Glenarm Castle — Attraction in Glenarm Demense

We made a visit to Glenarm Gardens and Castle on the last Sunday in April 20, covid is just tapering off the 2nd lockdown.

The drive down to the castle itself was pleasant helped by the beautiful weather. On Arriving in Glenarm from Carnlough the grounds are easily found, it is abit of a switchback to the right if the playpark is on your right. Glenarm Castle is then your immediate left.

On arriving, the carparks are well laid out you drive to the top of the 2 parks up the hill and then filter down until you find a space. There is plenty of space even on this busy Sunday. There was no problem getting parked.

The first thing any family wants to know after a drive is the location of the toilets! They are in the bottom car park to the right. A green box. There is one male and one female, there is no light or windows so relieving oneself was quite tricky. I have to assume that this was a one off and the team will have the light working in the loo for your visit!

Immediate next stop was of course the Milk Parlour ice cream shop!! What can I say; The que was about 20 people long when we were there around 2.30 but we'll worth the wait. The ice cream is made from local short horn cows and it shows! The taste and texture are to die for and there are around 10 different flavours. There is also a selection of toppings and other treats such as cookie sandwhich, biscoff or browny ice cream shakes. I had kinder Bueno and biscoff ice cream in a tub topped with more bueno chips! Hands down the best ice cream this year. Most definitely not to be missed. Price was on point I certainly did not feel it was excessive. Service was quick and the que went down fast enough that we didn't feel that there was much waiting about. Also, try the strawberry!

After the icecream we made a walk across the road to the playpark and the beach. When we returned the que for the milk parlour was around 50 people long this was around 4pm.

We had cup of coffee at the other outlet in the castle grounds and sat round the tree stumps. The area was busy but didn't feel over crowded like some other coastal towns.

The overall feeling was very relaxing, great spot for young children and everyone was very friendly. Price was on point for all services and the quality and standard is excellent. My one gripe is the toilet situation which I am sure was limited to my visit.

5 solid stars. A great family day out and a chance for some of the best ice-cream in the country!

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Took my Icelandic visitors along the coast for the day and stopped in for lunch in the Glenarm tearooms. However, the lure of the shops soon had them purchasing some of the unique gifts to take home. Although the clothing shop had a plethora of colour, there were some comments on the advantages of Icelandic wool over what was on offer. Once the ice creams were spotted i had to suggest waiting until we had our lunch. The walk past those having pizzas made us more eager to arrive at the tearooms. As always there was a good selection of dishes on offer and when we'd ordered we took a table. The food was delivered promptly and we all agreed it was very tasty. A steady flow of customers, yet we stayed at our table, and ordered teas and coffee with delicious cakes. Once finished it was back to the ice cream parlour and picked up our garden entry tickets from the shop. I couldn't believe an icelandic comment , this ice cream is freezing, brought up in the land of fire and ice... Nevertheless we entered the gardens to a riot of colour from the thousands of tulips on display. So many photo opportunities. The extensive hedging makes unique rooms, each with a theme. I applaud the gardening team, your endeavours were much admired. Saddened only by the magnificent magnolia which had suffered in the previous days heavy rains. When i had previously visited there was always interesting planting. A return visit in the summer is planned. Such a well kept beautiful...

Lovely spot in the Antrim Glens located just off the coast road. Definitely worth calling in if you're passing and have the time. The castle is 17th Century and you might regard it as more of an imposing manor House and it's hard militaristic aspect has been softened by centuries of gentrification. You can have a look around inside - though I'm not sure if you can always do this- but it costs extra and I'm not sure it's worth it. However, you can easily spend a pleasant afternoon touring the castle grounds. I noted that there is bike hire available which would allow you to explore a lot more of this bucolic glen than I ever have. The large walled garden is absolutely delightful at this time of year and is probably why I'd visit. My wife is a keen gardener and loves it. Inside the walled garden is a man- made mound which, if you're able, you should walk up (it's only about 10/20 metres high) to get a wonderful view of the grounds and castle nestled at the foot of the glen. Turning your head you are rewarded with a captivating view up the valley. The only down side is you can't picnic in the garden - but there are places to buy food, ice creams coffee and tea. Glenarm castle is about a 50 minute drive from Belfast and about half an hour from the more frequently visited Causeway/North Antrim Coast. But if you have the time and it's a good day (it really needs to a good day) it's definitely worth visiting....