Northern Ireland's Antrim Coast

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Waves crashing into the dark rocks of the Antrim Coast in Northern Ireland

A recent commission took me back to the spectacular Antrim Coast of Northern Ireland. It would be easy to divide the coast of Co. Antrim into two sections, the Causeway Coast running east-west along the top of Northern Ireland and the Antrim or Glens Coast running north-south along the east of the island.

Panoramic Ireland run photo tours in the Glens of Antrim and along the Causeway Coast.

It is truly a spectacular part of the Irish coastline; the nine scenic Glens of Antrim, each with their own character, providing an impressive backdrop to the coastal route that was developed in the 1830s. Waterfalls and rivers cascade off the Antrim Plateau towards the coast through the glaciated valleys of the region.

The image above was taken along the Causeway Coast in North Antrim, close to the Giant's Causeway on a day that saw some impressive waves striking the shore, here the wave cut rocks have taken on a blocky character with some rectangular sections, the dark 

The nine Glens of Antrim are as follows (from south to north):

  • Glenarm - Valley of the army
  • Glencloy - Valley of the sword
  • Glenariff - Valley of the plough
  • Glenballyemon - Edmondstown valley
  • Glenaan - Valley of the little fords
  • Glencorp - Valley of the dead
  • Glendun - Brown valley / Valley of the River Dun 
  • Glenshesk - Valley of the reeds
  • Glentaisie - Taisie's valley

Here is an image from Glendun with the evening sunlight providing an attractive scene.

Glendun in the evening, Glens of Antrim, Northern Ireland

The dramatic coastline didn't disappoint and during the two days that I spent traversing the roads of this corner of Ireland I had no shortage of places to stop and photograph. In fact, choosing when to move on was really the difficult part of this commission.

Last modified on Friday, 22 March 2019 15:49
Darren McLoughlin

Irishman and International travel photographer in search of the best bits of Ireland. Leading photography tours and experiences in Ireland.

Contributor to New York Times / Sunday Times / Irish Times / Echtra Echtra and Eonmusic

Cancer survivor.

Ask me about travel in Ireland or about photography in Ireland.

https://darrenmcloughlin.com

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