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unlocking our unique heritage

RATHLIN ISLAND WALKING TOURS

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Nine Glens Adventure Tours Ireland

Mythology, folklore and tradition

We are located on the scenic North Antrim Coast and offer a range of fully guided walking tours run by experienced and professional guides. We will guide you on walks through some of Ireland’s most scenic trails, walking through history and routes lined with uninterrupted views.

If you want to soak up local history and culture, listen to mythical tales about the North Antrim Coast and the Glens of Antrim, sit back, relax and let Nine Glens Walking Tours take care of you.

We here in the Glens Of Antrim live in a unique and mythical place, where every stone and every river is steeped in history, mythology, song and poetry. We can quite rightly be described as a micro culture within Ireland. We have our own ways, our own beliefs and our own stories. Through walking and touring with us, it is our hope and belief that we will leave an experience and impression on our visitors that will have them asking for more and visiting us time and time again.

All tours are suitable for those wanting to travel at a steady pace with time to sit and look around, whilst soaking up the atmosphere, taking pictures, and listening to Irish folklore. All walks are graded as easy to moderate.

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Kevin McGowan

Our Adventures

Where will we go, what will we do?

Paddle & Play

Have you ever wanted to explore the clear waters of Rathlin Island? Well, we’ve got you covered! We are now excited to be offering SUP (Stand Up Paddleboarding) sessions in the confines of Church Bay, Rathlin Island.
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NEW

Rathlin Forage

Join our local guide Ksenia on a leisurely walk across the Rathlin shoreline and rockpools while learning about the different sea life that makes Rathlin it’s home. Ksenia has, for the last sixteen years collected and cooked with the natural produce that grows along the rocky shoreline of Rathlin Island.
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Causeway Cliff Path

Join our guide on this five mile hike over the North Antrim headlands while we tell stories of the Spanish Armada, the Mac Donnell’s of Antrim and the famed giant Finn Mac Cool
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Ramble on Rathlin

Our walk will consist of minor roads, grassy paths and rolling headlands. Beginning in the picturesque Church bay it is a circular walk reaching our lighthouse destination before descending back down to the harbour.
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Shoreline Stories

Our guide Kevin will introduce the story of Rathlin, its history and heritage with a little of the island’s myths and legends thrown in. Learn about the Island’s birds, their sounds and hopefully we'll see seals.
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Round to the Rue

Join us as we walk to the beautiful Rue point on the lower end of Rathlin, with spectacular views out over the Rathlin Sound and of the Fairhead plateau made even more famous by the HBO series Game of Thrones. Our walk will consist of minor roads and grassy trails, traversing headlands, and skirting shorelines.
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Rathlin Day Tour

Rathlin Island lies just over five miles off the coast of Northern Ireland and is the largest inhabited island off Northern Ireland. Situated prominently between the seaside town of Ballycastle and the Mull of Kintyre, the island is famed for its natural beauty, its extensive history and most famously its population of puffins.
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Why choose us?

4 reasons why you’ll love our walking tours

True Small Groups

Group sizes are limited to 16 in number to facilitate a warm, friendly, and personal experience. Our ethos is Travel, Explore and Learn. We keep our groups purposely small to enhance the visitor experience.

Commitment

Nine Glens Walking Tours is committed to providing the best visitor experience it possibly can. We work closely with other providers to be flexible and highly affordable. Our tours are fully insured, heavily researched, educational, and entertaining.

Ethical

Nine Glens Walking Tours is a proud member of the ‘Leave No Trace Ireland’ organisation.

Off The Beaten Track

Local Guides, local knowledge! Learn about the Island way of life from locals. Fantastic exposure to hard-to-reach places.

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Got a question?

I’m here to help

Check out our FAQ’s to see some of the most frequently asked questions and answers.

FAQ'S

What are people saying?

Don’t just take my word for it

Kim Jackson
Kim Jackson
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We booked the tour to Rathlin, including walk, boat, lunch and trip to the lighthouse. Kevin was our guide who magically brought Rathlin alive for us. We learned so much from Kevin. He is a wealth of knowledge and obviously very passionate about his job. Great value for money. We will definitely book with this company again.
Moira McVeigh
Moira McVeigh
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I took the 90min tour of the seafront in Ballycastle along with 2 English friends. Kevin was informative and delivered it so knowledgeably and told us all little anecdotes about the famous people who had lived or visited the town. He was so interesting and I learned so much about the town and its' origins.
Kelli McRoberts
Kelli McRoberts
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Kevin facilitated a fam trip as part of our Glens Coastal Hub WorldHost Ambassador course. He was extremely professional and has a wealth of knowledge about the local area. He was very passionate and proud of this area and this came across during the tour. It was a very cold day but he made it fun and I think we all learnt lots of things that we didnt know about the area. Would highly recommend Nine Glens Walking Tours and would not hesitate in using Kevin again.
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Tales from the Glens

IT’S STORY TIME
Ballycastle

Sidney J Lyle

The house is now gone, lying in hardfill somewhere on the north coast of Ireland after being demolished in 2020 to make way for the new £35million shared education facility that is to be built in its former grounds. But for many of us here in Ballycastle it will be our memories. My own memory of it is the red roof tiles and a lot of glass that was included in the building. It is of course Derganagh House. Another house in Ballycastle that had many stories to tell. The grounds of the house bordered much of the town of

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December 20, 2022 No Comments
Ballycastle

William Henry Belford

Almost a forgotten family now in Ballycastle, the Belford’s were prominent characters in the civic life of the town. Their home and adjoining property still stands along the Quay Road of Ballycastle. [kmg1]  The most prominent family member in Ballycastle was William Henry Belford, with the family hailing from Co Cavan and a background in the Royal Irish Constabulary. The Belford family had roots in Ballyhaise, Co Cavan. Ballyhaise was a plantation that had been handed out through the Ulster Plantations to John Taylor of Cambridge.  It would even be what could be described as an estate village, where the

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November 28, 2022 No Comments
General

EMIGRATION OF JOHN BUTLER FROM CULFEIGHTRIN TO THE GOLD FIELDS OF NEW ZEALAND 

by Frances McMichael and Shona Young BEGINNINGS  Countless people left Culfeightrin in the last few centuries. This is just one story of many. John Butler was born around 1843 in the townland of Cross (on the iconic headland of Fair Head), in the shadow of the fort, Dun Mór. He was the son of John Butler and Sally McDonnell and the grandson of John Butler and Nancy McCormick. He was born at the time of the Famine (or Great Hunger) and life was very tough. Food and money were scarce and there was much pressure to leave. Many from Cross,

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November 14, 2022 No Comments
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