Best Castle in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland - Map and Reviews

Salterstown Castle near Ballyronan in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, is a ruined early seventeenth-century plantation castle on the shores of Lough Neagh, one of the lesser-known plantation sites associated with the Salters Company of London, one of the twelve London Companies that took part in the Plantation of Ulster and from which the nearby settlement of Salterstown takes its name. The castle represents the plantation settlements established by the London Companies along the western shores of Lough Neagh as part of the systematic colonisation of County Londonderry. Lough Neagh, the largest freshwater lake in Ireland and Britain, is visible from the castle site and provides one of the most important wildlife habitats in Northern Ireland, supporting large populations of eels, wintering wildfowl and breeding waterbirds.

Dunseverick Castle is the dramatically situated ruins of one of the oldest castles in Ireland, perched on a narrow sea stack on the North Antrim coast between the Giant's Causeway and Ballintoy, its fragmentary walls rising from sheer basalt cliffs above the Atlantic. The site was fortified from at least the early medieval period, with Dunseverick mentioned in the ancient Ulster annals and associated with the legendary figures of early Irish history. The present masonry represents the latest phase of occupation, with the castle destroyed by Cromwellian forces in 1653. The coastal path that passes the castle is part of the Causeway Coast Way, one of the most spectacular coastal walking routes in Ireland, with the Giant's Causeway UNESCO World Heritage Site a short distance to the west.

Mountjoy Castle has a commanding elevated position overlooking Lough Neagh in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, built by Lord Mountjoy, the Lord Deputy of Ireland who brought the Nine Years' War to a conclusion with his decisive campaign against Hugh O'Neill in 1601-02. The castle was constructed as a strategic fortification to control the western approach to Lough Neagh, the largest freshwater lake in Ireland and Britain, and to consolidate English military control over this part of central Ulster following the defeat of the great Gaelic Ulster chieftains. The brick and stone construction of the four-square castle with circular angle towers is unusual in an Irish context and reflects English military building practice of the early seventeenth century. The castle is now a substantial ruin overlooking the lough and is accessible to visitors.

Altinaghree Castle is a derelict castle situated on private farmland outside Donemana, south of Londonderry in County Tyrone. The castle is also known as Altnacree Castle, Liscloon House, and is known locally as Ogilby's Castle. It was once a large elegant building with magnificent banquet room, but is now in ruins. The building is constructed from cut stone. Facilities The castle is on private land and is not open to the public, but can be seen and photographed from the main Dunamanagh - Claudy Road (B49). The castle is believed to have been built by William Ogilby around 1860. James Douglas Ogilby, who later became a famous ichthyologist in Australia was the son of William Ogilby. James fell in love with a factory seamstress, Mary Jane Jamieson, and was denied permission to marry her. He ended up eloping and marrying her in 1884. He moved to Australia where he was appointed to the Australian Museum in 1885. The castle was abandoned by the end of the century and fell into disrepair.

Dungiven Castle in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, is a nineteenth-century Gothic house incorporating the ruins of an Augustinian priory founded in the twelfth century by the O'Cahan family, who are commemorated by one of the finest medieval tomb monuments in Ireland within the priory ruins. The site has a long ecclesiastical history as the location of Dungiven Priory, founded in the twelfth century by the O'Cahan family who were lords of this part of Derry. The early seventeenth-century bastion fortification added to the priory site reflects the plantation era's military requirements. The priory ruin with its decorated O'Cahan tomb is the most significant heritage element of the site and can be visited freely. The surrounding Sperrins landscape provides outstanding walking and cycling country in one of the most scenic upland areas of Northern Ireland.

Ballycastle is a small market town and seaside resort on the Antrim coast of Northern Ireland, its beach and harbour providing the principal visitor focus in a town that serves as the main gateway for the Rathlin Island ferry and as the central settlement of the Causeway Coast and Glens area. The beach at Ballycastle stretches for approximately one kilometre along the bay below the town, a mix of sand and shingle that is sheltered from the prevailing Atlantic swell by the headlands on either side and overlooks the distinctive flat-topped outline of Rathlin Island two kilometres offshore. The town and beach have a character that is distinctly different from the more heavily developed resorts of the Antrim coast further south. Ballycastle retains the feel of a working Irish market town with a functioning harbour, a weekly market and a local economy that extends beyond tourism alone. The Ould Lammas Fair, held annually in late August since at least the seventeenth century, is one of the oldest fairs in Ireland and draws visitors from across Northern Ireland and beyond, combining a traditional horse and cattle fair with amusements, traders and the distinctive dulse and yellowman confectionery for which Ballycastle is particularly known. The harbour below the town is the departure point for the Rathlin Island ferry, which makes the twenty-minute crossing to one of Northern Ireland's most rewarding day trip destinations several times daily in summer. Rathlin is a small, shaped island with a permanent farming and fishing community, dramatic seabird cliffs at its western end, and the cave beneath the lighthouse where Robert the Bruce is traditionally said to have sheltered and drawn inspiration from the famous spider. The puffin colony at the West Light is one of the largest and most accessible in Ireland. The surrounding Causeway Coast and Glens Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty provides extensive walking and coastal scenery, with the Fair Head cliffs immediately east of Ballycastle offering some of the most dramatic headland scenery on the north Antrim coast.

This fortress stands on the Kinbane Castle.summit of a bold promontory that rises to a great height above the sea. Dunaneeny means " the fort of the assembly or fair." The area on which the castle stood is a smoothlevel, measuring from east to west 60 yards, and from north to south 35 yards. It was surrounded by the sea on all sides except the south, where it was protected by a moat extending from east to west 80 yards, cut chiefly through the solid rock. The highest part of the wall now remaining is only 12 1/2 feet, and every vestige of the castle which stood within the fortified area has disappeared. Tradition says it was built by the O'Carrols, an old family who resided here many centuries ago. Later, the chieftains of the MacDonnells made this one of their principal strongholds, and from it they could watch their galleys gliding into Port Brittas almost at its base. The castle is notable for being the birthplace of the second Sorley Boy MacDonnell, who was born here in 1505. It was from here, at the head of his kerns and gallowglasses, he led them from victory to victory, till he became master of the whole of the Route. It was here, too, he died, and from here he was carried to his resting-place, the procession making its way through Ballycastle to the Abbey of Bun-na-mairgie, where they laid their gallant chief in a soldier's grave.The ruins of this ancient church and friary are only a few minutes' walk from Ballycastle. The friary is said to have been built by the MacQuillins, and to have been enlarged by the MacDonnells. Formerly a river ran close to the abbey, but its course was diverted in 1738 by Mr. Boyd, in order that it might help to deepen the inner dock.. The church and friary were built of Ballycastle sandstone, filled in with small stones. From the fourteenth or fifteenth century it was occupied by Franciscan friars of the third order. The church suffered considerable damage on 4th January, 1584, when the English of the Pale, under Sir John Perrott, marched to Bun-na-mairgie, where, leaving his cavalry in charge of Sir William Stanley in and around the church, he placed his infantry in the Fort of Ballycastle. Sorley Boy was on his way home with several galleys full of Scots, but his followers, anticipating his arrival, attacked the English troops at Bun-na-mairgie at one o'clock in the morning, and set fire to the roof of the church, which was thatched. The church was full of horses. A severe battle ensued, in which Sir William Stanley was wounded, and Sir John Perrott was forced to withdraw his troops, but took with him St. Columba's cross from the church, which he sent to Sir Francis Walshingham, describing it as Sorley Boy's cross, with a request it should be given to Lady Walshingham. The church was subsequently restored and the friary again reoccupied. The churchyard of Bun-na-mairgie was the burial-place of the MacDonnells. The place, says Rev. George Hill, heaves with the MacDonnell dust. There were those who fell when James MacDonnell slaughtered the MacQuillins in Glenshesc at the battle of Aura. There were those who fell when Shane O'Neill overthrew Sorley MacDonnell and his brother James in 1665 at Glenshesc or Glentow. There were, too, those who fell around Bun-na-mairgie in 1584 when Sorley Boy and his followers repulsed Sir John Perrott and his followers. It is said that during this period heaps of bodies were carried there and left unburied for weeks until an opportunity came.

Dunluce Castle balances of the edge of a rocky outcrop on headland overlooking the North Channel. Access to the castle is via a bridge which connects it to the mainland near Portrush. The medieval castle is now in a totally ruined state but still has partial remains of its round corner towers and outer wall. Facilities The castle is part of a site which includes a Visitor Centre, shop, ruins of the town; burnt down by fire in 1641 and gardens. Guided tours are offered between Easter and September between 10am and 6pm and October to Easter until 4pm daily. Dunluce Castle was built in the 1200's by the 2nd Earl of Ulster, Richard de Burgh, on the site of an earlier fort dating back to the Vikings. In 1513 the castle was occupied by the MacQuillian family also known as Lord's of the Route and later it passed to the MacDonnell clan. It was Somerled MacDonnell who improved the castle in a Scottish style in 1584 and when a ship from the Spanish Armada was wrecked on the rocks below the castle four years later, the MacDonnell's sold the cargo and installed the cannon in the castle's gatehouse. The castle remained with the Mac Donnell's until the end of the Battle of the Boyne in 1690 when it was left abandoned and fell into ruins. The Arts The castle has been used as the setting for the villains' lair in the film 'The Medallion' with Jackie Chan in 2001. The castle appeared in the artwork of the inner gatefold of the 1973 Led Zeppelin album Houses of the Holy. Legends Legend has it that out of all the kitchen staff only one boy survived an incident when a large part of the castle's kitchen collapsed into the sea.

Kinbane Castle is a dramatically situated ruined sixteenth-century tower house on Kenbane Head on the North Antrim coast, its white limestone walls rising from the narrow headland that gives the castle its name, kenbane meaning white headland in Irish. The castle was built by Colla MacDonnell, brother of the Scots-Irish lord Sorley Boy MacDonnell, one of the most significant figures in the turbulent history of sixteenth-century Ulster. The castle was twice attacked and damaged by the English Crown during the wars against the MacDonnells, and was eventually abandoned. The headland position above the Atlantic provides outstanding views along the North Antrim coast and is accessible from a steep path descending from the clifftop car park. The surrounding coastal landscape, including the Giant's Causeway and Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge nearby, is one of the most celebrated in Ireland.