Town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland
Portstewart
In Portstewart you can still drive onto the beach, eat Italian-style ice cream on the Prom, and watch the world's best golfers play a course that hosted the Irish Open.
Key information
- County
- County Londonderry
- Nation
- Northern Ireland
- Known for
- Portstewart Strand, the Promenade, ice cream, golf and the North West 200
- Famous people
- Jon Rahm
- Football clubs
- Portstewart FC
About Portstewart
The beach where you can park next to the waves
Portstewart Strand is a two-mile sweep of golden sand at the mouth of the River Bann. It is one of the few beaches in the UK where cars are still allowed to drive onto the sand. On a sunny weekend, families park almost at the water's edge. Behind the beach lie some of the biggest sand dunes in Northern Ireland. They are now looked after by the National Trust. Across the river mouth you can see the dunes and cliffs of Castlerock, with Donegal's hills on the horizon. The Strand is only part of the picture. Walk north along the cliff path and you reach Portrush, with grassy headlands and sea views for most of the way.
How a quiet fishing harbour became a Victorian getaway
Portstewart began as a small harbour and fishing settlement. Its name is said to come from the Stewart family, who held land here. The Victorians turned it into a resort. The railway station arrived in 1855, and it sat on high ground some way from the sea. To bridge the gap, a steam tramway opened in 1882 and ran down to the town. The Portstewart Tramway carried visitors until 1926. The seafront grew to match, with a long promenade, a sheltered harbour, boarding houses and holiday terraces. Much of that Victorian and Edwardian seaside layout survives, which is why the town still feels like a classic resort.
A town built on ice cream
Portstewart's promenade has a famous ice cream tradition. Morelli's began in Coleraine in 1911 and opened its Portstewart seafront café in 1927. The Italian-founded ice cream parlours are as much a part of the north coast as the beaches. The Prom is also where locals do their weekend walking. Many people begin at the harbour, walk the length of the seafront with an ice cream in hand, and finish with a stroll up on to the headland above the town.
Golf with a drop-dead opening shot
Portstewart Golf Club was founded in 1894, and its Strand Course is one of the most admired links courses in Ireland. The opening tee shot is played from a high dune and sets the tone. The course sits between the dunes and the sea, with long views along the coast. In 2017, Portstewart hosted the Irish Open. Spanish golfer Jon Rahm won, and the north coast gained another big sporting moment alongside the nearby Royal Portrush course.
The town that becomes a racetrack
Each spring, Portstewart's streets are part of the North West 200, one of the biggest road races in the world. The course is a triangle linking Portrush, Portstewart and Coleraine, and the race first used this circuit in 1929. For a few days, the pace of this quiet resort changes completely. Fast bikes pass through the town and crowds line the roadsides. When the roads reopen, the place goes back to ice cream and seaside walks. Portstewart sits on a headland of its own, and a castle-like convent building and church spires stand out above the harbour. That skyline is part of what makes the town easy to recognise from the sea and from the Strand.