Northern Ireland · Linear (one way)

Causeway Coast Way: Ballintoy to Portballintrae

A long, demanding coastal section past Dunseverick and the Giant's Causeway.

Official trail page (opens in new tab)Outmore NI: Ballintoy to Bushmills

Take this walk offline

Near the start, along the way and at the finish

Ballintoy Harbour, The Causeway Coast
Near the start: Ballintoy Harbour (under 1 km away)Photo: Bob Jones, CC BY-SA 2.0
Old Bushmills Distillery, The Causeway Coast
Near the finish: Old Bushmills Distillery (about 2.1 km away)Photo: Dr Neil Clifton, CC BY-SA 2.0
Carrick-a-Rede, The Causeway Coast
Carrick-a-Rede (about 2.4 km from the start)Photo: Stuart Yeates, CC BY-SA 2.0
White Park Bay, The Causeway Coast
White Park Bay (about 2.6 km from the start)Photo: Tony Webster, CC BY 3.0

Photos of named places from our guides closest to each point of the walk, with the straight-line distance. They show the area, not the path itself: follow the waymarks and the official page.

The route

This is most of the Outmore NI route from Ballintoy Harbour towards Bushmills, following the waymarked Causeway Coast Way. The line shown ends at Portballintrae, a short distance before the official Bushmills finish, because that is where the mapped trail stops. It is a full day on rough coastal terrain, so plan transport at the far end.

The interactive map needs JavaScript. The start and finish are listed below.

Along the way

  1. Start: Ballintoy Harbour
  2. Finish: Portballintrae (Bushfoot Road)

The line is drawn from OpenStreetMap data and simplified to 464 points. It can differ from what is on the ground: waymarks and the official page take priority.

Route and map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), saved 2026-10-25. Spotted a mistake? Fix the map.

Download GPX Official trail page (opens in new tab)

The GPX file holds the route as a track and the start, finish and waypoints, for use in a walking or hiking app. It is a planning aid, not a navigation guarantee.

Before you go

Safety and access notes come from official pages. Conditions change, so read the linked page for the day you walk.

Getting there

  • Nearest station or stop to the start in our dataGiant's Causeway (heritage, Giant's Causeway & Bushmills Railway), about 9.5 km in a straight line.
  • Nearest to the finishBushmills (heritage, Giant's Causeway & Bushmills Railway), about 1.3 km in a straight line.

Straight-line distances from our station list, not walking distances. Check timetables and the route to the start before you travel. Getting between regions

Step-free and pushchair access

The official page does not say whether this route is step-free or suitable for pushchairs, so we do not either. Check the official page (opens in new tab) or ask the site.

Safety

How these figures were worked out

  • Distance: route length measured from OpenStreetMap geometry. The official page gives no distance. It is a straight-segment sum along mapped paths, so it can differ from a waymarked figure.
  • Grade: taken from the official page.
  • Time: only shown when an official page states it.

Sources

  1. Outmore NI: Ballintoy to Bushmills (opens in new tab). official route 12.5 miles to Bushmills Station, Very Strenuous grade, terrain warnings, start at Ballintoy Harbour car park. Checked on 2026-10-25.
  2. OpenStreetMap: Causeway Coast Way (relation 1085994) (opens in new tab). route line and measured length to Portballintrae. Checked on 2026-10-25.
  3. OpenStreetMap contributors (opens in new tab) (ODbL). Route geometry. Saved 2026-10-25.

More walks in Northern Ireland

All walks · Northern Ireland guide · Beaches · Parks and gardens