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

Mountjoy Castle is a ruined early seventeenth-century fortification located on the southern shore of Lough Neagh in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Despite the coordinates placing it in the region often associated administratively with the Republic of Ireland, the castle sits firmly within Northern Ireland territory. It is a Scheduled Monument and one of the more historically significant plantation-era fortifications in Ulster, offering visitors a tangible connection to one of the most turbulent periods in Irish history. The site is managed and protected as a listed structure, and while it lacks the grandeur of a fully intact castle, the surviving masonry and its commanding position overlooking the vast expanse of Lough Neagh make it a rewarding destination for those interested in early modern Irish history, military architecture, and landscape heritage. The castle was constructed around 1602 by Lord Deputy Charles Blount, Lord Mountjoy, on the orders of the English Crown during the closing stages of the Nine Years' War, the great rebellion led by Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone. Its location was strategically critical: positioned at a point where the River Blackwater flows into Lough Neagh, the fortification allowed English forces to control waterborne supply routes and to project military power into the heart of Ulster, which had long been the stronghold of Gaelic Irish resistance. The construction of Mountjoy Castle effectively helped consolidate the English victory over O'Neill, and it stands as a physical emblem of the conquest that would lead directly to the Flight of the Earls in 1607 and the subsequent Plantation of Ulster. The castle takes its name from Lord Mountjoy himself, whose campaign in Ulster is regarded as one of the most decisive military operations in the entire history of Tudor Ireland. The physical remains of Mountjoy Castle consist principally of the walls of a square tower house, built in a style typical of early Jacobean military construction in Ireland. The masonry is of substantial thickness, intended to withstand assault, and the corners of the structure retain much of their original form, giving a clear sense of the original footprint and scale of the building. Rubble and dressed stone lie around the base where upper courses have collapsed over centuries of neglect, but enough survives to convey the solidity and purposefulness of the original structure. Standing within or beside the ruins, visitors can hear the wind off Lough Neagh and the distant sounds of waterfowl that inhabit the lough's shoreline, which together create an atmosphere that feels genuinely remote and historically charged. The landscape around Mountjoy Castle is one of the defining features of the experience. Lough Neagh itself is the largest freshwater lake in the British Isles, and from the castle's position its sheer scale becomes apparent, with water stretching to the horizon in several directions. The shoreline here is flat and reedy, characteristic of the lough's southern margins, and the surrounding land is a mixture of farmland and light woodland. The area is rich in birdlife, and the lough is a designated Special Protection Area for its populations of wintering waterfowl including tufted duck, pochard, and whooper swan. The broader region of mid-Ulster, encompassing nearby towns such as Stewartstown and Coalisland, has its own layered history of industrial heritage and sectarian complexity. Visiting Mountjoy Castle is a relatively informal experience with no formal visitor centre or ticketed entry. The site is accessible via a minor road off the B161, and visitors typically park nearby and approach the ruins on foot across a short stretch of grass. The ground can be soft and uneven, so appropriate footwear is advisable, particularly during the wetter months from autumn through spring. The site is open year-round, and the most rewarding times to visit are late spring and early summer, when the vegetation is manageable and the light over Lough Neagh can be spectacular in the mornings and evenings. There is no formal signage or interpretation panel of great detail on site, so some background reading beforehand significantly enriches the visit. One of the more fascinating details associated with Mountjoy Castle is its connection not just to the Nine Years' War but to the broader transformation of Irish political society. The defeat of O'Neill that the castle helped secure set in motion the Plantation of Ulster, which reshaped the demographic, religious, and cultural landscape of the province in ways that continue to reverberate to the present day. The castle's builder, Lord Mountjoy, was himself a complex figure: a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I and a capable general who was nonetheless reportedly moved by the suffering his scorched-earth tactics caused. That a ruin so modest in its current state should sit at the epicentre of such far-reaching historical consequence makes Mountjoy Castle an unusually thought-provoking destination.

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.

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.

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.

Dunseverick Castle stands as one of the most dramatically situated and historically resonant ruins on the entire northern Irish coastline, perched on a narrow rocky promontory where the basalt cliffs of County Antrim plunge into the churning waters of the North Channel. Though only a single crumbling tower and fragments of walling survive today, the site exudes an atmosphere of immense antiquity, and its windswept position makes it one of the most visually arresting coastal ruins in Ireland. The castle occupies a naturally fortified headland with sheer drops on three sides, and even in its ruined state it commands a sweeping panoramic view that stretches east toward the Giant's Causeway and west along the cliff-edged coastline toward Ballintoy. It is a place that rewards anyone willing to venture along the Causeway Coastal Route with a profound sense of connection to Ireland's deep past. The history of Dunseverick reaches back far beyond the medieval tower visible today. This headland was one of the most important fortified sites in early Ireland, known in the ancient sources as Dún Sobhairce, and it served as the royal seat of the kings of Dál Riata, the powerful kingdom that straddled what is now northeastern Ireland and western Scotland. The site is believed to have been inhabited and fortified since at least the Iron Age, and it features in some of the oldest strata of Irish mythology and annalistic record. According to tradition, one of the five great roads of ancient Ireland — the roads said to have been built or revealed on the night of the birth of the High King — terminated here at Dunseverick, linking it directly to the ceremonial capital at Tara in County Meath. This made it not merely a coastal stronghold but a node in the symbolic and political geography of the entire island. Among the legends associated with Dunseverick is its connection to the tragic tale of Deirdre of the Sorrows, one of the great stories of the Ulster Cycle. Deirdre and her lover Naoise are said to have landed at Dunseverick when they returned from their exile in Scotland, lured back to Ireland under a false promise of safe conduct from King Conchobhar mac Nessa, an event that led to Naoise's death and Deirdre's own destruction. The castle also has connections to Saint Patrick, who is said to have visited the site and baptised Olcán, a local chieftain who later became a bishop. These overlapping layers of mythology, early Christianity, and dynastic politics give the place a depth of historical resonance that the sparse physical remains alone cannot convey. The existing stone tower dates from the medieval period, though its precise construction date is uncertain; it was attacked by Viking raiders and later became associated with the MacDonnell clan, who dominated much of this coastal territory in the late medieval period. The Cromwellian forces destroyed much of the structure in 1641, leaving the stark remnant seen today. In person, Dunseverick Castle is a genuinely elemental experience. The air here carries the sharp mineral tang of sea spray, and even on calm days the waves below produce a constant low percussion against the basalt stacks and ledges. The surviving tower rises from the headland with a roughness that speaks to centuries of Atlantic exposure — the stone is dark, almost black in wet weather, streaked with orange lichen and pale where salt has worked at the mortar. Gulls wheel and cry overhead, and in spring and early summer the cliff edges bloom with thrift, sea campion, and other coastal wildflowers that soften the austerity of the basalt. The path out to the castle is short but requires care; the ground is uneven and the drop from the promontory edges is unguarded, which only intensifies the feeling of standing at the very margin between land and sea. The surrounding landscape is part of the North Antrim Coast and Glens Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, a stretch of coastline that ranks among the most spectacular in the British Isles. The Giant's Causeway, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, lies only a few kilometres to the west, and Dunseverick is in fact visited by many walkers following the Causeway Coast Way, a long-distance walking route that passes directly by the castle. To the east, the white limestone arch of Whiterocks and the harbour village of Ballycastle are within easy reach. Inland, the landscape rolls into the green patchwork of North Antrim farmland, with the Glens of Antrim providing dramatic valleys descending to the sea a little further along the coast. The village of Bushmills, home to the famous Old Bushmills Distillery and offering food and accommodation, is only a short drive west. Visiting Dunseverick Castle is straightforward and free of charge, as the ruins are accessible to the public without a fee. The site is managed by the National Trust alongside the wider Causeway Coast area. There is a small lay-by parking area on the B146 coastal road near the castle, though it is limited in capacity. The walk to the ruins from the road is brief, taking only a few minutes on a grassy path. Because the site is open and unfenced, visitors should exercise caution near the cliff edges, particularly in wet or windy conditions, and it is not suitable for very young children without close supervision. The best time to visit is late spring through early autumn, when the weather is most amenable, the wildflowers are in bloom, and the long northern evenings allow the golden light to play dramatically across the dark basalt. In winter the site takes on a fiercer, more desolate character that has its own austere appeal for those equipped for the conditions. One of the more remarkable but less widely known aspects of Dunseverick is its role in understanding the early medieval connection between Ireland and Scotland. The kingdom of Dál Riata essentially treated the North Channel not as a barrier but as a highway, and Dunseverick functioned as a maritime gateway through which people, trade, culture, and Christianity moved back and forth across a stretch of water that is barely twenty kilometres wide at its narrowest point. The Scottish landfall, Kintyre, is visible on a clear day from the headland, making vivid the geographic logic of a kingdom that was as much sea-based as land-based. This maritime orientation means that Dunseverick's story is inseparable from the story of early medieval Scotland, including the founding of the monastery of Iona by Columba, whose family had roots in this same Dál Riatan world. Standing on the promontory and looking north across the water, it is possible to grasp in an immediate, physical way how interconnected these islands were long before any modern concept of national borders made them seem separate.

Dungiven Castle is a historic country house and former fortified stronghold located on the outskirts of Dungiven, a small market town in County Londonderry in Northern Ireland. Despite the coordinates suggesting the Republic of Ireland, the castle and its surrounding town are firmly in Northern Ireland, sitting close to the border region near the Sperrins. The castle as it stands today is largely a nineteenth-century reconstruction and romantic reimagining built on foundations with considerably older roots, and it has served various purposes over the centuries, from a seat of local power to a hotel and a venue for weddings and events. Its dramatic silhouette rising above the River Roe valley gives it a fairy-tale quality that draws visitors interested in both history and the breathtaking natural landscape surrounding it. The site's history stretches back to the medieval period, when the area was dominated by the O'Cahan clan, who were the powerful Gaelic lords of this part of Ulster. The original fortifications near this area were associated with their rule before the upheaval of the Plantation of Ulster in the early seventeenth century, when English and Scottish settlers were brought in to colonise the land. The site passed through various hands following the Plantation, and the current structure owes much to the Victorian-era romantic revival of castle architecture, when wealthy landowners across Ireland and Britain were rebuilding or embellishing their homes with towers, battlements, and Gothic detailing. This reinvention gave the castle its present picturesque form, a vision of how a noble residence should look rather than a functional military fortification. In person, Dungiven Castle presents an appealing and somewhat theatrical facade, with its castellated parapets and tower features set against the green hills of the surrounding countryside. The stonework carries the grey-brown tones typical of the region, and the building sits within grounds that include mature trees and well-kept gardens that add to its sense of romantic seclusion. Visitors approaching along the driveway get the full effect of its designed picturesque quality, with the sound of the River Roe audible in the background and the wide Roe Valley opening up around it. The surrounding landscape is one of the genuine highlights of a visit to Dungiven. The Roe Valley is a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and the drive into Dungiven from any direction passes through rolling farmland and the darker, wilder terrain of the Sperrin Mountains to the south and east. The town of Dungiven itself is a quiet but characterful settlement with a strong sense of local identity, and nearby Dungiven Priory — an Augustinian foundation dating to the twelfth century — provides one of the most remarkable medieval heritage sites in the northwest of Ireland, containing the elaborately carved tomb of Cooey na Gall O'Cahan, one of the finest medieval effigies in Ireland. For visitors coming to Dungiven Castle itself, it has operated as a hotel and events venue, making it accessible in a relatively comfortable way. The B6039 and the main A6 road connecting Londonderry (Derry) to Belfast pass through or near Dungiven, making it straightforward to reach by car. Derry city is roughly twenty-five kilometres to the northwest and provides the nearest major transport hub including rail connections. The area is best visited in the warmer months when the landscape is lush and the driving roads are at their most enjoyable, though the misty autumn atmosphere of the Sperrins has its own appeal for those who enjoy atmospheric, quieter travel. One of the more fascinating aspects of the Dungiven area is how densely layered its history is in a relatively small geographical space. The O'Cahan tomb at the nearby priory features a carved frieze of gallowglass warriors in extraordinary detail, a rare survival from medieval Ulster that speaks to the military culture and ambitions of the ruling family who held this land before the Plantation swept it away. The castle, standing nearby, represents the era that replaced that Gaelic order, though it was built up with the aesthetic sensibility of a later century still trying to romanticise and reimagine what power and history should look like. Together, the castle and the priory make Dungiven an unusually rewarding stop for anyone travelling through the northwest of Ireland.

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.

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.

Kinbane Castle is a ruined promontory fortress perched dramatically on a narrow chalk headland jutting into the North Channel off the north Antrim coast. The castle is one of the most strikingly situated ruins in Ireland, commanding extraordinary views across the sea toward the Mull of Kintyre in Scotland, Rathlin Island to the north, and the distant Hebrides on a clear day. It is a place of raw, elemental beauty, where the white chalk of the headland contrasts sharply with the dark basalt cliffs and the churning blue-green waters below. The castle's inaccessibility — reached only by descending a long flight of steep steps cut into the cliff — adds to the sense that it was built as much to intimidate as to defend. The castle was built around 1547 by Colla Dubh MacDonnell, one of the powerful Clan MacDonnell who dominated this stretch of coastline during the sixteenth century. Colla was a brother of Sorley Boy MacDonnell, the legendary chieftain whose name runs through so much of the history of this coastline. The MacDonnells were a Gaelic-Scottish dynasty who held sway across both the Antrim coast and the western Scottish islands, and Kinbane — its name deriving from the Irish Ceann Bán, meaning "white headland" — was one of their strongholds in a chain of fortifications that included Dunluce Castle. The castle was twice besieged and partially destroyed by English forces under the Lord Deputy of Ireland in the 1550s, and Colla MacDonnell died during the second of these sieges in 1558. Despite repeated English attempts to dislodge the MacDonnells from this coast, the family clung tenaciously to their territory, and the ruins still carry that sense of defiant occupation at the very edge of land and sea. In person, Kinbane is a place of tremendous atmosphere. The approach involves parking at a small car park at the cliff top and then descending a long, steep concrete-and-stone staircase that winds down the face of the chalk headland. The noise of wind and sea surrounds you from the moment you leave the car, and by the time you reach the narrow rock spur on which the castle sits, you are fully enclosed by the sounds of the ocean. The ruins themselves are modest — a largely collapsed tower house with fragments of curtain wall — but their situation is extraordinary. The white chalk underfoot seems almost luminous on bright days, and the contrast between the ruins, the pale rock, and the vivid blue of the sea behind them creates a scene of unusual visual drama. On rough days, the waves crash against the base of the headland with force enough to throw spray high into the air. The surrounding landscape is part of the Causeway Coast, one of the most celebrated stretches of coastline in Ireland or Britain. The Giant's Causeway, with its famous hexagonal basalt columns, lies roughly eight miles to the west. Ballycastle, the nearest substantial town, is about two miles to the east and offers shops, restaurants, a harbour, and the ferry terminal for Rathlin Island. The Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge, another iconic attraction of the area, is about a mile and a half along the coast. The broader Antrim coast road here is one of the great scenic drives of Ireland, threading between the cliff face and the sea through a landscape of dramatic headlands, ancient sites, and small coastal villages. Kinbane Castle is managed by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency and there is no admission charge for visiting the exterior ruins, though a small parking fee is collected at the car park in the season. The steep staircase descent makes the site unsuitable for those with significant mobility difficulties, and the exposed clifftop location means the walk can be challenging in strong wind or rain. The best time to visit is on a clear day between late spring and early autumn, both for the weather and for the quality of the light on the chalk headland. Early mornings in summer are particularly rewarding: the crowds are thinner, the light is warm and low, and on calm days the crossing to Scotland seems almost close enough to swim. Sunrise from the headland, with Rathlin Island silhouetted against the brightening sky, is one of the finer sights on the entire Causeway Coast. One striking and often overlooked detail of Kinbane is its geology. The headland is composed of white chalk laid down during the Cretaceous period, the same formation that underlies much of northern Antrim, and it contrasts vividly with the dark columnar basalt visible elsewhere along this coast. The MacDonnells chose their site not just for its defensibility — the narrow neck of the promontory made it almost impregnable from the land — but likely also for its visibility from the sea, a white landmark visible for miles to galleys crossing from Scotland. That dual function, as fortress and seamark, speaks to the deeply interconnected maritime world the MacDonnells inhabited, as much Scottish as Irish, as much seafarers as lords. Standing on the headland today, looking out at the same channel those galleys once crossed, it is not difficult to feel the presence of that world.