Carrickfergus has a Norman castle that has been standing guard over Belfast Lough for more than eight hundred years, and it is a fine place to begin a ride along the Antrim coast. John de Courcy, an Anglo-Norman adventurer, built it in the 1170s after seizing a swathe of Ulster, and the stout keep, curtain walls and gatehouse have survived sieges, bombardments and centuries of garrison life. It is among the best-preserved medieval castles in Ireland, and it sits right on the shore, with waves lapping at the rocks and ferries and ships passing in the lough beyond.
William of Orange landed here in June 1690 on his way to the Battle of the Boyne, and a plaque and a statue on the quayside mark the spot. The town is also the ancestral home of the parents of Andrew Jackson, the seventh president of the United States, and a small cottage of the Ulster-Scots tradition is preserved nearby. The mixture of Norman, Scottish and English history gives the old town a strong sense of identity, and it is rather underrated by those speeding past on the motorway.
The Causeway Coastal Route starts or ends here, depending on your direction, and the first miles along the A2 are mostly urban, with traffic lights, roundabouts and the commuter flow from Belfast. It is not the exciting section, but it is the gateway, and the road soon opens out along the lough shore, with views across the water to the hills of County Down. The surface is generally good, and speed limits are strictly applied, with cameras. Weather in Northern Ireland changes rapidly, so a waterproof layer is sensible at any time of year. Spring and early summer bring long evening light, and September is often calm and clear.
Offshore, the lough is busy with ships, and on the other side of the peninsula to the east, the Gobbins cliff path on Islandmagee is a dramatic walkway along sea cliffs, with bridges and tunnels, which can be reached by a short ride. The marina at Carrickfergus has cafés and a pleasant promenade, where gulls, oystercatchers and, in winter, brent geese feed on the shore.
With a population of nearly thirty thousand, the town has fuel stations, supermarkets, banks and plenty of places to eat. It is the last big stop before the coast road proper, so fill up here, take a coffee on the quay, and walk the castle walls if you have time. Ulster fry, a hearty plate of bacon, sausage, eggs and soda bread, is the traditional breakfast to set you up.