Rathlin is the only inhabited island off the coast of Northern Ireland, an L-shaped piece of the same lava flows that made the Giant's Causeway, lying about 11 kilometres off Ballycastle. It is about six kilometres from east to west and four from north to south, its cliffs stand up to 70 metres high, and Scotland's Mull of Kintyre is just 29 kilometres away. Around 140 people live here, almost all of them around Church Bay, where the ferry comes in.
Most visitors come for the birds. In early summer the cliffs at the western tip hold Northern Ireland's largest seabird colony: puffins, guillemots, kittiwakes, razorbills and fulmars in their tens of thousands, seen best from the RSPB West Light Seabird Centre beside an "upside-down" lighthouse. Choughs breed here, and corncrakes have returned after a 20-year absence. The island has cleared its ferrets and is working to get rid of its rats to protect the ground-nesting birds, so check your bags before boarding.
The island's history is far darker than its quiet lanes suggest. Robert the Bruce took refuge here in 1306, and legend places his famous spider in a cave on the island. In 1575 an English force including Francis Drake massacred hundreds of MacDonnell men, women and children, and in 1642 Campbell soldiers threw MacDonald women from the cliffs. In 1898 Marconi's engineers made the world's first commercial wireless link from the East Lighthouse to Ballycastle. The Boathouse Visitor Centre by the harbour tells the story.
Ferries sail from Ballycastle about every hour and take around 30 minutes; visitors cannot bring cars without a permit. From Church Bay a single-track lane runs the length of the island, and in season a minibus meets the ferry for the four miles to the Seabird Centre; otherwise walk or hire a bike. There is a pub, McCuaig's, a few places to eat and very few beds, so if you plan to stay the night, book ahead. As of 2026 there is no mobile signal from UK networks on the island.