Most visitors to the area come to see the Giant's Causeway, but there are a host of various places to visit and things to do.  

Sight Seeing - Walking - Golfing - History - Local museums - Nature - Art Galleries and Craft Studios - Art Courses - Antique shops - Angling - Horse riding - Cinema - Theatre - Water Sports - Children’s Activities

Sight Seeing

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.

Walking

Carnside Guest House is an ideal location for walking holidays to see the magnificence of the beautiful Causeway coast. We can make your walking holiday more enjoyable by offering the following facilities:

• List of walks along the “Ulster Way” in the North Antrim area.

• Time tables for public transport to allow you to combine using public transport and walking, to see as much as possible.

• Pack Lunches

• Drying room to allow your walking gear to be ready for the next day, should you get wet.

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 2005 we will be offering two or three day guided walking tours by experienced guides.  Keep in contact with this site for future developments.

Golfing

Carnside Guest House is ideally situated for keen golfers who wish to play some of the best links courses in Ireland.  We offer facilities which particularly suit the golfer, including:-

• a golf net and bunker for practice;
• a drying room, should you get wet during your round and want your clubs and golf clothes to be dry and ready for the next day's play;
• early breakfasts for early tee off times.

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!

History

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. 

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.

See the Walking Page for information on our three day walking holidays which will give you an opportunity to learn about historical and geological aspects of our area which is unique in it’s wealth of lore and legend, which will keep your imagination running wild!

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.

Dunluce Castle.  Probably the most photographed and picturesque Irish castle. A defended site from at least 500 A.D., the present ruins date from the 16^th and 17^th centuries.  It was owned by the MacDonnell family for nearly 400 years.

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.

Local Museums 

Museums can give you an insight into our way of rural life generations ago, when life was more simple and hard.  e.g  Garvagh Museum and Heritage Centre, Claragh Heritage Centre, Hezlett House, Giant's Causeway School House.

Nature

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.  

Art Galleries & Craft Studios

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.

Art Courses

Carnside Guest House will be offering residential art courses in the autumn 2004 and spring of 2005.  These are being organized at present; keep in touch with this web site: add it to your favourites now!

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.

Antique shops

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

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

Horse Riding

• Maddybenny Equestrian Centre, Portrush.

• Pinetrees, Aghadowey.

• Island Equestrian Centre, Coleraine.

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.

Cinema

• Playhouse, Portrush [click here for current film listings]

• Jet Centre, Coleraine (for current film listings, telephone: 028 7035 8011)

Theatre

• Riverside Theatre, Coleraine.  Performances and exhibitions throughout  the year.

• Summer Theatre, Portrush (summer season) See coming events page for theatre programme.

Leisure Centres

• Coleraine Leisure Centre [click here for general info] [click here for facilities] [click here for charges]

• Joey Dunlop Leisure Centre (Ballymoney)