Antrim Castle, Castle ruins and gardens in Antrim, Northern Ireland.
Antrim Castle is a castle site in Northern Ireland featuring raised grassed platforms, an Italian stair tower from 1887, and twin neo-Tudor towers forming the gatehouse. The grounds contain formal gardens with canals, ponds, and tree-lined avenues that shape the landscape.
The site was built between 1613 and 1662 by Sir Hugh Clotworthy, an English settler who established it as his residence. A fire destroyed the main structure in 1922, and the remaining portions were demolished in 1970.
The grounds display an Anglo-Dutch garden design with canals and tree-lined walks that reflect how landowners arranged their estates during the 1600s. You can still see today how these formal patterns shaped the outdoor spaces.
Clotworthy House within the gardens provides visitor facilities and displays the Garden Heritage Exhibition, while Mann's Garden Kitchen offers refreshments. The grounds are easy to navigate with well-maintained paths and clear layouts connecting the different garden areas.
The grounds contain a mound of raised earth from the 12th century that predates the castle itself, showing that structures have occupied this location across different periods. This older layer reveals how the site was reused and rebuilt over the centuries.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
