Northern Ireland's first outlet centre — 40-plus stores with discounts on big brands, a 10-screen cinema, a garden centre with soft play and free parking, all a couple of minutes off the M2.
What you'll do — work the outlet run for money off Nike, Skechers, Next, Regatta, Clarks and more, then break it up with a film at the 10-screen Omniplex, Dobbies garden centre or a coffee. It's a shopping-plus-leisure day rather than shops alone.
How long — 2 hours for a focused shop; stretch it to half a day if you add a film, the garden centre and lunch.
Cost & parking — free to browse, and parking is free across the whole site — one of the reasons families pick it over the city centre. You only pay for what you buy, eat and watch.
Come ready — it's an open-air park, not an enclosed mall, so you're out in the weather between the stores. A coat and comfy shoes sort it. Mind the hours too: Sunday doesn't open until 1pm.
Food — chain and fast food rather than sit-down restaurants: McDonald's, Burger King, Nando's, Subway, Popeyes, Costa, Starbucks, Tim Hortons and Greggs, plus a Starbucks Drive-Thru for grab-and-go.
It's open-air — check the forecast. Unlike an indoor centre, you're walking between separate store units in whatever the sky is doing. On a wet day, plan around the covered walkway, the cinema and the garden centre, or bring the coat and get on with it.
Plan your visit
Just turn up — it's free, and it's open 7 days
No tickets, no booking — drive in and park for free any day of the week. Centre hours are 10am–6pm Monday to Wednesday, 10am–9pm Thursday and Friday, 9am–6pm Saturday and 1pm–6pm Sunday — but individual stores, the cinema, the garden centre and the fast-food units all set their own times, and several run later than the shops. It's an open-air park just off the M2/M22, so it's an easy stop on a drive as much as a destination in itself.
40+ outlet & value stores10-screen Omniplex cinemaDobbies garden centre & soft playFast food & coffee, plus a drive-thruFree parking on siteRapid EV charging (Fastned)Family activities & monthly market
The tenant line-up changes:
Outlet parks turn over their stores, and The Junction has been through a long redevelopment — names come and go. Driving over for one shop in particular? Check it's still trading on the centre's website, or ring 028 9442 9111. Hours also shift on bank holidays and around Christmas.
Before you set off
What to wear & bring
🧥A coat for the weatherIt's open-air — you're outside between the stores, so a coat day still works here.
👟Comfy shoesThe park is spread across a big site — you'll cover more ground than you'd think.
🛍️Reusable bagsSaves on carriers, and makes the outlet haul easier back to the car.
💳A card for the dayShops, cinema and coffee — most places card-friendly, a little cash never hurts.
Good to know
Everything before you go
Cost
Free to browse and free to park — you only pay for what you buy, eat and watch. The draw is money off high-street prices at the outlet stores.
Opening
Mon–Wed 10am–6pm, Thu–Fri 10am–9pm, Sat 9am–6pm, Sun 1pm–6pm. Individual stores, the cinema, Dobbies and the fast-food units keep their own hours — several run later. Hours change on bank holidays and around Christmas.
Parking
Free parking right across the site — one of its biggest pulls for families and a big contrast with paying to park in the city. Rapid EV charging is on site via a Fastned canopy.
Shops
More than 40 outlet and value stores. Fashion and footwear names include Nike Factory Outlet, Next Outlet, Skechers, Asics, Clarks Outlet and Pavers; outdoor brands Regatta, Trespass, Craghoppers, Mountain Warehouse and Animal; plus Asda, Lidl, B&M, Poundland and The Works for the everyday.
Food & drink
Fast food and coffee rather than sit-down restaurants: McDonald's, Burger King, Nando's, Subway, Popeyes, Greggs, Costa, Starbucks (with a drive-thru) and Tim Hortons.
Cinema
A 10-screen Omniplex on site — handy for pairing a film with the shops, or as the plan-B on a wet afternoon.
For families
Dobbies garden centre has soft play and a café; there's a monthly Food & Craft Market (last Saturday of the month) and one-off family events through the year. The cinema and the fast food make it an easy all-ages afternoon.
Setting
Open-air retail and leisure park, not an enclosed mall — you walk between separate store units in the open, with a covered walkway along part of the run.
Getting there
111 Ballymena Road, Antrim BT41 4LL — signposted straight off the M2/M22 junction on the edge of Antrim, roughly 20 minutes from Belfast.
How long
2 hours for a focused shop; half a day with a film, the garden centre and a bite.
Questions
Before you go
Is it free to get in, and is parking free?
Yes to both — it's free to walk round and free to park across the whole site. You only pay for what you buy, eat and watch.
Is it indoors or outdoors?
It's an open-air retail and leisure park, not an enclosed mall — you walk between separate store units in the open, with a covered walkway along part of the run. Bring a coat if the forecast's iffy.
What are the opening hours?
The centre runs Mon–Wed 10am–6pm, Thu–Fri 10am–9pm, Sat 9am–6pm and Sun 1pm–6pm. Stores, the cinema and Dobbies keep their own hours, and some run later — worth checking before a special trip.
Is there anywhere to eat?
It's fast food and coffee rather than sit-down restaurants — McDonald's, Burger King, Nando's, Subway, Popeyes, Greggs, Costa, Starbucks and Tim Hortons, with a Starbucks Drive-Thru for grab-and-go.
Is there anything for kids beyond the shops?
Yes — a 10-screen Omniplex cinema, soft play at the Dobbies garden centre, and family events through the year including a monthly Food & Craft Market on the last Saturday.
How do I get there from Belfast?
It's about 20 minutes up the M2, signposted off the M2/M22 junction on the edge of Antrim. Postcode BT41 4LL takes you straight in.
Getting there
111 Ballymena Road, Antrim BT41 4LL — signposted off the M2/M22 junction, about 20 minutes from Belfast. Free parking on site, with a Fastned rapid-charge canopy for EVs.
For years this was Junction One — pitched as Northern Ireland's first international outlet centre, a place you drove to for last season's brands at a fraction of the high-street price. The big red "junction one international outlet shopping" sign facing the motorway became a landmark in its own right, the kind of thing you clocked from the car on the run north.
The name changed in 2017, when new owners rebranded it as The Junction and kicked off a redevelopment reported at around £30 million — widening it from an outlet mall into a broader retail and leisure park. That's the mix now: the discount stores are still the heart of it, alongside a big Dobbies garden centre, a 10-screen Omniplex and a run of fast-food names, with EV charging and free parking throughout.
Outlet parks are restless places — units change hands and brands rotate, so the exact line-up isn't fixed; worth a quick check before you drive over for one shop in particular. But the reason it earns a spot on a days-out map hasn't changed: an easy, low-cost afternoon just off the motorway, where the shopping comes with a film, a garden centre and somewhere to eat — and you never feed a parking meter.