Cushendun sits at the mouth of the River Dun, where Glendun meets the sea - one of the smaller villages in the Glens of Antrim, and a genuinely unusual one. Most of it doesn’t look like it belongs in Ireland at all, and that’s entirely deliberate.
A Cornish Village, By Design
Cushendun’s distinctive whitewashed, Cornish-style buildings weren’t an accident of history - they were designed that way. In 1912, Ronald John McNeill, Baron Cushendun, commissioned the Welsh architect Clough Williams-Ellis (later famous for the Italianate village of Portmeirion in North Wales) to give the village a picturesque appearance that would please his wife Maud, who was born in Penzance and missed the look of Cornwall. After Maud died in 1925, Williams-Ellis designed a further row of whitewashed cottages, Maud’s Cottages, in her memory. Since 1954, most of the village and the surrounding Glenmona parkland have been owned and cared for by the National Trust.
Cushendun Caves and Game of Thrones
The striking red-sandstone Cushendun Caves, cut into the cliffs beside the beach, are a real Game of Thrones filming location, not just a claimed one. In Season 2, they stood in for a cove near Storm’s End, where Davos Seaworth rows Melisandre ashore for the scene in which she gives birth to the shadow creature that later kills Renly Baratheon. The caves also reappear in Season 8. They’re a genuinely atmospheric spot to visit independent of the show, tucked beside a sheltered harbour and a broad sandy-shingle beach.
Getting There and Around
Cushendun sits on the coast road between Cushendall and Ballycastle, within the Glens of Antrim, with free National Trust car parking in the village. It’s a natural stop on the Causeway Coastal Route if you’re travelling between Ballycastle and the Glens rather than a destination requiring a special detour.
Nearby
Cushendall, the larger village a few miles south, and the wider Glens of Antrim - Glendun and Glencorp among them - are all within easy reach, making Cushendun a good quiet base for exploring this stretch of coast without the crowds of the better-known Causeway Coast attractions further north.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Cushendun worth visiting? Yes - it’s a genuinely unusual planned village with real architectural interest, a National Trust-owned beach and caves, and a confirmed Game of Thrones connection, all in a small enough area to see properly in an hour or two.
How do you get to Cushendun Caves? They’re a short, easy walk from the main village car park, right beside the beach.
Is Cushendun a National Trust property? Most of the village and the surrounding parkland have been owned by the National Trust since 1954.
