Ballycastle Hotels & Information

Ballycastle is a small rural town situated on the most north-easterly tip of County Antrim at the end of the Causeway Coast, where the Irish Sea meets the Atlantic. This pretty town is renowned for its Oul Lammas Fair, held each August.

Enjoying popularity amongst holiday makers and residents alike, Ballycastle lies in the district of Moyle with views of the surrounding mountain ranges, forest parks, glens, lakes and coastline. As one can imagine from an area of such varied scenery, there is a real choice of activities to pursue and regions to explore. An area of outstanding natural beauty, this is the center of the famous Nine Glens of Antrim as well as the Causeway Coast.

The Giant's Causeway

General - The Giant's Causeway is an area of 40,000 tightly packed basalt columns resulting from a volcanic eruption. It is located along the north-east coast of Northern Ireland Ireland about 3kms north of the town of Bushmills. It was declared a World Heritage Site in 1986, and a National Nature Reserve in 1987. The site attracts nearly 500,000 visitors a year. The tops of the columns form stepping stones that lead from the cliff foot and disappear under the sea. Most of the columns are hexagonal, however there are some with four, five, seven and eight sides. The tallest are about 12 metres high, and the solidified lava in the cliffs is 28 metres thick in places.

The Myth - Legend has it that the giant Finn MacCumhaill (Finn McCool) built the causeway to walk to Scotland to fight his Scottish equivalent Benandonner. One version of the legend tells that Finn McCool fell asleep before he got to Scotland so when Benandonner came looking for him, Finn's wife Oonagh laid a blanket over Finn and pretended he was actually Finn's baby son. Benandonner worried about how big Finn would be and ran back to Scotland, destroying the causeway and leaving a boot behind in his rush. Other versions of the legend name the Scottish Giant 'Fingal'. At the Scottish side of the causeway at Staffa there is reference to this in the naming of Fingal's Cave. This formation can be seen in Staffa as well.

Irelandin1 features Ballycastle hotels and B&B accommodation. Use the search box on this page to search for hotel accommodation in Ballycastle.