Rathlin Island

Rathlin Island (In Irish Reachlainn) is an island historically part of County Antrim in Northern Ireland. Those counties have been abolished so it's now part of Causeway Coast and Glens District; it's Northern Ireland's only inhabited island with a population in 2011 of 154.

Understand
Rathlin was created by the same outpouring of lava that formed Giant's Causeway, and its sea cliffs and bird life are its main attractions. It's poor land for farming, and its outlying position made it vulnerable to raids by Vikings and others. Outcasts such as Robert the Bruce of Scotland have occasionally taken refuge here, only to bring down murderous reprisals upon the entire population. In the 18th century it was briefly industrial thanks to kelp, then morphed in Victorian times into a tourist resort.

In 2021 a five-year project was launched to rid the island of its rats and ferrets, to protect the ground-nesting birds.

Visitor information

 * Rathlin Island visitor information website

Get in
Rathlin Island Ferries sail from Ballycastle to Rathlin Island four or five times daily, taking 30 min. There are two vessels: Kintra II is for foot passengers (no luggage), Spirit of Rathlin also carries vehicles. Visitors may not bring vehicles (see Ballycastle for long stay car parks) but passengers with restricted mobility or luggage should use the car ferry. Bicycles must be booked, and dogs on leads are welcome. Single fares are adult £8, child £4, bicycle £2.20.

is the ferry pier and only settlement on the island. A draughty perspex bus shelter is the only semblance of a "passenger terminal", and there are no toilets.

Get around
Kilmeer is the hilly west arm of the island, five miles long. In the middle is the settlement of Church Bay, then Kinkeel is the low-lying south arm, three miles long. A tarmac lane runs the length of the island, single track with passing places. You can hike it all, and bicycles can be hired from Soerneog View Hostel.

In summer the Puffin Bus meets the ferry and charges £6 for a "tour", including a one-hour stop at the RSPB Seabird Centre at the west tip. This "tour" may or may not bother to drive you back.

See

 * There's a standing stone and a burial cist in the fields by McCuaig's Bar.
 * Kelp House is the ruin at the south end of the bay, built circa 1750. Until 1820, kelp was valuable as its ash contained sodium carbonate for making soap and glass, though you needed over 400 tons of seaweed to get one ton of sodium carbonate. The price crashed when the Leblanc Process created it much more cheaply; kelp was still needed as a source of iodine but many remote coastal communities lost their livelihood.
 * Kelp House is the ruin at the south end of the bay, built circa 1750. Until 1820, kelp was valuable as its ash contained sodium carbonate for making soap and glass, though you needed over 400 tons of seaweed to get one ton of sodium carbonate. The price crashed when the Leblanc Process created it much more cheaply; kelp was still needed as a source of iodine but many remote coastal communities lost their livelihood.
 * Rathlin West Lighthouse next to the RSPB Centre was lit in 1919.
 * , first lit in 1856, is on the cliffs of Altacarry Head. Just south is Rathlin (or Bruce's) Castle, destroyed in a quarrel of 1575, when the island's garrison and inhabitants were massacred.
 * at the south tip was lit in 1921. The nearby Roonivoolin Lough is an RSPB reserve but free to access.
 * Rathlin West Lighthouse next to the RSPB Centre was lit in 1919.
 * , first lit in 1856, is on the cliffs of Altacarry Head. Just south is Rathlin (or Bruce's) Castle, destroyed in a quarrel of 1575, when the island's garrison and inhabitants were massacred.
 * at the south tip was lit in 1921. The nearby Roonivoolin Lough is an RSPB reserve but free to access.

Do

 * Rathlin Trail is a four mile walk from the harbour to the West Lighthouse and RSPB Seabird Viewpoint (no dogs here). It's mostly on the lane, but there's very little traffic. Think about the four miles to get back to your return ferry.

Buy

 * The Co-op by the ferry pier is open M-Sa 11AM-4PM. The Post Office is within.
 * ATM: the only ATM is within McCuaig's Bar, so it's only accessible within pub hours, and it charges for transactions.
 * ATM: the only ATM is within McCuaig's Bar, so it's only accessible within pub hours, and it charges for transactions.

Eat

 * Water Shed Cafe next to the ferry pier.
 * The Manor House is the main eating place, see Sleep. It has Lighthouse Cafe open daily noon-3PM and Island Restaurant daily 6:30-9PM; booking for both essential.

Sleep
Accommodation is limited so book early. The late afternoon ferries from Ballycastle won't take you unless you've something booked, so they've obviously had too many visitors get stranded and become carrion for the gulls.

Connect
As of March 2021, there is no mobile signal from any UK carrier on the island. That's not a problem, is it?

Go next

 * Back to Ballycastle it must be.
 * From there either track east along the mainland coast to the big attractions of Carrick-a-Rede Bridge, Giant's Causeway and Bushmills, or southeast to the Antrim Glens.
 * The Copeland islands were inhabited until 1996 when the lighthouse was automated. Reach them by boat trip from Donaghadee near Bangor, County Down.