Causeway Coast · Moderate · One way

Giant's Causeway to Dunseverick Castle by the cliff path

A one-way walk along the cliff top from the Giant's Causeway past Benbane Head to Dunseverick Castle, with a bus back.

Distance
7.2 km (4.5 mi)
Ascent
390 m
Time
About 3 h
High point
118 m
Grade
Moderate

Line © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), checked by Global Adventurer.

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Giant's Causeway to Dunseverick Castle by the cliff path
The original uploader was Pdean at English Wikipedia. · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons

The walk

From the National Trust walkers' car park, take the track north to the cliff-top path and turn right. Follow it east past the top of the Shepherd's Steps and above the Amphitheatre and the Chimney Stacks. Round Benbane Head at Hamilton's Seat, then carry on east along the grassy cliff top through farmland, dipping above Port Moon and other small bays, to the ruin of Dunseverick Castle and the car park and bus stop beside it.

It is 7.2 km one way with 390 m of ascent and 416 m of descent; allow about 3 hours. The grade is Moderate: a grassy cliff path with many short climbs in and out of the bays, steep dips and stiles.

The path is part of the Causeway Coast Way, a permissive path kept by the National Trust through working farmland. Cattle graze the fields: use the stiles and keep dogs on leads. The cliff edges are unfenced with sheer drops, and the wind can be strong. There are no toilets at Dunseverick.

Parking at the start costs £12 a vehicle through JustPark (members free); the Dunseverick Castle car park at the end is free. To get back, Ulsterbus 172 links Dunseverick Castle and the Giant's Causeway all year. The 402 Causeway Rambler is seasonal: check Translink before you set off.

Route drawn by Global Adventurer along OpenStreetMap paths (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), with figures worked out from it. Check the forecast and the ground on the day: paths change.

Good to know

  • The path keeps to cliffs of layered basalt more than 100 m high, with views to Rathlin Island and Scotland.
  • Port na Spaniagh, below the path, is where the Armada galleass Girona was wrecked in 1588.
  • Hamilton's Seat on Benbane Head marks the eastern edge of the World Heritage Site.
  • Dunseverick Castle, now a single ruined wall on a sea rock, was a stronghold at the end of an ancient road from Tara.

Getting there

Start: Giant's Causeway walkers' car park on Causeway Road · Pay and display. 55.23434, -6.51080

Directions to the start

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Places to stay nearby

Rooms in and around Portrush: Booking.com → Expedia → Hotels.com →

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Paths change, and the weather decides the day. The line and figures come from OpenStreetMap and our own checks; take a map, check the forecast, and turn back if it isn't right.