns; however, the science behind its formation no less dramatic. About 60 million years ago the now quiet North Antrim coast was a hot bed of volcanic activity. Molten Basalt forced its way through fissures in this area and there are three distinct periods of this activity identified as distinct flows by geologists as the upper, middle and lower basalts.

The distintive mainly hexagonal, but occassional octagonal, columns are a feature of the middle Basalts when rapid cooling lava contracted the form the iconic columns that form many of the causeways best known features; the Giant's Seat, the Honeycomb, the Organ Pipes and Chimney Stacks.

Weathering of the lower Basalts has created the Inter Basaltic Bed this is the reddish rock that is a common feature of the area. In places this weathering process has occured in circular patterns around a nugget of black basalt to create features commonly known as 'giant's eyes'.

Off the coast of the Causeway near Hawks Hollow lies the wreck of the Girona, the promintary bears the name Port na Spaniagh as a reminder of the incident. One of the almost 30 Spanish Armada ships that were destroyed off the Irish coast in 1588. After fleeing Sir Francis Drake the crew of the Girona ran aground at the causeway. However, their relief was shortlived as the Irish Chieftains murdered the surviveors and looted hte ships. Two of the ship's cannons ended up as part of the defences at Dunluce Castle.

Lisnagunogue

However, as the Giant's Causeway is only a very worthwhile diversion from the route of the A2 we'll continue on our route through Lisnagunogue. At the eastern end of the village is Dunserverick Parish Church. Built in 1831 of the local black basalt which is contrasted with white paintwork around its windows and doors. This Church of Ireland Church was the result of a quoad sacra parish creation out of seven townlands from the Ballintoy Parish and eight from the Billy Parish.

Dunserverick (Dun Sobhairce)

Just past the village of Lisnagunogue is the sign for Dunseverick Castle. A historic location well worth a slight detour.

The hamlet of Dunserevick, just to the east of the castle headland, takes its name from Sobhairce who lived in the middle of the 2nd Century BC. He was a joint High King of Ireland along with his brother Cearmna Finn, a reigned for about 40 years before being killed by Eochaid Mann of the Fomorians. They were the first High Kings from the Ulaid tribe who gave their name to Ulster.

The Castle and the headland on which it sits was given to the National Trust in 1962 by a local farmer and was a key location in ancient Ireland. As a result of the connection with Sobhairce one of the five Royal Roads from Tara the seat of the Kings of Ireland ended here. Cuchulain, Queen Maeve and Turlough also have associations with the area.

The castle was held by the O'Cahon family from c. 1000 to c. 1320, before the family regained it in the middle of the 16th Century. The family held it under the MacQuillans and later the MacDonnells (the Earls of Antrim). However, the castle was destroyed by Cromwell's Parliamentarian troops. This was either after Giolla Dubh Ó Catháin left it in 1657 to settle slightly inland in the Craig and Lisbellanagroagh area, or he left because of the castle's destruction. All that remains of the ruins is the gatelodge following a residential tower falling into the sea below in 1978.

Near the Castle there also existed near the cliff's edge St. Patrick's Well which was one of the holy wells of Ireland. On on of his trips to the area Patrick baptised a local man Olcan, who went on to become Bishop of Armoy and later Bishop of Ireland before he died in 480 AD.

The Causeway Cliff Path runs past the castle to Dunserverick Habour to the east and Dunserverick harbour and on to Protbraddon and Templastragh.

Templastragh and Portbraddon

Templastragh means Temple of the Flame so called because St. Goban (or Gobain) a local man reknowned for his building skills was led by a devine light to build a church on the site in 648AD. The ruins that exist today date to the 1600s are a few hundred metres nearer the coast than the original church.

Portbraddon is a tiny hamlet snuggling in the cleft of Gid Point but offers a glorious view over Whitepark Bay towards Ballintoy Habour and the sentinal basalt Park Islands that shelter its entrance. Its an ancient salmon fishing station and still has a slipway fro salmon fishermen.

Whitepark Bay

Whitepark Bay is one the first know settlements of man in Ireland. The limestone cliffs were a great source of flint modules for neolithic man to establish axe and arrowhead manufacturing. Evidence of this early existance is continually being revealed on the raised beach and hte dunes behind the bay. There are three chambered graves in the hills behind the bay. The most impressive being the Druid's Altar this dolmen being situated above Ballintoy and Magheraboy.

Ballintoy (Baile an Tuaigh)

As we approach Ballintoy at the eastern end of Whitepark Bay while the road heading more or less straight goes onwards to the village. However, the A2 turns sharply south to skirt around the western side of Lannimore Hill away from the coast.

Ballintoy means either Townland of the North or Place of the Axe. It has a couple of very striking buildings one of which is the white church. The first church on the site was built by the Stewart family who settled here in 1560 after losing their lands in Bute, Scotland. They also built Ballintoy Castle of which there are no remains. The current chruch is the one that was re-built in the 17th Century. The Norman looking church tower once was the base of a steeple which was destroyed by hurricane force winds on the night of 21-22 December 1894.

The other outstanding building is Bendhu the last house on the right overlooking the harbour on the winding road that leads down. It was the creation of Cornish artist Newton Penprase who came to Northern Ireland as a young man to teach at Belfast College of Art. The house was started in 1936 and is built entirely out of concrete and loving trowelled into shape by Penprase. It was nicknamed the house that was never completed as eveerytime it looked ready Penprase added a new bit to take in a new view or add another creative isea to his materpiece. Most of the room are built around views and while from the outside it looks like a random pile of boxes stacked upon each other with numerous windows, portholes, walkways, stairways and parapets. Penprase said he was building it blend in with the environment around yet was often running into issues with local planning authorities. An accident caused him to cease further developing his house and before he died in 1978. The current owners have lived there since 1993 and lovingly restore and refine the house still further. One wonders if Bendhu ever really will be completed.

Magheraboy

On the hillside above Magheraboy is the Driud's Altar or Druid's Stone. Three stones support the capstone which is approximately 2m square. The passage grave sits in a cairn about 10m in diameter and six of the kerbstones from the passage grave remain in situ. This location has given its name to the rectory at Ballintoy to the north, Druid's Mount.

Onwards to Ballycastle

The road takes us through Lagavara and then to Magheracashel which features in the poem Pride of Croaghmore. Then heads east through Clare Wood, past Carnsampson to Ballycastle.

Ballycastle (Baile an Chaistil)

Ballycastle literally 'the townland of the castle' however is appears the town grew up around a number of fortifications. To the north west is Dunineeny Castle (the fort of the fairs or games), in the centre of town Dunamallaght (the fort of the curse) and to the west Dunrainey (the fort of the Queen) now serving as the 5th Tee on the golf course. It is also situated at the meeting point of the most Northerly two Glens as Glentaisie meets Glenshesk at the north of Knocklayd which overlooks the town.

Dunmallaght is an earthern mound about 11 metres in diameter rising from 3-10 metres above the surrounding ground. It is located to the rear of Star of the Sea School and close to the tourist information office. Dunrainey stands near Bonamargy Friary and sadly its mound has been reduced to a tee box.

The present remains of Dunineeny Castle were built in the 14th Century when the marriage of John Macdonnell, son of the Lord of the Isles, to the heiress of the Bysset family who held sway over the Glens of Antrim. It was built on a headland 70 metres above sea level to he west of Ballycastle Bay most likely on an existing fort.

St. Patrick's links to Ballycastle is the establishment of the Church at Rathmudhain (Ramoan)to the south of the Town in the Drumawillan area. Patrick laid the foundation stone and left Erclach as the priest in charge. Erclach's saint day is 3rd March but little is known about him.

Continuing the religious theme is Bonamargie Friary which you pass heading east out of town just over the Glenshesk River. It was a Franciscian Friary probably founded in the 1480s or around 1500. It was originally a thatched building and following hte reformation which had a major effect on Catholicism in Scotland became a centre for missionary work to re-establish the Catholic Church in Scotland. The last friars left in 1790 but after this time there are tales that Julie MacQuillen lived in the friary she was knosn as the black nun of Bunnamargie. She was a prophetess and some of these have come true others are still unfulfilled. There are also tales of her murder in the Friary and that her ghost still haunts the steps where this happened.

In 1898 Ballycastle played an important role in wireless history. Guglielmo Marconi and his assitant George Kemp, broadcast from the White Lodge in Ballycastle to the East Lighthouse on Rathlin Island. The transmission 10kms (6 miles) over sea was to prove to Lloyds of London, who commisioned the experiment, that wireless telegraphy was practicable between ships.

The social event of the year which Ballycastle is famous for is the Lammas Fair which is held on the last Mondday and Tuesday of August. Immortalised in the song The Ould Lammas Fair by John MacAuley it was formalised in 1606 when the MacDonnells obtained a charter to stage the fair. A lammas fair had probably been in existance for a lot longer however. The two edible treats mentioned in the song are dulce (a local edible seaweed) and yellow man (a bright yellow-coloured, honeycombed, toffee-like confectionary).

Culfeightrin Chruch and Corrymeela

Near the A2 on the way out of Ballycastle are two further locations of religious significance. The first is to the south and is the surviving gable wall of the 15th Century Culfeightrin Chruch.

On the other side of the A2 is Corrymeela home of the Corrymeela Community. Corrymeela means 'hill of harmony' as is a cross community Christian peace-building centre established in 1965 by a Presbyterian minister Robert Davey.

Ballyvoy to Cushendun

At Ballyvoy the A2 heads inland again avoiding the coastal mountains and travelling on the Antrim Plateau. However, this point is the closest the road gets to two significant headlands.

To the North is Fair Head which rises 200 metres above the sea below. The headland is formed of dolerite columns and forms an amazing rock climing experience. Below is some of the most treacherous water in the UK, whirlpools and strong currents are created at this point where the Irish sea meets the North Atlantic. Between here and Rathlin is a tidal current known as 'Sloughnamorro' it creates swirls, standing waves and fast moving currents and makes a ferocious noise even on a still day as the tide ebbs and flows.

The the east the road leads to Torr. Torr Head is the closest point of Ireland to mainland Britain it is only 23km (14 miles) to the Mull of Kintyre, Scotland. The road south of Torr has many steep hills and sharp bends and while the driver will be fully focused on the drive passengers in the car will get some amazing views.

Ballypatrick Forest

Ballypatrick Forest is a mature forest that bestrides the A2. There is a 8km (5 mile) drive through the forest which features an 'Irish Ford' where you actually drive along a section of the stream. There is also a 6,000 year old Double-Horned Tomb in the forest.

Alongside the Forest the A2 crosses over Loughareema, the Vanishing Lake. The current route of the road is built on the Lough Bridge but in the past the road was lower and was impassable during heavy rainfall as the level of the lake rose above the roadway. There is a ghostly horse and carriage that are romoured to frequent the old roadway. It is the ghost of Colonel John Magee McNeille , his coachman and two horses who perished when they tried to cross the flooded lake on 30th September 1898 when he was attempted to get from his cousin's at Cushendun to catch a train at Ballycastle.

Cushendun

Cushendun means 'the foot of the dun' and though the A2 offers majestic views over the village it avoids the village. It skirts the steep slopes of the Clady, a majestic bridge crossing, before entering the Glendun glacial valley then making a swift exit up the Glencorp galcial valley.

The next stretch of road for 40 km (23 miles) is a feat of amazing engineering. This stretch is the official Antrim Coast Road and was constructed between 1830 and 1845. Before then the coastal villages south of Cushendun to Larne were largely only accessible by tracks and therefore cut off by in large from most civilisation.

Contiune the Journey

Part 1 Londonderry

Part 3 Down