One of the things I was most excited about for our trip to the British Isles was seeing castles. When we visited Europe in 2016 I had seen some castle-like places at Dubrovnik and Thessaloniki, but I hadn’t been to any real castles which has always been a dream of mine. I got to see several castles while we were in the British Isles, and the one that was most like my boyhood dreams was Carrickfergus Castle in Northern Ireland.
How to Get to Carrickfergus Castle
Most likely if you are visiting Carrickfergus Castle you will be coming from Belfast. It is about a 20 minute train ride North of Belfast. Just go to the Whitehead train station in Belfast and take the number 2 train to Carrickfergus. It is a pretty train ride through Northern Ireland to get to Carrikfergus, which is a little town on the coast.
Once you arrive in Carrickfergus you will exit the train station and just keep walking straight ahead as you go out the station doors. You will be on a road called North Street and so long as you stay on North Street in about five minutes you will run into Carrickfergus Castle.
What You Will See and Do at Carrickfergus Castle
Carrickfergus Castle is an almost completely intact medieval castle. While not as large as some other castles you might visit, its position on the Northern Irish coast made it a key site in controlling Ireland during the Middle Ages. Its strategic placement on the cliffs of a peninsula made it almost impossible to take Carrickfergus Castle by assault. Because of these factors there is a deep and rich history to explore here.
You can walk around Carrickfergus Castle on your own, which is a lot of fun. But to get a better understanding of the castle you should go on one of the guided tours that they do every hour. One of the local historians will take you through the different areas of the castle and tell you all about what occurred there. Going on the tour doesn’t cost any extra so it is well worth it.
During the tour or on your own you can go up inside the castle keep. The upper levels are accessed by a modern staircase, but if you desire you can come down the historical spiral tower stair complete with a trick step. In the upper areas of the keep they have fun activities for children including giant sized chess.
Either before or after you go on the tour you should take time to walk around the outer walls the castle. It is amazing how well preserved it is and it is a lot of fun to walk around. They have character sculptures placed throughout to give you a sense of who would have been there. I really loved exploring around the castle.
Sum Up
Carrickfergus Castle is a great place to visit. It is a very family friendly castle with activities in the keep itself and an area of the visitor center dedicated to children’s play. It is 5 pounds for an adult to get in, 3 pounds for a child, or 13 pounds for a family. There are bathrooms in the visitor center area, and also some at the back of the keep.
This was our favorite castle that we visited on our entire trip so we highly recommend that you visit it if you are in Northern Ireland.
