Glenarm, Gleann Arma, Co. Antrim

Gleann Arma · Co. Antrim

First of the Nine Glens. The Earls of Antrim still live up the drive.

Glenarm is the first of the Nine Glens of Antrim if you're coming up the coast road from Larne, the last if you're coming down from Cushendall. Either way it's where the road peels off the sea for half a mile and meets a village that has been here, in some form, since King John was writing charters.

It's small - about six hundred people - and almost everything that matters is on one street, or up the drive at the castle. The McDonnells, Earls of Antrim, have lived in Glenarm Castle since 1636 and on the estate for four hundred years before that. That's not a brochure line. That's why the Barbican Gate is the entrance to the demesne and the demesne is most of what's behind the village.

Come for an afternoon. Walk the forest along the river. Look at the Walled Garden if it's May to September. Sit by the marina with whatever you can find for lunch. Then keep going - Carnlough is fifteen minutes north and the road only gets better.

Population

~600

Founded

12th-century charter

Coords

54.9683° N, 5.9550° W

01 / 08

At a glance.

Three things every local will eventually mention. Read these and you've already understood more than most day-trippers do.

01 The castle

The McDonnells have been here 600 years.

Glenarm Castle is the seat of the Earls of Antrim. The 1st Earl built the current house in 1636. The 10th Earl is in residence. The Walled Garden won Historic Houses Garden of the Year in 2023.

Stories & lore → 02 Conservation village

One of Ulster's oldest, and it looks it.

King John is said to have granted a charter in the 13th century. The street pattern, the Barbican Gate, the 19th-century shopfronts - all under conservation designation. Walk it slowly.

Walks & outings → 03 The harbour

Limestone went out. Yachts come in.

The pier dates from the 1860s, when iron ore and limestone sailed for the Scottish foundries. Today a 50-berth marina sits inside the old harbour walls. Scotland is 25 miles across the water.

Stories & lore →

02 / 08

The pubs.

None of these are themed Irish pubs, because they don't need to be. A few that earn the trip:

Bridge End Tavern

Locals, wood, talk

Old-style local

Known to everyone as Stevey's. A small, traditional pub at the bottom of Toberwine Street. Wooden chairs, oddball regulars, no theatre.

The Coast Road Inn

Quiet, friendly

Pub near the marina

Two doors up from the Bridge End. The other one. Handy after a walk in the forest or a wander round the marina.

03 / 08

Where to eat.

Place	Type	€	Local note
The Pizza Pavilion	Wood-fired pizza	££	At Glenarm Castle, under cover, open seasonally. Sourdough bases, changing menu. Easier than driving back to Larne for dinner.

04 / 08

Stories & lore.

The reason to come back. The things every local will eventually tell you about, usually after the second pint.

Earls of Antrim, still in residence

The McDonnells

John Mór MacDonnell came across from Scotland in the late 14th century and married Marjory Bisset, heiress to the Glens of Antrim. The family has been here ever since. Sir Randal MacDonnell, 1st Earl of Antrim, built the present castle in 1636. The current incumbent is Randal McDonnell, 10th Earl. Six hundred years in one place is the kind of continuity that's hard to imagine until you stand at the Barbican Gate and realise the family on the other side of it is the same family who built the gate.

The Walled Garden won the country

Glenarm Castle

The Walled Garden was laid out in the 1820s and had gone to sleep for most of the 20th century. Lord and Lady Antrim redesigned and restored it in stages over the last two decades. In 2023 a national public vote named it Historic Houses Garden of the Year. It's open May to September. The Antrim McDonnell Heritage Centre on the estate tells the longer story.

Five miles of water, well stocked

The salmon river

The Glenarm River runs out of the hills, through the forest, under the village and into the bay. About five miles in total. Salmon, sea trout, brown trout - the Glenarm Angling Club has rights on two of those miles, a private syndicate the rest. Access from the bank is restricted, so it's a river you mostly admire from the forest path. Watch for otter and kingfisher; the river still holds both.

Why everything still looks like itself

Conservation village

Glenarm has been a designated conservation village for decades. That's why the 19th-century shopfronts on the main street have not been replaced with uPVC, why the Barbican Gate still terminates the view, why the harbour wall is the harbour wall and not a car park. It's also why a place this small still feels like the same place it was when the limestone boats were loading.

05 / 08

Things to do outside.

Wear waterproofs. Bring a sandwich. Tell someone where you're going if it's the mountain.

Glenarm Forest A riverside trail through the demesne forest. Colour-coded waymarkers, a gentle climb, red squirrels if you're quiet. Start at the village end.

3.2 km loopdistance

1 hourtime

Glenarm Forest long loop The out-and-back through the deeper forest. Moderate. Same start, just keep going past where the short loop turns back.

8.4 kmdistance

2 h 15time

The Barbican & village walk Through the Barbican Gate, along the lower castle wall, around to the harbour and back up Toberwine Street. The whole conservation village in one slow loop.

1.5 kmdistance

30 mintime

06 / 08

When to go.

There is no bad time. There are different times.

Spring

Mar-May

The Walled Garden opens in May. The forest is full of bluebells before that.

◉ Go

Summer

Jun-Aug

Castle and garden both open, marina busy, long Antrim evenings. Still quieter than the Causeway end of the coast.

◉ Go

Autumn

Sep-Oct

Garden open until the end of September. Forest in colour. The coast road at its best.

◉ Go

Winter

Nov-Feb

Castle and garden shut. Half the village shuts with them. The forest and the two pubs stay.

◐ Mind yourself

07 / 08

What to skip.

Honestly? Don't bother.

If a local was sitting beside you, this is the bit where they'd lean in.

Driving straight through on the coast road

Everyone does. The village is two minutes off the road and worth thirty.

Trying to fish the river without arrangement

Access is restricted to the angling club and a private syndicate. Day tickets are not generally available. Watch from the forest path.

Turning up at the castle in winter

House and Walled Garden are seasonal - roughly May to September. Check before you make the drive.

Getting there.

By car

On the A2 Antrim Coast Road. Larne is 25 minutes south, Cushendall 30 minutes north, Belfast about an hour.

By bus

Translink Ulsterbus 162 runs Larne-Cushendall along the coast road and stops in Glenarm.

By air

Belfast International is around 50 minutes by car. Belfast City is closer to an hour.

Next on the tour

Co. Antrim

Carnlough

Next village north. Limestone harbour, white pier, fifteen minutes up the coast.

Co. Antrim

Cushendall

Capital of the Glens, half an hour north when the road gets really good.

Co. Antrim

Larne

Ferry port and the southern start of the coast road. Twenty-five minutes back the way you came.