The kilometre-long stretch of sandy beach stretching to the
west of the mouth of the River Bann belongs to the small resort of
Castlerock. The beach is adjacent to the
Castlerock Golf Club and its dunes continue upstream to a National Trust bird
sanctuary. Wildlife enthusiasts should
keep their eyes peeled when eyeing the estuary as harbour porpoises and seals
can sometimes be seen feeding there.
Castlerock’s celebrity claim to fame is that the actor James Nesbitt
called the resort home when a teenager.
Another famous name associated with Castlerock is the author
C. S. Lewis, who used to holiday there when growing up in Belfast. Lewis used to visit the nearby Downhill Demesne, and was so captivated by the site that it provided inspiration for
some of his work, including The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The Demesne is run by the National Trust and
includes the ruined 18th century mansion Downhill House, a Mausoleum,
a Dovecote and an Icehouse among its points of interest. For nature lovers there are The Bog Garden, The
Black Glen, and there is a Walled Garden which nowadays is home to sheep and
apple trees. Another attraction within
the Demesne is the clifftop Mussenden Temple, which is based on the Temple of
Vesta in Italy, and which, along with the beautiful beach it overlooks, featured
in Game of Thrones as Dragonstone. By
the way, the word 'demesne' is used in Ireland to mean a piece of land attached
to a manor.
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Mussenden Temple overlooking Downhill beach. Northern Ireland. Photo by D LN, via Wikimedia Commons.
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