Portballintrae, Northern Ireland: sea and mystical concentric crops

by Alice
Portballintrae (2)

Portballintrae : Day trip to the sea from Belfast

After our time at Whiterocks beach and as the weather wasn’t so great, we decided to hit the next town on our list. It happened to be Portballintrae, chosen for its beautiful pictures on google and perfect to end our day trip to the sea from Belfast.

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Portballintrae (1)

Welcome to Portballintrae

It was not a mistake, as Irish beaches and villages go,  Portballintrae is a beautiful place with great views and a mystical atmosphere. It towers above the sea and you feel like your inside a postcard….
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As we were starving, we quickly checked around for restaurants in Portballintrae and it seemed that the Portballintrae Bayview Hotel was our best bet. The Bayview Hotel restaurant has a view on the sea, which is particularly nice. They easily fixed a vegan sandwich for Alice with no complaint and the prices weren’t bad.
Portballintrae (3) - Lunch at Bayview Hotel

The incredible views of Portballintrae

Once feeling better, we went on to explore Portballintrae, starting with the view from just outside the restaurant. The houses were really cute and we wouldn’t have minded staying a couple days over there…
As we mentioned, Portballintrae towers over the water but it has another surprise for the visitors that we had no idea about…
Portballintrae (4) Portballintrae (5) Portballintrae (5) Portballintrae (8) Portballintrae (7)

Lisanduff Prehistoric Site in Portballintrae

In the meadow, two concentrical crops. They date back to the Bronze Age (3000BC) and haven’t revealed all of their secrets yet. For now, what we know is that one would have been a fort to protect people and animals, and the other was probably used for water rituals.
Portballintrae (9) Portballintrae (11)This very beautiful place, combined with a moody sky and the rain drizzling, gives out a very mystical atmospherePortballintrae (12)
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Bye bye Portballintrae

Our day trip to the sea from Belfast ended in Portballintrae when the rain poured on us. We hurried back to the bus stop and hopped on with relief!Portballintrae (16)

You might also enjoy reading about our time at Whiterocks beach in Northern Ireland 


Portballintrae | Day trip to the sea from Belfast | Cutest town in Northern Ireland | Lissanduff Earthworks | Coast CausewayAlice in Portballintrae

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9 comments

Kristy 4 November 2017 - 19 h 34 min

Wow this place is so pretty, lucky the rain didn’t start til the end!

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Alice Cardy 4 November 2017 - 19 h 58 min

Yes we’ve been very lucky on this day 🙂

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Amy Poulton - Page Traveller 4 November 2017 - 21 h 31 min

Gorgeous! I’m a Brit, but still haven’t been over to Northern Ireland. I’ve been so much about it though – will definitely have to visit at some point.

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Eva 4 November 2017 - 21 h 46 min

On our trip to Ireland we got chased by the rain on many occasons, so many of our stops and explorations had a very similar ending to your story!

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Lieselot 5 November 2017 - 1 h 35 min

Such a lovely little town at the water! It looks like a great day-trip from Belfast, taking in some fresh air! And so lucky you guys escaped before the rain hit 🙂

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Ha 5 November 2017 - 9 h 18 min

Portabllintrae looks amazing with all the view and green grass. I’d love to try those vegan sandwiches as well! You were so lucky that it didn’t rain until the end of the day!

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Kristine 5 November 2017 - 11 h 28 min

Lovely day trip! With the weather, it indeed looks pretty mysterious. Don’t you wish you could see how the concentric crops look like from above, with you inside? I would be too if I were there!

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Danielle 5 November 2017 - 14 h 50 min

So pretty! Despite living in England my whole life, I’ve never managed to make it to Ireland! It’s quickly creeping up my list of places I NEED to visit however!

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Mg 7 November 2017 - 19 h 18 min

I loved reading this! I’ve never heard of Portballintrae, but it looks like a fun place to visit – those views are beautiful and the food looks so good!

Reply

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