Best Hidden Gems in Belfast & Down
Written by UK Hidden Gems Editorial
Updated 5 August 2026
The best hidden gems in Belfast & Down are The Gobbins Cliff Path, Churchill Tank, Cairndhu House, Cranfield Church & Holy Well, Chaine Memorial Tower, Collin Glen, Blackhead Lighthouse and Grey Point Fort.
Belfast and the shores of Belfast Lough hold more surprises than their well-known landmarks suggest. Around the city and out along the coast lie cliff paths, old forts, lighthouses and quiet ruins, many overlooked by the crowds.
The Gobbins Cliff Path clings to the basalt sea cliffs of Islandmagee, walked by guided tour only, while Blackhead Lighthouse stands white above the dark rock at the mouth of the lough. There are wartime relics too, from the restored Churchill Tank on the Carrickfergus seafront to the six-inch guns of Grey Point Fort near Helen's Bay.
History runs deep at Cranfield Church and its holy well on Lough Neagh, and grandeur fades to melancholy at the derelict Cairndhu House above the Antrim Coast Road. Closer to the city, Collin Glen gives a wooded escape below Black Mountain, and the Chaine Memorial Tower rises like an ancient round tower at Larne.
Some ask for a guided tour or a cliff walk, so plan ahead. Here are eight of the best hidden gems to seek out in Belfast & Down.
The Gobbins Cliff Path
Photo: Mike Faherty via Geograph.org.uk
The Gobbins Cliff Path is a dramatic cliff path along the basalt sea cliffs of Islandmagee, on the Antrim coast, walked by guided tour only. A route of steel bridges, a tunnel and narrow walkways clings to the rock face just above the waves, taking in caves, sea stacks and crowds of nesting seabirds.
It was first built in the early 1900s by a railway engineer as a visitor draw, fell into ruin, and was rebuilt and reopened in 2015. Tours start from a visitor centre and are demanding, with many steps, a head for heights and reasonable fitness needed, and they run only in suitable weather.
Book ahead and dress for the sea air.
Churchill Tank
Photo: Albert Bridge via Geograph.org.uk
Churchill Tank at Carrickfergus is a restored Second World War tank displayed on the seafront promenade in County Antrim, looking out over Belfast Lough. The forty-ton Churchill stands near the castle and the town war memorial as a public monument.
It is named after a tank that served with the North Irish Horse in the Italian campaign. Prototypes of the Churchill were developed in the town during the war, which gives it a local link.
It sits in the open on the promenade, free to see, so stroll along the seafront to find it.
Cairndhu House
Photo: Puffer via Geograph.org.uk
Cairndhu House is a grand but derelict Victorian mansion standing on the wooded slopes above the Antrim Coast Road, near Larne in County Antrim. Built in the eighteen-seventies as a summer home for a wealthy Scottish businessman, it was a rambling, many-roomed house of pointed roofs and ornate ironwork, set in terraced gardens looking out to sea.
In its later years it served as a convalescent hospital, before closing and being left empty. Now it is a ruin, roofless in places, its windows gone and its rooms open to the weather.
It stands behind railings, best seen from outside, a faded, melancholy shell of a once-splendid house.
Cranfield Church & Holy Well
Photo: Kenneth Allen via Geograph.org.uk
Cranfield Church & Holy Well is a ruined medieval church standing in its old graveyard on the shore of Lough Neagh at Churchtown Point in County Antrim. Little more than the low flint walls survive, with a holy well on the shore just to the east, long tied to a local saint.
Pilgrims have come to the well over the centuries, especially in early summer. The ruin and the well sit together in a quiet spot right by the water, so seek it out for a peaceful hour on the lough shore.
Chaine Memorial Tower
Photo: Kenneth Allen via Geograph.org.uk
Chaine Memorial Tower is a tall stone tower on the shore at the mouth of Larne harbour in County Antrim, built to look like an ancient Irish round tower. It rises around ninety feet to a pointed conical cap and was raised by public subscription in memory of James Chaine, a local man who developed the port.
Since 1899 it has doubled as a navigation light guiding ships past the offshore rocks. It stands at Sandy Point, reached along Chaine Memorial Road, so it makes an easy stop with a fine view over the harbour mouth.
Collin Glen
Photo: Eric Jones via Geograph.org.uk
Collin Glen is a wooded glen and forest park on the western edge of Belfast, running along the Colin River below the slopes of Black Mountain. A path follows the river through the trees past small waterfalls, and the park has grown into an adventure spot with an alpine coaster and ziplines running through the woods.
Families come for the glen walk and the seasonal trails. It gives a stretch of green ground close to the edge of the city, so drop in for a woodland walk within easy reach of Belfast.
Blackhead Lighthouse
Photo: Eric Jones via Geograph.org.uk
Blackhead Lighthouse stands white and square-sided on a black cliff at the northern mouth of Belfast Lough, near the town of Whitehead in County Antrim. It is an octagonal stone tower, first lit in 1902, its lantern and gallery bright above the dark basalt of the headland.
The keepers who once tended it are long gone, and their houses beside the tower are now let out as holiday accommodation, so visitors can stay right at the lighthouse. It is reached on foot along the Blackhead Path, a Victorian cliff walkway built in the 1890s that winds along the shore below Whitehead, over little bridges and through a tunnel in the rock.
Follow the path for cliff, sea and sky.
Grey Point Fort
Photo: Albert Bridge via Geograph.org.uk
Grey Point Fort is a coastal gun battery on the shore near Helen's Bay in County Down, built in the early 1900s to guard the entrance to Belfast Lough. Two long six-inch guns still sit in their emplacements, brought here from forts in the south, with the old observation post and searchlight positions alongside.
It stands within Crawfordsburn Country Park, cared for by a heritage group who open it to visitors. The guns look out over the lough toward the open sea, so pair a visit with a walk in the surrounding country park.
FAQs
Which Belfast and Down gems need a guided tour or cliff walk?
The Gobbins Cliff Path is walked by guided tour only, starting from a visitor centre, and it is demanding, with many steps and a head for heights needed. Blackhead Lighthouse is reached on foot along the Victorian Blackhead Path, which winds along the shore below Whitehead.
Can you stay overnight at Blackhead Lighthouse?
Yes. The former keepers' houses beside Blackhead Lighthouse are now let out as holiday accommodation, so visitors can stay right at the lighthouse above the sea.
Where is Grey Point Fort?
Grey Point Fort stands on the shore near Helen's Bay in County Down, within Crawfordsburn Country Park. It is cared for by a heritage group who open it to visitors, and its six-inch guns look out over the entrance to Belfast Lough.
Conclusion
From the guided drama of The Gobbins to the quiet lough shore at Cranfield Church, this stretch of coast and countryside packs in variety. You can walk a Victorian cliff path to Blackhead Lighthouse, stand beside wartime guns at Grey Point Fort, or gaze up at the melancholy ruin of Cairndhu House.
Closer to the city, Collin Glen offers a green escape below Black Mountain, and landmarks like the Chaine Memorial Tower and the Churchill Tank make for easy, rewarding stops. A few of these places ask for a guided tour, a cliff walk or a head for heights, so check ahead and go prepared.
Take your time, respect each site and leave it as you found it, because these are the best hidden gems to seek out in Belfast & Down.
