East Coast of Northern Ireland - Causeway Coastal Route

What is it like to drive along the east coast of Northern Ireland? And what is it like to drive around Northern Ireland with a small motorhome? We have now driven from Castle Ward at Strangford, past Belfast and up to Cushendall in the northern part of Northern Ireland. For much of the journey we have been driving along what is known as the Causeway Coastal Route.

Table of contents

With the motorhome on the ferry

When we left the castle Castle Ward we chose to drive the beautiful road that runs on the eastern side of Strangford Lough. But first we had to take a ferry across the small strait between Strangford and Portaferry. For this small ferry crossing we had to pay (for two adults and a small caravan) 6,70 pounds (about 68 kronor). What an idyll to cross here! The houses seem to come from the world of fairy tales, the winds are fresh and the sound of seabirds fills the air.

Nordirland färja — View of the strait we took the ferry across

Strangford Irland — We look back towards Strangford, as we leave

Irland färja Portaferry — And so we look forward to Portaferry

Karta Nordirland — Here you can see our route, which started with a ferry crossing

Plant with many names

The road continued through beautiful and intensely green landscapes, along Strangford Lough. Most striking is almost the combination of the green grass and the yellow shrubs that are everywhere in this area. After a bit of googling, I found that think we know that they are called pea thorns, and in English the plant seems to have many names such as furze, whins or gorse. Of course, there is an Irish name for the plant too: aiteann.

The castle in Carrickfergus

Carrickfergus, just north of Belfast, was a great place to stretch your legs. It's also home to an impressive castle, called simply Carrifergus Castle. This 12th century castle is impressively well preserved, partly because it was used by the military well into the present day.

The castle was only handed over to the state in 1928, and during the Second World War it was used by the population as an air raid shelter. Interesting to visit with narrow stone steps, medieval halls and dungeons.

READ MORE: Things to do in Ireland and Ireland's attractions
READ MORE: Winterfell - visiting Game of Thrones in Northern Ireland

How are the roads?

We continued northwards, first driving a stretch of coastline before heading down to the Causeway Coastal Route. So how are the roads in Northern Ireland? Well, you can conclude two things: they are beautiful and they are narrow. We see regular full-size motorhomes here and there, so of course it is possible to drive a regular motorhome, but on some of the roads you are still glad that you are driving a slightly smaller lorry ...

Irländska vägar — Northern Ireland roads! (And yes, there are much bigger roads too!)

East Coast of Northern Ireland - Causeway Coastal Route

Finally, we came down to the Causeway Coastal Route, which starts north of Belfast and runs along the entire eastern and northern coast of Northern Ireland. We haven't seen the whole route yet, but what we have seen is an incredibly beautiful road lined with dramatic cliffs, green vegetation and charming fishing villages.

Nordirlands östkust - Causeway Coastal Route — East Coast of Northern Ireland - Causeway Coastal Route

Köra på Irland — Beautiful to drive - but difficult to photograph through the car window in the bright sunshine

Nordirland tunnel — A new kind of tunnel!

Nordirland — We pass a small fishing village

READ MORE: Dramatic rope bridge in Northern Ireland - Carrick-a-Rede
READ MORE: Giant's Causeway stone formations in Northern Ireland

Cushendall Caravan Park

Eventually we arrived at Cushendall Caravan Park, where we decided to spend the night. This campsite is incredibly beautiful by the sea, and also feels very modern and well maintained. For 22 pounds (about 250 SEK) you get access to services, electricity and WiFi (May 2018). There are also static caravans, mobile homes and glamping cabins.

Camping Cushendall — Our rented lorry at Cushendall campsite

Cushendall camping — The campsite also has small glamping cabins!

Nordirlands kust — The best part is the view on the east coast of Northern Ireland!

What's it like travelling with a little one?

We've had a lot of questions about what it's like to travel with this little guy. We may come back to that later, but already now we can say that there are both pluses and minuses. It is nice to drive a relatively small car on the sometimes narrow roads, and it is incredibly easy to park a motorhome that is only 5.40 metres long.

At the same time, it is of course a bit cramped. Everything we need is in the motorhome, but there isn't much space left, so you have to like being close to each other, haha. We like the idea of a flatbed, but if we were to get our own, we'd choose one that's at least a metre longer.

Plåtis på Irland — Peter outside "our" patch

READ MORE: Campsites and pitches in Ireland - all the ones we visited

Helena

02 May 2018 6:00

Ireland

freedom best, Motorhome holidays in Ireland, nature, unique nature, experiences in Europe, roads

Helena

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26 Comments

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Ruth in Virginia says:

Oh, so incredibly beautiful. You can see why Ireland is called
"The Emeral Isle. And what weather you have!
Unfortunately we never travelled to Ireland, but I will faithfully follow you.
There don't seem to be too many tourists on this tour,
but these are not "real" holidays.
I like your little car; just right for the narrow roads.
Now I'm going to snooze and maybe dream of blue mountains and
green hills.

02 May 2018 - 6:13

Reply
- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  Ah, "the Emeral Isle" I hadn't actually heard! How interesting! Also easy to understand that Ireland is often called "the green island"! And yes, the campsites are pretty sparse. But as you say, it's not really high season yet.
  
  02 May 2018 - 9:12
  
  Reply
Henny says:

So much fun to go on a trip with a Plåtis. I can really empathise with your tour of Ireland. I've only been to Dublin, where we stayed in a student room at the university, but I would love to experience more of that beautiful island. Drive carefully so you can continue to deliver beautiful pictures and interesting places.

02 May 2018 - 6:50

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- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  It sounds exciting to live in the student rooms at the University of Dublin! 🙂 And thanks, we do our best to drive carefully in left-hand traffic!
  
  02 May 2018 - 9:13
  
  Reply
Mr Nils-Åke Hansson says:

"Helena resting in the sun" she should have had the view of the sea, but it's good any way you look at it.

02 May 2018 - 7:20

Reply
- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  Understand your thought! But it was nice with shelter from the wind 🙂 Then we have a view of the sea through the front windows! 🙂
  
  02 May 2018 - 9:14
  
  Reply
Britt-Marie Lundgren says:

What views and weather you have. We have friends whose daughter should be in Ireland and I don't think I have ever seen them without rain gear in the photos they have shown.
Understand that it can feel good to have a plate on some of the roads!

02 May 2018 - 7:22

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- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  We have had fantastic luck with the weather! Guess there will be some rain as well 😉.
  
  02 May 2018 - 9:15
  
  Reply
Role o Carina says:

Looks absolutely wonderfully exciting to travel on that island!

Take care and enjoy......

02 May 2018 - 9:32

Reply
- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  It's a lovely little adventure! 🙂 Thank you!
  
  02 May 2018 - 9:38
  
  Reply
Anna in Dubai says:

So beautiful! Really looks like an idyll and you seem to be lucky with the weather. Nice with less car you drive on the wrong side of the road maybe? Or you don't seem to have any problems with that. When I'm in the UK I get run over about three times a day so driving is probably out of the question....

02 May 2018 - 11:19

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- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  Every time Peter drives onto a new road, I shout "left left". It works ... most of the time 😉.
  
  02 May 2018 - 20:28
  
  Reply
Ditte says:

I understand that you are enjoying all this beauty. Very nice pictures and I get really hungry to take a closer look at Ireland. Perfect with good campsites that also offer plenty of space and beautiful views.
And good with a small car on the narrow roads, but I can imagine that it can be crowded. But if the weather is good, it may be "plåtis" mostly a sleeping place and car to get around with.
Keep up the good work.

02 May 2018 - 12:27

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- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  The roads are narrow in many places, so it's easy to use a lorry. You can also travel with a regular motorhome, but it's a bit more limited, or you can travel by car and stay in bed and breakfasts or similar.
  
  02 May 2018 - 20:31
  
  Reply
BP says:

Never actually thought that Ireland was sooooo incredibly beautiful. Fun with Emerald Island as Ruth informed about. The nature is really amazing and the campsites are very beautifully located and well maintained. Then I learned a new word "glamping" - kind of like glamorous camping;-)
The width of the roads is very similar to what it looks like in Cornwall, but there the roads are "framed" by old walls that I managed to scratch a few times. Good there with a little patch. it is however a heavenly luck that you are not over 1,85 tall;-) Once again - what a fantastic weather. Very unusual for Ireland. Here it is 11-12 degrees and completely grey....

02 May 2018 - 17:40

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- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  Nature is amazing, and just when we thought it couldn't get any more beautiful, it gets EVEN more beautiful, again and again. Absolutely crazy! In some places, there have been walls by the roads, and it's quite hard, so luckily it's usually not like this ... 😉.
  
  03 May 2018 - 10:59
  
  Reply
JoY says:

It looks so calm and peaceful. I wonder what it is like when the autumn storms whip up, probably very cool. But then you should probably not have a plough.
Have a nice trip
Hugs

02 May 2018 - 18:49

Reply
- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  It can of course both blow and rain a lot here, and certainly more in the autumn. We have so far been very lucky with the weather, let's see how long it lasts ... 😉.
  
  03 May 2018 - 11:00
  
  Reply
Linda says:

But wow, absolutely fantastic! Would love to go to Ireland!

02 May 2018 - 19:27

Reply
- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  We have become very fond of this country! Can highly recommend travelling around here! 🙂
  
  03 May 2018 - 11:01
  
  Reply
Matts Torebring says:

What nature experiences you make, it must be divine to be there in beautiful weather.

02 May 2018 - 19:42

Reply
- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  Nature is amazing, and of course it's at its best in the sun 🙂.
  
  03 May 2018 - 11:02
  
  Reply
Lena - good for the soul says:

Wow, how incredibly beautiful it looks!

Hehe, I imagine it's a bit tight with space.

Hug Lena

02 May 2018 - 22:12

Reply
- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  The roads can be really narrow in places. Sometimes I think you would need a moped to stay in the right lane 🙂 There are of course big and good roads too, but it is often beautiful to drive on these small roads.
  
  03 May 2018 - 11:03
  
  Reply
Ann-Louise says:

So incredibly beautiful and so green! I, who fly to Ireland a few times a year but unfortunately have never been outside Dublin, am always so fascinated by the fact that the whole country looks so green when you look out of the aircraft window. It doesn't matter if it's in the middle of winter, it's still just as green. And I understand that it is time to see something more than Dublin, I get so hungry when I read your posts and see all the beautiful pictures.

04 May 2018 - 22:46

Reply
- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  Oh yes, you must take the chance to see a bit outside of Dublin too! The green island 🙂
  
  16 May 2018 - 23:05
  
  Reply

East Coast of Northern Ireland - Causeway Coastal Route

With the motorhome on the ferry

Plant with many names

The castle in Carrickfergus

How are the roads?

East Coast of Northern Ireland - Causeway Coastal Route

Cushendall Caravan Park

What's it like travelling with a little one?

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26 Comments

Ruth in Virginia says:

Helena says:

Henny says:

Helena says:

Mr Nils-Åke Hansson says:

Helena says:

Britt-Marie Lundgren says:

Helena says:

Role o Carina says:

Helena says:

Anna in Dubai says:

Helena says:

Ditte says:

Helena says:

BP says:

Helena says:

JoY says:

Helena says:

Linda says:

Helena says:

Matts Torebring says:

Helena says:

Lena - good for the soul says:

Helena says:

Ann-Louise says:

Helena says:

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