Portstewart in Northern Ireland is a classy seaside destination on the north coast with a gorgeous harbour, a spectacular golden sand beach, a championship golf club, a scenic promenade, great cafés, parks, restaurants, outdoor swimming pools, and ice cream parlours, as well as a children’s pleasure beach, another beach for surfers, and sand dunes to explore, year round. It sits in County Londonderry, not Antrim as sometimes assumed - an easy mix-up shared with neighbouring Coleraine, since most of the well-known Causeway Coast attractions further east are in Antrim.
Portstewart was well-loved in the Victorian era and has retained its public appeal and heritage. Not many golf clubs in the British Isles have 3 courses - Portstewart Golf Club is one of them.
A Little Transport History
Portstewart has no train station today, but it once did, after a fashion. The Portstewart Tramway ran narrow-gauge trams between the town and a railway station at nearby Cromore from 1882 until 1926, connecting Victorian visitors arriving by rail to the seafront itself. The tramway is long gone, but it’s a real piece of the town’s history as a Victorian resort, not just a footnote.
Portstewart Crescent
Portstewart Crescent, just off the Promenade, has an outdoor play area with a boating lake, paddling pools, paddle board hire, a fountain, park, shops, karting, a bandstand, and cafés. The fountain - the first of its kind in Europe, with 33 small water jets arranged in three rows of 11 - pulses to music for a light, water, and sound show.
Dining and Entertainment
Morelli’s, on the Promenade, serves well-known ice cream in a wide range of flavours (the Knickerbocker Glory is a local institution), and was founded in the early 1900s. Exact current opening hours vary between sources and weren’t confirmed to a single reliable figure this pass - check directly (028 7083 2150 or morellisofportstewart.co.uk) rather than relying on a fixed time here.
The Anchor Complex is the centre of Portstewart’s nightlife scene, with the Aura Nightclub, Anchor Bistro, and Anchor Bar - confirmed still operating. Havana Night Club, mentioned in older versions of this page as offering dancing upstairs, was not independently confirmed as currently open - worth checking before planning a visit around it.
The Flowerfield Arts Centre, the first arts centre established in Northern Ireland, hosts concerts, annual art exhibitions, and a range of arts and crafts courses. It’s set in a Victorian mansion built in 1855.
Old O’Hara Castle
Built in 1834, O’Hara Castle now functions as Dominican College, providing a striking backdrop over the dunes toward the Atlantic. The cliff path from Dominican College to Portstewart Strand forms part of the Causeway Coast Way, with coastal views over the River Bann estuary, the beach, Donegal’s Inishowen peninsula, Lough Foyle, and Scotland in the distance.
Portstewart Strand
Portstewart Strand is a 2-mile Blue Flag-certified beach on the Atlantic, bounded by the River Bann estuary to the west and the golf club to the east. The National Trust manages the beach - one of Northern Ireland’s most visited. Car access is available right onto the beach; a fee applies in high season, though National Trust members park free.
The dunes between Portstewart Strand beach and the Golf Club’s Strand Course are a protected habitat, with way-marked beach trails from Harry’s Shack heading northwest along the two-mile stretch toward the Barmouth.
Getting There
Portstewart itself has no railway station. The nearest NI Railways stops are Portrush (about 4 miles away) and Coleraine (about 4 miles in the other direction), both on the Belfast-Derry line, with a bus or taxi covering the final stretch into town, busiest during the summer months. Castlerock, with its own small station, and Mussenden Temple further along the coast road, are both easy add-ons if you’re exploring by rail. By car, Portstewart is roughly an hour and a quarter from Belfast via the M2 and A26.
