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Village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland
Photo: Kenneth Allen, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Bushmills is a village historically in County Antrim, near the coast 60 miles north of Belfast. Its two big attractions are the Old Bushmills Distillery within the village, and Giant's Causeway 3 miles northeast, so in summer it's very touristy. With a population in 2021 of 1234, Bushmills is now part of Causeway Coast and Glens District, as the counties are no longer units of government.
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It claims to be the oldest whiskey distillery in the world, though not in continuous production. Businesses have risen and fallen here since 1608, but the present distillery is from 1885; several Scottish distilleries have had longer continuous business. Tours and tasting sessions are available all year, though production pauses in July for annual maintenance. The company has been owned since 2014 by Jose Cuervo the Mexican tequila firm.
A 3-foot (914-mm) gauge heritage railway that trundles for two miles through the sandhills to the Causeway. When it opened in the 1880s it came all the way from Portrush. It operated as a tram, powered from an overhead line, until closed and dismantled in 1949. This section of line was re-opened in 2002, hauled by three industrial steam locomotives plus since 2010 a specially-made diesel tram. Trains run three times a day. You could day-trip in either direction, but the idea is to park free at Bushmills Station and avoid the crowded expensive car park at the Causeway.
Reliable place for fish & chips and similar fast food.
Stylish cuisine within the Distillers Arms.
Upscale hotel and restaurant, gets great reviews for comfort, service and dining. It even includes a cinema.
In village centre, open April-Sep.
Smart clean B&B west bank of the river.
Open Mar-Oct for tourer caravans, with 50 hard-standing pitches and hook-ups. No camping.
Smart hotel with restaurant on the sea front.
formerly Smugglers Inn
Friendly small hotel with restaurant 1 km south of Causeway.
Pleasant guesthouse by the Causeway.
Hostel by the Causeway with dorm and private rooms, cleanliness varies.
Upmarket comfy hotel right by the Causeway, great service.
Trains between Belfast and Derry stop at Coleraine, with a branch line to Portrush; change for the bus to Bushmills.
Read in the guideBus 402 / 172 links all points of interest along the coast. They're also within cycling range or a long hike.
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Derry, Derry and Strabane · Regional · LDY
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