Giant\'s Causeway 3-day itinerary

Arrive at the Giant's Causeway Visitor Centre when it opens at 9am and walk down to the basalt columns before the coach parties arrive. The Grand Causeway — some 40,000 interlocking hexagonal columns formed by a 60-million-year-old volcanic eruption — is most otherworldly in the soft morning light. Clamber across the columns, peer into the tidal pools, and find the Wishing Chair formation tucked into a natural amphitheatre. Entry to the columns is free; the visitor centre costs £13.50.

Take the clifftop path east from the causeway for one of the finest coastal walks in the British Isles. The trail passes the Chimney Tops — distinctive stack formations where Spanish Armada sailors mistook them for the turrets of Dunluce Castle — and continues to Hamilton's Seat viewpoint, 100m above the sea with views along 20km of basalt coastline. The 6km round trip from the visitor centre takes about 2.5 hours at a relaxed pace.

Drive the 3km to Dunluce Castle, a dramatic 14th-century ruin perched on a clifftop over the Atlantic — one of the most photogenic castle ruins in Europe. Admission is £6. Afterwards, head to the Old Bushmills Distillery (the world's oldest licensed whiskey distillery, founded 1608) for a tasting tour at £12–18. The village of Bushmills has several decent pubs for dinner; the Bushmills Inn Restaurant is excellent for smoked salmon and local lamb around £20–30 per person.

Drive 8km east from the Causeway to Carrick-a-Rede, where a rope bridge — originally strung by salmon fishermen in 1755 — sways 30m above the sea connecting the mainland to a small rocky island. The walk from the National Trust car park takes 30 minutes each way along spectacular cliff-top paths with views to Rathlin Island and Scotland on clear days. Book timed entry online at £9.50 — it sells out fast in summer.

Stop at Ballintoy Harbour — a tiny, perfectly formed cove with whitewashed cottages, lobster pots, and a slipway into turquoise water — used as a filming location for Game of Thrones (the Iron Islands). Continue to White Park Bay, a two-kilometre arc of white sand beach backed by dunes that is one of Northern Ireland's finest and least-visited beaches. Walk its full length and have a picnic lunch from the harbour café in Ballycastle (7km east).

The Dark Hedges — a tunnel of gnarled beech trees planted in the 18th century along Bregagh Road — are one of Northern Ireland's most atmospheric spots, made famous as the Kingsroad in Game of Thrones. Arrive at dusk when the light filters between the twisted branches and most visitors have gone. The road is driveable but far better experienced on foot. Nearby Ballycastle town has several excellent pubs; O'Connor's Bar does great chowder and soda bread.

Take the CalMac ferry from Ballycastle to Rathlin Island, Northern Ireland's only inhabited offshore island (population 130). The 25-minute crossing costs £14.50 return. At the West Light Seabird Centre, between May and August, you can watch thousands of puffins, razorbills, and guillemots nesting on the cliffs directly below the viewing platform — one of the best seabird spectacles in the UK. Bikes are available to hire on the island for £10/day.

Drive south from Ballycastle along the A2 Causeway Coastal Route — consistently rated one of the world's great scenic drives — into the nine Glens of Antrim. Stop at Glenariff Forest Park (admission £5 per car), where a 6km waymarked trail follows the Glenariff River through three dramatic waterfalls: Ess-na-Larach, Ess-na-Crub, and the Mare's Tail. The gorge is dripping with ferns and moss — an Irish rainforest in miniature.

End the trip in Cushendall, the capital of the Glens, a small village with colourful houses and a square dominated by the 1809 Curfew Tower. McCollam's Bar (established 1845) is one of the most authentic traditional Irish pubs in Northern Ireland — no music, no frills, just excellent Guinness poured slowly and locals happy to talk. Try the Ulster fry before you leave — bacon, soda bread, potato bread, black pudding, and eggs, best eaten at a guesthouse breakfast for around £9.