Cushendun Antrim
Cushendun is a small and exceptionally charming village at the foot of the most northerly of the Glens of Antrim, a settlement whose white-washed Cornish-style cottages designed by Clough Williams-Ellis, the architect of Portmeirion, provide one of the most architecturally distinctive village streetscapes on the Antrim coast. The village is owned by the National Trust and the combination of the protected architecture, the small harbour, the sea caves accessible on the beach below the cliffs and the beautiful setting at the glen mouth creates one of the most rewarding small coastal destinations in Northern Ireland.
The Cornish-style cottages were designed by Clough Williams-Ellis in the 1920s for the Glenavy family who owned the village and wished to create a harmonious architectural character for the settlement. Williams-Ellis, whose most famous work is the fantasy village of Portmeirion in Wales, produced at Cushendun a group of white-washed cottages with distinctive slate roofs and architectural details that create a coherent visual character quite unlike any other Antrim village, and which contributed to the National Trust's decision to acquire the village and protect its character.
The sea caves accessible on the beach below the clifftop car park, carved by wave action from the distinctive red Cushendun Conglomerate, provided a dramatic location for the shadow demon birth scene in the television series Game of Thrones, and the filming association has added to the village's visitor interest.