We love staying off the beaten path some and away from lots of tourists when visiting Ireland. One of our favorite villages is Kinvara on the western side of Ireland. Is there any suggestions like a Kinvara but in Northern Ireland? I dont know much about the northern part of the country but looking for a small fishing village of sorts that has a B&B or small hotel.
Thanks!
Ballygally may be Northern Ireland's answer to Kinvara. It's a quiet vlllage on the eastern Antrim coast just north of Belfast and Larne. I've stayed a couple of times with the hospitable Lough family whose B&B is a 10-minute walk to the sandy beach where you can swim in the relatively warm ocean waters. If you do book with them, tell Ian hello for me. He'll well remember the bicycle tourist from Washington, DC.
Ian and Heather Lough
Cairnview B&B
13 Croft Heights
Ballygally
Larne, Co. Antrim
T: (028) 2858 3269
F: (028) 2858 3269
E: [email protected]
On the north Antrim coast, you can find accommodations in the village of Bushmills, home to the famous, c. 1608 distillery and a short distance from the Giant's Causeway and the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, two fun sites not to be missed.
We stayed in Doochary, Donegal. Loved it up there.
Greetings from Ireland.
Ballygally is definitely a good suggestion, my own personal favourite would be Ballintoy.
Its one of the few genuinely mixed villages - 50/50 Catholic/Protestant. All get on well, though the Catholic Church was burned to the ground about 30 years ago so like ALL villages in Northern Ireland it does have its troubled history, but not a troubled present.
I could ramble on about it for ages but heres 3 reasons why you should consider Ballintoy:
Ideal location - Its right on the Atlantic and you can see Scotland in the distance, its a 1 mile walk to the carrick a rede rope bridge, and a conceivable walk along the coastal path to the giants causeway, though this would be long.
Good places to stay, nice B&B's and a great upmarket hostel with private rooms owned by the lovable McShane family.
Good pubs, with good music in the evenings and nice food and a chance to hear the local accent which is off the charts lyrical and a mixture between a hard scots brogue and the lilting Irish accent, in fact many also speak in the dialect of ulster-Scots (some will argue this is an actual language as Robert Burns wrote in it).
If yo unen up going, enjoy!
Slainte/Good health
Stephen McPhilemy
Rick Steves Ireland tour-guide
Dingle and Derry
Paul, the way I read the post was that Stephen was talking about Ballintoy.
Ballygally is definitely a good suggestion, my own personal favorite would be Ballintoyl
I have edited Stephen's original post to clarify what we all think he meant about Ballintoy. I left most of the grammar and punctuation alone ;-)
