Northern Ireland Road Trip: Victorian Architecture and Coastal Landscapes from Belfast to Antrim
Beaux Arts Magazine highlights a scenic 200-kilometer journey along Northern Ireland's Causeway Coastal Route, stretching from Belfast to the Giant's Causeway. Key attractions include Queen's University's Lanyon Building, the Botanic Gardens, and the Ulster Museum. The Harrison hotel, which opened its doors in 2020, is adorned with period antiques and features a room dedicated to Ottilie Patterson. Titanic Belfast, inaugurated in 2012, narrates the story of the famous liner. Visitors can enjoy guided walks along the Gobbins cliff path, while Glenarm Castle and Carnlough's Harbourview Hotel offer tours and whisky-themed experiences. The Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge measures 20 meters, and the Giant's Causeway boasts over 40,000 basalt columns, with Dunluce Castle serving as a historic McDonnell stronghold. The Courthouse in Bushmills is set to reopen in 2024.
Key facts
- The Causeway Coastal Route spans nearly 200 kilometers from Belfast to the Giant's Causeway.
- Queen's University's Lanyon Building dates to the 19th century and features red-brick facades, turrets, and neo-Gothic windows.
- The Harrison hotel opened in 2020 in former late-19th-century merchant homes on Malone Road, Belfast.
- Titanic Belfast opened in 2012 on the Harland & Wolff shipyards with four aluminum-clad prows.
- The Gobbins cliff path first opened in 1902, closed for decades, and reopened in 2015 with guided tours lasting two and a half hours.
- The Giant's Causeway comprises over 40,000 basalt columns formed by volcanic activity nearly 60 million years ago.
- Bushmills received a distilling license in 1608, and The Courthouse, built in 1834, reopened in 2024 as a creative hub.
- Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge is about 20 meters long and suspended nearly 30 meters above the Atlantic.
Entities
Artists
- Ottilie Patterson
- Finn McCool
- Maeve Roe
- Lucia McGinnis
Institutions
- Beaux Arts Magazine
- Queen's University
- Ulster Museum
- The Harrison
- Titanic Belfast
- Harland & Wolff
- Titanic Hotel
- The Gobbins
- Glenarm Castle
- Antrim Estates Company
- The Harbourview Hotel
- Carrick-a-Rede
- Dunluce Castle
- The Marcus Portrush
- The Courthouse
Locations
- Belfast
- Northern Ireland
- United Kingdom
- Antrim
- Giant's Causeway
- Glens of Antrim
- Islandmagee
- Larne
- Glenarm
- Ballymena
- Carnlough
- Ballintoy
- Bushmills
- Portrush
- Scotland
- County Down
- County Derry
- Atlantic Ocean