The Andrew Jackson Cottage & US Rangers Museum and Carrickfergus Urban Farm both cost nothing to visit, and the Marine Gardens Play Park gives younger children somewhere to run.
Nearby villages like Whitehead and Helen's Bay add railway heritage, loughshore playgrounds, and coastal snorkelling to the mix. With 48 places in total, a day here rarely runs out of ideas.
The best days out near Carrickfergus
Carrickfergus Museum
Carrickfergus Castle
Marine Gardens Play Park
Flame! The Gasworks Museum of Ireland
Amphitheatre Leisure Centre
Carrickfergus Sailing Club
Omniplex Cinema Carrickfergus
Carrickfergus Skatepark
Carrickfergus Golf Club
Carrickfergus Golf Club practice range
Carrickfergus Urban Farm
World of Wonder
Andrew Jackson Cottage & US Rangers Museum
Mini Ville Play
Forest Fitness NI / S51 Airsoft
Greenisland Golf Club
Knockagh Monument Stargazing Spot
Newtownabbey Greenway
Helen’s Bay Organic
Royal Belfast Golf Club
Jordanstown Loughshore Park Playground
Helen's Bay Coral Strand Snorkel Site
Helen's Bay Beach
Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club
The Spa at Culloden Estate & Spa
Crawfordsburn Activity Centre (Scouts NI)
Crawfordsburn Country Park
Crawfordsburn Beach
Bentra Mini-Golf
Crawfordsburn Country Park Adventure Zone
Helen's Bay to Bangor Cycle Path (NCN 93)
Ulster Folk & Transport Museum
North Down Coastal Path
Whitehead Railway Museum
Whitehead Shore Dive (Promenade Slipway)
Treetop Spa at The Old Inn
Tots Play Holywood
NI Scout Centre, Crawfordsburn (climbing wall)
Movilla Trout Fishery
Newtownabbey Footgolf
North Down Coastal Path: Holywood to Bangor
Whitehead Golf Club
Carnalea Golf Club
Bel-Aire Bowl
Ballylagan Trail Rides
Modest Beer
Ballylagan Organic Farm
North Down Sub Aqua Club
What's on near Carrickfergus
- 1JulPond dippingCastle Espie
- 1JulExhibition by Diarmuid Delargy RUA REArtisAnn Gallery
- 3JulVision — Comber LibraryComber Library
- 4JulDragonfly crafts with Boom StudiosCastle Espie
- 5JulCourtyard sessionsCastle Espie
- 6JulNature Through Our Eyes Alphabetography — Holywood LibraryHolywood Library
Days out in Carrickfergus — your questions
What are the best days out in Carrickfergus?
Carrickfergus Castle is the standout place to start, followed by the free Andrew Jackson Cottage & US Rangers Museum and Carrickfergus Museum nearby. Add in Carrickfergus Urban Farm and the Marine Gardens Play Park for a full family day, with a good chunk of it costing nothing.
What free things are there to do in Carrickfergus?
There are plenty of free options here. Carrickfergus Museum, the Andrew Jackson Cottage & US Rangers Museum, and Carrickfergus Urban Farm all cost nothing to visit. The Marine Gardens Play Park is free too, and on a clear night the Knockagh Monument Stargazing Spot is a brilliant choice for the whole family.
Where can you go on a rainy day near Carrickfergus?
Head indoors to World of Wonder or Mini Ville Play for younger children, or try the Omniplex Cinema Carrickfergus for older kids. Carrickfergus Museum and the Whitehead Railway Museum both make for dry, interesting visits. Flame! The Gasworks Museum of Ireland is another solid option when the weather turns.
What's good for young children near Carrickfergus?
The Marine Gardens Play Park and Jordanstown Loughshore Park Playground are both free and good for a run-around. Carrickfergus Urban Farm is free too — always popular with little ones. For indoor days, World of Wonder and Mini Ville Play are both designed for younger children and worth a visit.
More about Carrickfergus
Carrickfergus is County Antrim's oldest town, and its centrepiece is magnificent: Carrickfergus Castle, built on the "rock of Fergus" by the Norman knight John de Courcy in 1177 and still one of the best-preserved Norman castles in all of Ireland. Parts of the medieval town walls can still be seen around the streets.
The town has some surprising connections. The parents of Andrew Jackson, seventh President of the United States, emigrated from here, remembered today at the Andrew Jackson Cottage. And the poet Louis MacNeice spent his boyhood in Carrickfergus, later writing a well-known poem named after the town.