The local beaches

Our favourite beaches round the Causeway Coast

With Runkerry Beach just eight minutes away, the Giant’s Causeway under ten, and both Whiterocks and White Park Bay less than 15, the Causeway Coast is literally on your doorstep.

We swim all round the coast here. If you want to try your hand at surfing, you can hire wetsuits from Woodies and Troggs in Portrush or speak to Woodies or Alive Surf School about lessons. (Woodies was just named as one of the five surf schools in the UK.) There are also coasteering tours around the coast if you’re feeling adventurous.

Runkerry

Runkerry (8 minutes just outside Bushmills) is our closest beach and probably one of the quieter ones in the area, as it’s less publicised than many of the others (though it did get a shoutout in The Guardian last year). It’s a lovely way to approach the Causeway Coast, because you can walk down the sand or along the boardwalk through the dunes. But check your tide timings, when the sea comes in you may find yourself walking across the rocks. There are several paths, which take you – either up the old heritage railway or round the cliffs – to the Giant’s Causeway.

The beach is on the edge of Portballintrae. Don’t park at the harbour though. Follow the signs for Bushfoot Golf Club as you enter the village, and park up beside the golf club car park (not in it – you’ll hear it from the golfers if you do). Then walk across to the golf club car park and down the path to the sea.

Whiterocks

At just 15 minutes from the house, Whiterocks is the ultimate family beach complete with safe swimming areas and an ice-cream shack on site. There are three main car parks, but we recommend trying to get a space in the bottom one, which runs straight onto the beach, as this is where you’ll find the public toilets. There are lifeguards on this lovely beach during the summer, which makes it very popular. There are also massive dunes, which the children love to roll (or boogie board) down all year round. Adults love it too, just watch out for the harder bits of sand.

This strand is just under 2.5km long, so if you fancy a stretch of the legs you can park at Whiterocks and walk the length of the beach down to Portrush. Alternatively, you can park in the Portrush East Strand car park (pay and display – 30p an hour and even less if you download the JustPark app) and walk in the other direction. This is where our local Parkrun takes place every Saturday and several of the surf schools also operate on the East Strand end of the beach.

The beach is also incredibly popular with dog owners even though the very ends are off limits to pooches during the summer season. And if you’re down on the beach early you may see riders training their horses – when they start to gallop it’s a sight to see. Depending on the season, dolphins and seals swim just off this beach (usually one at a time) and the gannets make a spectacle of themselves diving into the waves in the summer.

White Park Bay

White Park Bay (15 minutes from the house towards Ballycastle) has a National Trust car park, which is situated at the top of a hill with a bit of a walk down to the beach – but it’s well worth the amble down. The beach itself is pretty peaceful apart from the famous camera-friendly cows that come down and sit on the sands on occasion.

If you walk along the beach to the left, you can cross the rocks to the tiny village of Portbradden. Venture to the right and you can walk around the rocks to Ballintoy Harbour, which is popular with Game of Thrones fans (and has excellent cake at Roark’s Kitchen). Just one caveat – rules have changed recently and dogs must now be on the lead if you do walk across the rocks to Ballintoy.

There are no public toilets at White Park Bay. There is a youth hostel, but they are not that receptive to toilet requests (they turned down my eight-year-old godson one time).

And the rest…

There’s a beautiful little hidden beach at Ballintoy (you have to walk up out of the harbour a little to find it), which is great for swimming in the summer. Head down in the morning before the tourists arrive to really enjoy it properly.

Just past Portrush there is the stunning Portstewart strand. It’s run by the National Trust, but you can park on the beach there (I think they currently charge around £7 for the day if you aren’t a member, but you can come and go). Choose between exploring the dunes, walking along the estuary or venturing to the end of the beach. Plus, if you get peckish, Harry’s Shack which does lovely fish dishes sits just on the sand.

And of course, there’s the lovely Ballycastle beach, with views stretching all the way to the Fairhead and across to Rathlin Island. Popular with dog walkers, there’s plenty of sticks washed ashore here and there’s a bridge at the end of the beach that takes you out to the rocks for a stunning view of the coastline.