Dunluce Castle: History, Game of Thrones and Visitor Guide
Stand at the roadside on the Causeway Coast and look across at a ruined castle sitting on its own rock, with the sea working away at the cliff underneath it. That is Dunluce. What is left is mostly 16th and 17th century work: a gatehouse, two round towers, a great hall and the outline of a courtyard, reached by a narrow bridge from the mainland.
The official record has the first castle on this rock built by the MacQuillan family around 1500, although other accounts put a castle here as early as the 13th century. What is not in doubt is what came after. The MacDonnells took it in the 1550s, Sorley Boy MacDonnell rebuilt it in the Scottish style, and by the 17th century it was the seat of the earls of Antrim, with a whole town laid out beside it.
The catch is that people treat Dunluce as a five minute photo stop and then find they want longer. Tickets are sold at the gate with no advance booking, the car park at the castle is small, and the site closes in high wind. Allow an hour if you are going inside.
Below you will find the history, the Game of Thrones connection, a visitor information panel with the times, prices, parking and access together in one place, how to get here and what else is worth your time nearby. I drive this coast most weeks of the year, so I will also tell you where to stand for the photograph most people are actually after.
What Is in This Guide
Dunluce Castle History and the MacDonnell Clan
The castle standing today is mostly 16th and 17th century. The official record kept by the Department for Communities has the first castle on the rock built by the MacQuillans around 1500, after they became lords of the Route. Other accounts, repeated more often, put a castle here in the 13th century under Richard Óg de Burgh, Earl of Ulster. The two large round towers on the eastern side are the oldest parts still standing.
The MacQuillans lost it in the middle of the 16th century after two battles against the MacDonnells, a Scottish family who had crossed from Islay and Kintyre. Sorley Boy MacDonnell took the castle, rebuilt it in the Scottish style and in time swore allegiance to Elizabeth I. His descendants became the earls of Antrim, and Dunluce was their seat.
The Spanish Armada and the Girona
In 1588 the Girona, a galleass of the Spanish Armada carrying survivors from other wrecks, went down on the rocks at Lacada Point near the Giant’s Causeway. Only a handful of the men aboard lived. Cannon recovered from the wreck were mounted in the gatehouse here at Dunluce, and the gold and jewellery lifted off the sea bed in the 1960s is now in the Ulster Museum in Belfast.
The lost town of Dunluce
Around 1608 Randall MacDonnell, the first Earl of Antrim, laid out a town beside the castle on a grid, with stone houses and indoor toilets, which was well ahead of its time. It was burned in the rebellion of 1641 and never rebuilt. The grass you walk over on the way to the bridge is that town, and excavation has brought up the street lines, the cobbles and the house walls.
The kitchen that fell into the sea
The story everyone asks about is the night the kitchen fell into the sea. As it is told, the family were holding a dinner in 1639 when a storm brought down the piece of cliff the kitchen stood on. The kitchen went over the edge with the dinner, the silverware and the cooks, and nine of the kitchen staff were lost to the sea below. Only one kitchen boy survived, by clinging to the castle wall until he was pulled to safety. The Earl of Antrim’s wife, who had been Duchess of Buckingham before she married him, is said to have refused to stay at Dunluce after that night, and the family moved out.
Whether it really happened is another matter. The castle kitchens are still standing, and paintings from the late 18th and early 19th centuries show them intact, so the family most likely left because of the trouble of the 1640s, when the town beside the castle was burned. Stand in the courtyard on a wild day, though, with the wind coming straight off the sea, and you can see why the story has lasted.
The castle was abandoned after 1690, when the MacDonnells were left impoverished following the Battle of the Boyne, and it has stood as a ruin ever since. It is now a state care monument looked after by the Department for Communities.
Dunluce Castle Game of Thrones Connection
Dunluce is the castle behind Pyke, the seat of House Greyjoy on the Iron Islands. What appears on screen was built up so heavily with digital effects, with towers and bridges that were never on this rock, that the castle in front of you will not match the one in the show. Knowing that in advance saves a certain amount of standing about trying to work out which bit is which.
It is one of several locations within an easy drive of each other on this coast. The Dark Hedges stood in for the Kingsroad, Carrick-a-Rede and White Park Bay both appear, and Ballintoy Harbour is the Iron Islands shoreline. If you are working through them, our guide to the Game of Thrones filming locations in Northern Ireland sets out where each one is.
One other thing worth knowing. The castle was photographed for the inner gatefold of Led Zeppelin’s Houses of the Holy in 1973, which is why a certain age of visitor stands at the railing for a long time without saying anything.
Dunluce Castle Tickets, Opening Times and Parking
Opening times. Open daily from 9.30am to 5pm, with last admission 30 minutes before closing. In December and January it closes at 4pm. The site shuts in extreme weather, so on a wild day it is worth ringing ahead on 028 2073 1938.
Tickets. Adult £6, child aged 5 to 17 £4, under fives free, student and over 65 £4.50, and a family ticket for up to five people including two children £18. Tickets are sold at the visitor centre on arrival and there is no advance booking. Prices can change, so check before you travel on the Department for Communities site.
How long to allow. About an hour. Longer if you read the panels and walk out across the site of the old town.
Parking. There is a car park at the castle and it is small. When it fills, the Magheracross viewpoint is a quarter of a mile along the road towards Portrush, with more space and the best view of the castle you will get.
Access. The visitor centre and the entrance are level, but the bridge, the cobbled courtyard and the paths inside the ruin are uneven and there are steps. Carers go free.
Where it is. 87 Dunluce Road, Bushmills, BT57 8UY, on the coast road between Portrush and Bushmills.
What to Expect on a Visit
You park, pay at the visitor centre and walk down across the grass towards the sea. That grass is the old town, and there are panels along the way explaining what was found under it.
A narrow bridge takes you over the gap and onto the rock. It has rails and a solid surface and it is short, but there is a drop on either side and it is open to the wind, so hold onto hats and small children.
On the rock you go in through the gatehouse to the courtyard, then the great hall and the ranges around it. Nearly all of it is open to the sky, the floors are cobbled and uneven, and there is nowhere to shelter, so this is a visit that is far better in dry weather.
There is no regular guided tour on site. You go round on your own with the panels, which are well done, and the staff at the desk will answer questions if you ask them.
Getting to Dunluce Castle
Dunluce sits on the A2 between Portrush and Bushmills, on the Causeway Coastal Route. From Belfast it is about 60 miles and roughly an hour and a half by the direct road, or most of a day if you come up the coast and stop along the way, which is the better way to do it.
From Portrush it is 3 miles, about 10 minutes. From Bushmills village it is 2 miles. From the Giant’s Causeway it is 3 miles, under 10 minutes.
There is no railway station at the castle. The nearest are Portrush and Coleraine, and in the summer months the Causeway Rambler bus runs along this stretch of coast and stops nearby.
For anyone not driving, a private tour is the straightforward way to see Dunluce, because the castle sits in the middle of everything else people want to see on this coast and the bus timetable rarely lines up with all of it.
What Else Is Near Dunluce Castle
The Giant’s Causeway is three miles west and is the obvious pairing. Old Bushmills Distillery is two miles inland, in the village itself. The Dark Hedges is about 20 minutes south, and Carrick-a-Rede about 20 minutes east along the coast, where booking ahead is the rule rather than the exception.
Closer than any of them is Magheracross, the viewpoint a quarter of a mile towards Portrush. It has parking, a bench and the view of the castle side on with the sea behind it, which is the photograph most people are actually looking for.
Portballintrae is a small seaside village a couple of miles on, with a harbour, the beach at Bushfoot Strand and somewhere to sit down. Royal Portrush and the beaches at Portrush are ten minutes the other way.
Dunluce Castle FAQ
Do you have to pay to see Dunluce Castle?
You pay to go inside. You can see the castle from the road and from the Magheracross viewpoint for nothing, and that is where most of the well known photographs are taken, but walking over the bridge and into the ruin needs a ticket.
How much are Dunluce Castle tickets?
Adult £6, child aged 5 to 17 £4, under fives free, student and over 65 £4.50, and a family ticket for up to five people including two children £18. Prices can change, so check before you travel.
What are the Dunluce Castle opening times?
Open daily from 9.30am to 5pm, with last admission 30 minutes before closing. In December and January it closes at 4pm, and the site shuts altogether in extreme weather.
Do you need to book Dunluce Castle tickets in advance?
No. Tickets are sold at the visitor centre when you arrive and there is no advance booking. The queue is short even in summer, because the site is large enough to take people as they come.
How long does a visit to Dunluce Castle take?
About an hour is right for most people. Allow a bit longer if you read the panels in the visitor centre and walk out over the site of the old town on the way back.
Is there parking at Dunluce Castle?
Yes, there is a car park at the castle, and it is small. When it fills, the Magheracross viewpoint a quarter of a mile along the road towards Portrush has more space and a better view.
Is Dunluce Castle in Game of Thrones?
It is the castle behind Pyke, the seat of House Greyjoy on the Iron Islands. What you see on screen was so heavily changed with digital effects that the real ruin does not match it.
How old is Dunluce Castle?
The official record has the first castle on the rock built by the MacQuillans around 1500, and most of what stands today is 16th and 17th century. Some accounts put an earlier castle here in the 13th century.
Who owns Dunluce Castle?
It is a state care monument looked after by the Department for Communities. It was the seat of the MacDonnells, the earls of Antrim, until it was abandoned after 1690.
Is Dunluce Castle haunted?
There is a long standing story that the kitchen fell into the sea in a storm in 1639, taking nine of the kitchen staff with it, and people say the castle has been haunted ever since. The records do not back it up, as the kitchens are still standing, but it is still told on this coast and it is part of the fun of a visit.
Are there toilets at Dunluce Castle?
Yes, there are toilets at the visitor centre beside the car park, before you cross the bridge. There are none out on the rock itself.
How far is Dunluce Castle from the Giant’s Causeway?
Three miles, under 10 minutes by car. The two are usually done on the same trip, with Old Bushmills Distillery two miles inland between them.
How far is Dunluce Castle from Belfast?
About 60 miles, roughly an hour and a half by the direct road. Coming up the Causeway Coastal Route takes most of a day, which is the better way to do it if you have the time.
Can you visit Dunluce Castle in a wheelchair?
The visitor centre and the entrance are level, but the bridge, the cobbled courtyard and the paths inside the ruin are uneven and there are steps, so the castle itself is difficult. Carers go free.
Is Dunluce Castle worth visiting?
Yes, and it is worth going inside rather than only stopping at the roadside. The setting is the point, a ruin on its own rock with the sea underneath it, and an hour there sits comfortably in a day on this coast.
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