Brown’s Bay Beach is a popular sandy, safe beach on the northern end of Islandmagee, nestling between Skenaghan Point and Barrs Point. It is 300m long with rocks and loose boulders around the edge. The rural setting and the relative remoteness of this site gives it a real “away-from-it-all” feel. The view across the horizon is beautiful showing five headlands all the way up the Antrim coast. This beach is popular for swimming. Waves are generally not very high.

Skenaghan point, on the east of the bay, is a National Trust property and features a short walking route past the “rocking stone”. Looking to the north one gets a clear view of the “Maidens rocks” far out in the North Channel, and their two lighthouses, only one of which is now in operation. A footpath follows the road to the west past the golf course to another sandy beach at Ferris Bay. This bay is bounded at the western side by Ferris Point on which stands the lighthouse that guides shipping into the busy port of Larne.

Portmuck is a beautiful little harbour located on the northwest coastline and steeped in history, from the site of an ancient monastery and castle to smuggling, lime production and fishing. The National Trust owns and manages the coastline on either side of the harbour and they have provided a picnic area and excellent trails with cliff top walks for visitors to enjoy the stunning scenery and impressive views of Muck Island. The island is said to resemble the shape of a pig, thus its name derived from the Irish for Pig (muc). Muck Island is an important bird sanctuary with nesting seabirds, so keep an eye out for Kittiwakes, Guillemots and Razorbills. The harbour is bounded to the west by limestone cliffs which have often yielded prehistoric fossils.

Ballylumford Dolmen is situated near the north-west tip of the Islandmagee peninsula and near Ballylumford power station. It is known locally as the “Druid’s Altar”, and could be 4000 years old, or the remains of an even earlier passage grave. The dolmen consists of four upright stones, with a heavy capstone and a fallenstone within the structure. This may have been put there to block the entrance to the tomb. The dolmen is in the front garden of a house. Historical artifacts have been recovered from under the dolmen by archaeologists and it would appear to have stood over a burial chamber from ancient times. A wall plaque at the site describes the dolmen as a single chambered grave erected about 2000-1600 BC. Local finds indicate occupation of the neighborhood during the Bronze Age.