In the summer of 1993 I looked across the bay to the trail leading around Runkerry Point and vowed to hike it someday. It crosses between Runkerry House and the sea and can be seen from the little town of Portballintrae where I sat at the hotel window. Here I stand 23 years and a few months later on the trail before the House on one of the most beautiful days the North Ireland Coast ever saw.
The trail is part of the Ulster Way, a Northern Ireland National Trail, and called the Causeway Coast Way. The mileage is given for the town of Portballintrae where we stayed in 1993 and for Giant's Causeway our starting point for the hike.
The Causeway Site includes a hotel, pub, gift shop and new Visitor Center. On this cold, crisp morning we hurried on to the trail eager to walk around the Point and past the House at last.
The surf views below us were spectacular and we stopped often to watch the crashing waves. (Click on the picture and you can just see the town of Portballintrae in the far distance.)
As the trail winds around the point and down the gorges you would never guess that Runkerry House, a home built for Lord MacNaghten in 1883, is just the other side of the point.
Beyond the House the trail winds down to the town beach and across the dunes and over the Bush River to the Beach Car Park. After a nice walk on the beach we turned back toward the Causeway Tea Shop. If possible, the way back was even more beautiful! Tea and scones at the Hotel made a lovely reward for our brisk morning hike!
Our self-catering cottage complex was only about 2 miles away. This was a find on booking.com that was our favorite of all our stays. It had a great kitchen, dining, living space upstairs ( the blue trim window) that was the perfect size for us and even had a woodstove for winter. We could have moved right in!
The Northern Ireland Coast from Portrush to Fair Head is a fantastic hiking area of incredible beauty. It was the highlight of our trip for me to walk the Runkerry Point-Causeway Trail after so many years.
