Carncastle Vacations, Carncastle Vacation Reviews, Tourism Guide

On the Antrim coast the Village of Carncastle (or Cairncastle) includes the Ballygally Castle hotel which faces the soft, sandy beaches of Ballygally Bay and is an ideal base for touring. The hotel dates back to 1625 and is unique in that it is the only 17th Century building still used today as a residence in Northern Ireland. This small, friendly, traditional hotel is even reputed to have its own friendly ghost! Cairncastle Presbyterian Church is one of the oldest congregations of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, North or South. The congregation was founded in 1646, four years after the foundation year of the Presbytery of Carrickfergus, which is the oldest presbytery in Ireland.
An old spanish Chestnut tree which can be found in the graveyard of St. Patrick's church is said to have grown from a seed in the pocket of a sailor drowned off the coast during the time of the Spanish Armada in 1588; legend has it that his body was washed ashore and buried at Cairncastle. Other interesting graves in the cemetery include that of local clergyman and historian Rev. Classon Porter, who once lived at nearby Ballygally Castle and whose tombstone is in the shape of a Celtic Cross. Inside the church is a baptismal font once used by Dean Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver's Travels. A tiny morsel of Co. Antrim and so many interesting facts.