Binevenagh Londonderry
Binevenagh is a dramatic basalt escarpment in County Londonderry rising abruptly from the coastal plain north of Limavady to form one of the most impressive natural viewpoints in Northern Ireland, a plateau of open moorland with a sheer northern face that looks out over Lough Foyle and the Atlantic coast toward the hills of Donegal on the far shore. The area forms part of the Binevenagh Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is managed as a country park, with waymarked walking routes along the escarpment providing access to some of the finest panoramic views available anywhere in the north of Ireland.
The geology of Binevenagh reflects the great basalt flood volcanic episode that shaped much of the landscape of northeast Ireland approximately sixty million years ago. The thick basalt lava flows, which gave rise to the Giant's Causeway and the columnar basalt formations along much of the Antrim coast, are here exposed as a near-vertical cliff of considerable height, the horizontal jointing of the basalt producing a stepped profile on the face of the escarpment that is characteristic of this geological formation across the region.
The moorland plateau above the escarpment is one of the better surviving examples of acid grassland and heath habitat in Londonderry, supporting the characteristic upland birds of Irish moorland including curlew, golden plover, merlin and peregrine falcon. The peregrine falcon population breeding on the Binevenagh cliffs is one of the most significant in Northern Ireland and has been monitored by conservation organisations for many years.
The views from the escarpment are exceptional in both directions. To the north, Benone Beach and the full extent of Lough Foyle are visible, with the Inishowen Peninsula of Donegal closing the northern horizon. To the south, the agricultural landscape of the Roe valley and the more distant Sperrin Mountains provide a contrasting inland panorama.