6 Day Hills and North Coast Adventure

Our driver will pick you up at your accomodation and take you to our stables. On arrival Mr. McKinley, members of the Bespoke Equestrian Ireland (BEI) team and “Sheba” the Border collie farm dog, will greet you with a warm, genuine welcome before heading to the barn for a stable tour and to meet the team of horses (if you wish, you can assist with grooming and tacking)

After selecting a horse and a riding assessment, you will spend 4/5 hours riding out into the wilderness of the North Antrim Hills with its heather clad slopes, looking down on to green pasture away below with panoramic views over the North Coast and 5 counties of Ireland. 

You will stop at the glass sided mountain side cabin, high in the hills where a picture-perfect picnic or traditional afternoon tea awaits you. Enjoy a sumptuous lunch, while absorbing magnificent views of the Northern Irish countryside. 

We will be riding past the old peat banks that were once the traditional source of fuel in Ireland for generations and can stop and do some peat cutting with the old traditional peat spades and get a few photographs before making our way back to the stables.

After your initial days introduction and riding you will be collected and taken to your accommodation near to where you will be starting your ride tomorrow morning. Your hosts will help to organise dinner options for you in the local town. After that, its time to get a good nights sleep and be ready for what tomorrow has in store.

Overnight: County Antrim Coast

We will begin the day in the idyllic seaside village of Ballintoy on the coast! Follow an old off- road track with splendid views of the coast, to the breath-taking white sand beach of Whitepark Bay, a 3-mile long beach on the famous Causeway Coastal Route. Whitepark Bay is a beautiful stretch of pristine beach located on Co. Antrim’s North Coast near the picturesque village of Ballintoy. With a beach so pure it shines for miles (on even the cloudiest of days) it’s the perfect backdrop for a refreshing trot, canter or gallop!

We’ll take our time playing on the beach & in the ocean before cantering over the smooth sands! If we’re lucky the famous “Sunbathing Cattle” will be on the beach basking in the sun’s warmth.

You will spend your time romping and capering along the 3 mile stretch of pristine, resplendent white sand and explore the rolling sand dunes of the area below the backdrop of the rugged surrounding cliff faces which were once home to some of the earliest human settlers in Ireland. Savour the taste of the tantalising sea air, feel the blustering and energising wind on your face and the radiant rays of the Irish sunshine on your back on this invigorating ride.

Afterwards, we’ll make our way over sandy dunes and across lush farmlands for lunch at the village of Ballintoy. Enjoy a delicious pub lunch in the Fulerton Arms with a traditional atmosphere. Add in a pint or half pint of Guinness and you’ll tick all the boxes. Expect good, straightforward locally sourced main dishes such as seafood chowder or Irish stew.

After lunch we will ride in the hills above Ballintoy, overlooking Ballintoy Harbour which was mainly associated with salmon fishing. In its heyday, cartloads of salmon made their way round hilly roads to catch the train at Ballycastle and onwards to Belfast. Game of Thrones fans will recognize Ballintoy Harbour as the setting for the Iron Islands and Lordsport in the Isle of Pyke. Like most places along the North Coast, the views from these hills are spectacular and offer some amazing photo opportunities. We look down on Ballintoy’s most distinctive site, the white Ballintoy Parish Church, perched on a hill overlooking the vast Atlantic.

Ballintoy Parish Church was built in 1813, in replacement of the original church built in the early 17th century. It is one of the most scenic churches in the country and is often pictured with the stunning view of Rathlin Island in the background. Many notable landed families are buried in the church’s cemetery including The Stewarts of Ballintoy, Downing Fullerton and members of the Stewart-Moore family.

We will now make our way towards the final destination of our journey and as we ride, we will be looking down on to the cliffs surrounding one of Northern Ireland’s most popular tourist attractions, the Carrick-a-Rede Rope bridge, before finally stopping and saying farewell to the horses and team after a full day of off-road riding.

As you say farewell to your horse and guide for the day, we will take in the vista of this spectacular coastline hugging the wild Atlantic Ocean, looking out over the sea to Rathlin Island, the Mull of Kintyre in Scotland and the Western Isles of Scotland.

Overnight: County Antrim Coast

Your day begins at Watertop Farm, which was once a bustling ceili house. Trot and canter your way through this unique landscape on the edge of the Glens of Antrim, before we head onwards towards the coast.

You will soon be exploring the meandering trails through the beautiful countryside, bordering the remarkable Glens of Antrim. We will ride close to the resplendent Ballypatrick forest, a woodland renowned for being home to a wide variety of local wildlife. If we are lucky, we might spot some of the elusive Red Deer which make the forest their home. They, and their fawns, are known to venture out of the safety of the treelines and we may catch a glimpse of these cautious creatures as they wander the area. We are likely to see some birds of prey circling above us, as they patrol the skies looking for their next meal. Our own meal is not far away, as we will soon be making our way to a traditional Irish Pub where we can enjoy some of the traditional, hearty fare that you will have come to know intimately.

We will load up and travel 5 miles down the glen to the scenic village of Cushendun. Cushendun was designed in 1912 by Clough William Ellis at the request of Ronald John McNeill, 1st Baron Cushendun. The village’s Cornish appearance was deliberate–designed to please the Baron’s wife, Maud, who was born in Cornwall, England. After Maud’s death in 1925, he erected a row of whitewashed, quaint cottages in her memory—affectionately known as Maud’s Cottages.

Riding on Cushendun Strand we will pass the ruins of Carra Castle before making our way to the famous Cushendun Caves—an impressive system of caves formed over 400-million years ago. More recently, the caves doubled as the caves of ‘Storm’s End’ in the HBO hit series, Game of Thrones.

An unusual character of Cushendun is “Johann the Goat”, a bronze sculpture situated close to the mouth of the River Dun. Johann lived in the harbour area for many years, grazing the riverbanks and welcoming visitors bearing apples or carrots. In 2001, he was the last animal to be culled during the foot and mouth outbreak. His statue remains a memorial to the farmers in the district who lost their livestock. Today, another goat carries on Johann’s tradition and can be seen resting beneath the feet of Johann’s sculpture or grazing along the banks.

Savour every minute as you walk, trot and canter along the strand at Cushendun with your trusted horse and the guides whom you have spent the week with. Enjoy your last time in the waters of the Atlantic before journeying through the ancient beech trees surrounding Cushendun’s old Church and manor house on your way back. As you dismount with a smile on your face, the sense of accomplishment, the memories, the bond with your horse and the bond with the people of the area you have made will never leave you as you once more, take in the beauty of the wild and rugged landscape.

Overnight: County Antrim Coast

Today we are exploring the beautiful coastal town of Ballycastle. In Irish, Ballycastle translates to ‘Baile an Chaistil’  meaning town of the castle. It derives from the 2 famous castles which once guarded its rugged shoreline from enemy attacks. We will be starting our ride at the edge of this quaint little seaside town stepped in folklore, myths and legends and close to the 14th century ruins of the old Franciscan monastery at Bonamargy Abbey.

We will unload our horses at the sight where the Ould Lammus Fair began. The Fair dates back to the 1700s and still draws large crowds today to enjoy street stalls, horse sales, fairground rides and the finest local produce around.

As we make our way along an old path towards the sea, we will get our first glimpse of Ballycastle bay, Rathlin Island and to the Western Isles and Highlands of Scotland. We will make our way down onto the beach where the Margy river, known locally for its Salmon fishing, flows into Ballycastle bay and meets the blue waters of the Atlantic.

We will take our time playing on the beach and in the ocean before walking trotting or cantering (depending on rider’s abilities) across the white sand.

We will continue to ride towards the imposing basalt rock headland known as Fairhead, given its name from the folklore and story of Deidre the beautiful golden-haired maiden who, at her wedding banquet, was danced over the cliff edge to her death by a rival lover’s faithful servant.

We will then leave the beach and follow a quiet, paved road with its sea wall defence, mainly used by walkers, to where it ends at Marconi’s cottage. Here in 1898, Guglielmo Marconi sent the world’s first ever radio signal across the sea to Rathlin Island.

As we make our way back, watching out for seals and marine life, we take in views of the rugged cliffs of Fairhead, which were used as a Game of Thrones filming location, and along the beautiful Causeway Coast and towards Donegal on the Wild Atlantic way. We will return to the beach and ride to the other end, crossing the Margy to view the sculpture of the Silver Swans, representing the myth of the Children of Lir who were turned into swans and fated to swim the sea below Fairhead for 999 years.

Savour the taste of the tantalising sea air, feel the blustering and energising wind on your face and the radiant rays of the Irish sunshine on your back on this invigorating ride.

We will return to the lorry where we will give the horses a well deserved rest. As a wise man once said, “you can’t work a hungry horse, or a hungry rider for that matter” so it’s time to head into one of the town’s eateries. Enjoy quality and traditional dishes with a local twist.

Once we are all fed and watered, we will transport the horses by lorry a short distance to Fairhead. Fairhead is the imposing basalt headland that can be seen from Ballycastle town. Surrounded by myth and legend and made famous in more recent years due to it becoming a Game of Throne filming location. The McBride family who own land on Fairhead have been there for generations and have very kindly opened up this stunning location to us.

Fair Head is considered one of the best traditional climbing and bouldering locations in the British Isles, and is one of the biggest expanse of climbable rock in Northwest Europe.  The views out to Rathlin, Western Isles of Scotland, Ballycastle, Knocklayde, Kinbane castle and beyond are incredible and possibly some of the most epic you will see on your travels. Take in Lough Dhu which has a classic example of a crannog in the centre. These features were built on natural or man-made islands in lakes or boglands, they were created as defensive homesteads, some were still being built in Ireland up to the 1700s. Trot and canter your way out towards the top of the cliff where we will transverse through the rugged wilderness and stop at some of the exceptional viewpoints along the way. The cliff top was also used as a filming location in Game of Thrones. For those avid fans, it appears onscreen as the cliffs of Dragonstone in Season 7 where John Snow negotiates with Tyrion Lannister over dragon glass and also in season 7, where John meets Drogon and Daenerys reunites with Jorah Mormont.

Savour every moment as you make your way back to the start of the Fairhead ride where our drivers will pick you up and take you back to your accommodation. After such an exceptional day of riding and views, enjoy a perfect pint of Guinness in one of the locals and be ready for our last day of riding tomorrow.

Overnight: County Antrim Coast

Our final day’s riding begins at the ruins of the iconic Redbay Castle. The castle was once a McDonnell stronghold in the Glens and acted as a strategic lookout point for invaders coming from the North. The beauty of the area you’re riding in today will soon become clear; however, with stunning scenery on every angle, it is hard to know what way to look. You will find yourself in one of the famous Nine Glens of Antrim, a range of narrow picturesque valleys running down to the sea. Our Glen today is Glenarriffe known as the Queen of the Glens for its beauty with the Waterfalls at the top of the glen cascading down the gully between the leafy trees being a major visitor attraction in Northern Ireland.

Our rides started off on the beach today at the village of Waterfoot at the foot of Glenarriffe Glen. As you make your way onto the beach, you will be treated to views of the Western Isles and Highlands of Scotland. Look out for the dome shaped isle of Ailsa Craig and the oddly shaped Sanda Island known to locals as spoon island for obvious reasons. As you make your way onto the golden sands of Glenariffe beach, you will begin to get a first proper glimpse of the Queen of the Glens. The massive U-shaped valley, carved out by a glacier 20 thousand years ago is a sight to behold. The rugged cliff tops sloping down to green pasture and tree lined edges make for a stunningly beautiful vista as it sweeps down to the sea of Moyle. 

Walk, trot, canter and gallop your way across the bay while enjoying stunning views of the area whose beauty inspired the iconic song ‘Danny Boy’. After an invigorating time spent on the beach and surrounding area we ride the quiet windy road to the waterfalls. Meet some locals along the way and allow your guide to fill you in on some of the rich culture and folklore of the area. The story of ‘Tir na nóg’ or, in English the ‘Land of the Youth’ is a particular favourite.  

As we meander up the Glen and through this oasis of tranquillity you will become enchanted by its beauty and strengthen the bond you have with this land. We will ride this spectacular trail to the summit, soaking in views over the wild Irish Sea, stretching all the way to Scotland. As we ride closer to the top of the Glen, we will come to the quaint Lara Lodge where we will tie up our horses. It’s time to enjoy some local food and have a drink after an exhilarating morning in the saddle. Chill out, relax and enjoy the company of your guides and the locals in the heart of the Glens. Once fed and watered, take a short walk to view the beautiful waterfalls behind the lodge. The astounding beauty of the boardwalk to the waterfalls provides visitors with an abundance of panoramic landscapes, peaceful riverside walks and three spectacular waterfalls.

After our refreshments we will ride down the glen and be able to take in the vista from a whole different perspective. Enjoy another ride across the beach and a splash in the water before returning to our starting point at the imposing ruins of Redbay Castle.

Our week together has come to an end. Take the time to say goodbye to your most trusted steed, your guide and the people you have met along the way. Allow the sense of accomplishment wash over you as the memories of the week come flooding back. As the Irish say ‘Slán go foil’ or in English ‘bye for now’.

Onward Journey: If you would like an additional night of accommodation tonight then this can be arranged upon request or we can help you with your onward journey