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Located at the Giants Causeway, |
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Carnside Guest House is situated on a hill, with this panoramic view, overlooking the Giant's Causeway, Portrush and Donegal. The Giants Causeway is a world heritage site, famous for its six sided volcanic stone formation. |
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The locals love the whole of this coastline, with it's hidden treasures, as seen in the photographs on this website; it is indeed a walkers paradise. The coastal scenery is ever changing and the sunsets from the house are stunning. |
Most visitors to the area come to see the Giant's Causeway, but there are a host |
 Giants Causeway Stones |
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Sight seeing is a must when visiting the North Antrim Coast of Ireland. Just sample some of the photos here to wet your appetite. Whether motoring, cycling, hiking or walking there are endless sights to see. The colours of the sky and sea and land are all striking and so variable from day to day and sometimes even several times a day. We are still lucky enough to have un-congested roads which makes sight seeing by car enjoyable. Walks are easily planned with printed routes provided by the Guest House. The National Trust and the Local Councils maintain good walking paths around the coast, almost all off the roads. Carnside Guest House is an ideal location for walking holidays to see the magnificence of the beautiful Causeway coast the most spectacular part of "The Ulster Way" . We can make your walking holiday more enjoyable by offering the following facilities:
Plan your own walks You can either plan your own routes according to your individual interests, mixing walking along coastal routes with other activities such as, visiting gardens, museums, craft shops, or what about Bushmills Distillery. We have many suggestions for enjoying a few days getting to know the area. Historical and geological sites are abundant in the area and worth visiting, during a two or three day stay. Enjoy the experience of guided tours Commencing in the spring of 2011 we will be offering two or three day guided walking tours by experienced guides.
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The Causeway Coast has some real golfing gems; the Royal Portrush, Portstewart, Castlerock, Ballycastle and Bushfoot. The scenery on all of these courses is superb, therefore you are sightseeing as well as hitting the little white ball. Challenges change from day to day as wind and weather conditions change, therefore you can happily play the same course several times and get different thrills each time! |
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County Antrim lies very close to Scotland, with only a narrow strip of water in between, so it is not surprising that there are strong links between the two. Before the Celts invaded, the Scottish people moved easily between Scotland and Ireland, crossing the Moyle, or North Sea Channel. The word Scots is derived from the 4 th century Irish verb “to raid” and the Romans called Ireland “Scotia” because it was from here that all the raiders came. It was not until the 12 th century that its meaning was transferred to the country now called Scotland. |
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Up until the 6 th century the ancient Kingdom of Dalriada extended from the Antrim coast, including the islands of Rathlin and Iona, to the west of Scotland. By the late 14 th century the clan MacDonnell held the balance of power in Antrim and their territory extended to Scotland until the Elizabethan era. This is perhaps why there is confusion as to who the true natives of the region are. Some presbyterians, whose forebears were settled here in the Jacobite plantations, have claimed that they were coming back to their original home and that the Catholic Celts who were driven into the mountains were in fact the interlopers who had come up from the south. Mussenden Temple and Downhill Castle. The Castle is now a roofless ruin, built around 1780 by the Earl of Bristol (Bishop of Derry) The Temple was inspired by the temples of Vesta at Tivoli in 1783. Setting is beautiful overlooking Downhill Beach and Donegal. |
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Portrush Countryside Centre and National Nature Reserve . Find out about the Portrush Rock on the Nature Reserve with its innumerable ammonite impressions. Search for fossils, take in the audio-visual or meet sea creatures at close quarters. Opportunities for rock pool rambles, fossil huts and bird watching. |
The art galleries and craft studios representing many well known local artists are well worth visiting and the owners are very informative and welcoming.
Island Irish Art, Riverside Gallery, Todd Gallery, Portstewart Gallery.
National Trust Gift Shop (Giants Causeway Visitors' Centre), Pretty Crafty Design Studio, R Cunningham Jewellers, A Broader Picture,
The Rectory Forge, Elements Studio Ceramics. Details and directions given at Carnside Guest House .
Flowerfield Arts Centre, Portstewart, provides arts and crafts courses, exhibitions, lectures and events throughout the year.. The centre
offers a variety of courses for adults and children including pottery, calligraphy and painting; also language classes, drama and many more.
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Worth visiting, especially for foreigners, to obtain a feeling of past artifacts: Dunluce Antiques: Alexander Antiques, Kennedy Wolfenden,
Coleraine Forge Antiques and Garmisch Beeswax Antiques
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Angling
Carnside Guest House is an ideal base for anglers as we have a drying room, should your clothing and equipment need drying out
before the next day.
Coarse angling ;- there are stretches of water on the Lower river Bann, Portstewart where bream, perch, eel, pike and roach are available. Fisheries Rod License required. (028 7034 4796). Permits and advice (028 70343970)
Game Fishing ;- salmon, sea trout, brown and rainbow trout are found in abundance in the local ricers, Bush, Bann (Lower), Agivey and
some lakes. Rod license required. Permits from local sources;-
Sea Angling . The water around Portrush and the Causeway Coast are ideal for boat anglers. Rock and beach fishing are also popular.
Boats are available for hire from Portrush and Portstewart Harbours. (028 7082 2307)
Portstewart Harbour: Fishing, cruising, and day trips – telephone 028 7034 4768
Portballintrae Harbour: Fishing, sailing canoeing, and waterskiing. – telephone 028 7034 4768
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Horse riding should be booked in advance, especially if inexperienced, to allow adequate supervision per rider to be arranged.
Carnside Guest House can do this for you, if required.
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Other Interesting Places to explore, off the beaten track.
Round the Ramparts; this is a walking heritage guide which includes an illustrated booklet, interpretive panels and street signage, which bring to life Coleraine's rich heritage.
Flowerhill Standing Stone is a massive standing stone , 2.2 metres in height, situated near Bushmills.
Mountsandel Fort: location of earliest know hunter-gatherer settlements in Ireland, dating from before 7000 BC.
St. Patrick's Church: early Christian Church founded by St. Patrick in the 5 th century A.D. Parts of the present church date from 1613. At the rear of the church are the remains of the earthen wall or rampart that surrounded Coleraine in the early 1600's.
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Agherton Old Church. Portstewart. Dates from at least the 1300's. In a field to the east there are remains of a Stone Age Curt Tomb and to the south a mound marks the spot of a citadel of Congal Claringneaach, King of all Ireland in 161 B.C. There is also a Bronze Age standing stone at the entrance to the graveyard beside Flowerfield.
Mussenden Temple and Downhill Castle. The Castle is now a roofless ruin, built around 1780 by the Earl of Bristol (Bishop of Derry) The Temple was inspired by the temples of Vesta at Tivoli in 1783. Setting is beautiful overlooking Downhill Beach and Donegal.
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 Sunset From Carnside Guest House |
 Sunset from Carnside Guest House |
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