Sandwiched between the coast of County Antrim and Islandmagee, Larne Lough was known as a sheltered haven for seafarers as far back as Roman times and is  also a wetland of international significance, providing shelter, breeding sites and food, for a wide variety of bird species. The Lough is an Area of Special Scientific Interest and a RAMSAR site (The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance). Larne Lough provides an ideal location for studying marine orientated wildlife.

The gardens are situated within the peninsula of Islandmagee, with beautiful views over Larne Lough and include a cottage garden, orchard, vegetable area and herb garden. The recently established cut flower field includes eight raised beds full of annuals and five large perennial beds all of which contain plants suitable for cut flower production. There are also several established perennial beds, a willow arch and a newly planted prairie border. Organically run, the gardens are full of a diverse range of wildlife including many different birds and insects, with several wildflower meadows and a small pond. The gardens are open 12pm-5pm on Wednesday to Sunday (April to September) for garden visits and they run courses and events throughout the year.

In 1921, Mr and Mrs. WJ Hawkins (Snr) owned a small general store in Islandmagee called The Gobbins Stores. It was here that the soon-to-be famous Rinkha home-made ice cream recipe was conceived. In those days wooden churns were used and turned by hand – and it was very hard work! WJ Snr was a progressive man and in 1935 he also decided to build a dancehall – an ambitious project in an area as sparsely populated as Islandmagee! Undeterred WJ Snr asked the local community to help name this new Islandmagee landmark and the choice was made when historian Dixon Donaldson suggested… ‘The Rinkha’ – an Irish interpretation meaning place of dance/place of mirth. Today the Rinkha remains a popular local, family-owned general shop, with ice cream parlour, café and toy store.