Welcome...

 ...to Bath Lodge, a well-loved family house available for rent in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Situated within walking distance of the seaside town of Ballycastle, Bath Lodge enjoys a stunning location on the beautiful and historic Causeway Coast. With a garden that runs down to just under a mile of sandy beach, and expansive views to Rathlin Island and Scotland, this Grade-II listed property is perfect for a family getaway. 

The origins of this historic house date back to the eighteenth century when the nearby salt-pans were in use.  The house then became the manager's house for the local coal mine and may have got its name from also housing the baths for the colliery workers.  Original features contribute to the special ambience. 

Bath Lodge was converted in the 1950s for comfortable family living and now has four bedrooms in the main house with two more bedrooms across the courtyard. There is also another double room with ensuite bathroom in the garden. The main house can sleep up to ten and the courtyard and garden rooms sleep a further five. The main house can be rented without the outside rooms, or can be rented to include them for an additional fee. 

Click here for a full description of the property and to look through a gallery of images.

Bath Lodge has two gardens - a walled garden to the rear and a large open lawn to the front, overlooking Ballycastle Beach, ideal for families.  The front garden enjoys spectacular views across the bay and north to Rathlin Island and Scotland beyond. The front steps give  private access to the beach, making the house perfect for surfing, body-boarding, seaside walks or just building sandcastles. Directly opposite the house are the Pan Rocks which can be accessed by a newly refurbished footbridge and are a good place to go crabbing or fishing in fine weather. Wildlife can often be seen from the house and garden, ranging from seals and sea birds to pods of porpoises and dolphins.  

Along the beach from the house is the small town of Ballycastle. This charming seaside town boasts a scenic links golf course, a tennis club with both grass and surfaced courts, a mini-golf course, and a bowling club. There is a harbour and marina, and a regular ferry service to Rathlin Island renowned for bird life, walks and seal-watching. The town has a good variety of shops, restaurants, bars, cafes and fish and chip shops.  Every August, Ballycastle hosts the Auld Lammas Fair, a traditional fair that has been running for almost 400 years. 

The distance from the house to Ballycastle is about a mile if walking along the beach or golf-course, and takes less than five minutes by car.  

Ballycastle is around an hour's drive from Belfast's airports and the ferry port at Larne, making it a highly convenient holiday location.

Due to its position on the Causeway Coast, an area of outstanding natural beauty, Bath Lodge is in the perfect location for a range of excursions and activities. The impressive cliff of Fair Head rises behind the house, and is popular with experienced rock climbers.  Just beyond this is Murlough Bay - a family favourite - with a lovely walk along the cliffs and then down through scenic woodland to a 'secret beach'.

Also nearby are the rock pools of Dunseverick, the long sandy beach of White Park Bay, the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, Ballintoy Harbour, Dunluce Castle, Glenariff and the Giant's Causeway.  Much of the area has received increased attention over the last few years due to its appearance in HBO's Game of Thrones - filming took place at many of the above locations as well as at Cushendun to the east and Downhill Beach to the west.
 

Ballycastle and the surrounding area has plenty to entertain children if you can lure them away from the beach.  Sheans Horse Farm welcomes even the smallest of jockeys for pony trekking, and visitors to Watertop Open Farm (open in the summer) can cuddle kittens and puppies, go on a tractor ride, and watch sheep shearing.  The Jet Centre in Coleraine offers a good-sized soft play centre, bowling, and a multiplex cinema to wile away a rainy afternoon.