Dunseverick Waterfall

Causeway Coast / Bushmills, Northern Ireland, UK (Great Britain)

About Dunseverick Waterfall


Hiking Distance: about 600m round-trip (mild scrambling involved)
Suggested Time: 15-30 minutes

Date first visited: 2024-07-19
Date last visited: 2024-07-19

Waterfall Latitude: 55.23796
Waterfall Longitude: -6.43915

Waterfall Safety and Common Sense

Dunseverick Waterfall (Dún Sobhairce in Irish) is a small waterfall (said to be 5-10m tall) that spills right into the Atlantic Ocean off the Causeway Coast in Northern Ireland.

This would otherwise be an unassuming and unknown waterfall if it wasn’t near a couple of notable attractions – namely the Dunseverick Castle and the Giant’s Causeway.

Dunseverick_069_07192024 - The Dunseverick Waterfall
The Dunseverick Waterfall

In fact, I’d argue that this waterfall is probably the closest legitimate one near the eccentric-yet-well-visited coastal basalt formation.

As you can see from the photo above, which was taken during our mid-July 2024 trip, its flow is appreciable though I’ve seen pictures of it swollen in the literature (surely after heavy rain storms).

In any case, visiting the Dunseverick Falls can be done via a short walk and scramble of about 250-300m from the Dunseverick layby (see directions below).

From that lay-by, I merely crossed the Causeway Road into a trail that led right to a locked gate with a stile next to it.

Dunseverick_017_07192024 - This is the locked gate and adjacent stile that pedestrians would go over to hook up with the Causeway Coastal Way Trail on the way to the Dunseverick Waterfall
This is the locked gate and adjacent stile that pedestrians would go over to hook up with the Causeway Coastal Way Trail on the way to the Dunseverick Waterfall

Going up and over the stile, I then followed its trail as it joined the Causeway Coastal Way Trail, which is a longer coastal trail connecting all the attractions along the Antrim Coast.

From where the access trail joined up with the Causeway Coastal Way, I then went left and followed the wider trail towards a bridge, which I knew spanned the stream responsible for the Dunseverick Waterfall.

There were trails of use that deviated from the Causeway Coastal Way leading towards the Dunseverick Waterfall (these paths were well before the footbridge).

Of course, if the scrambling paths are hard to figure out, you could get to the footbridge and then follow the stream downstream to the Dunseverick Falls.

Dunseverick_009_07192024 - The ruins of the Dunseverick Castle can be reached in a half-mile via the Causeway Coastal Way from the Dunseverick Waterfall, which can act as a way to extend a visit here since the waterfall itself is such a short jaunt
The ruins of the Dunseverick Castle can be reached in a half-mile via the Causeway Coastal Way from the Dunseverick Waterfall, which can act as a way to extend a visit here since the waterfall itself is such a short jaunt

Indeed, once I got off the Causeway Coastal Way, it was pretty much an uneven rocky scramble to try to improve the view of the cascading waterfall.

The Dunseverick Waterfall drops right into the high amplitude oscillations of the North Atlantic swells so swimming here would be a bad idea.

After having my fill of the waterfall, I then scrambled my way back to the Causeway Coastal Way (which can be a bit tricky due to the lack of a defined path) before going back the way I came to where I parked the car by the Causeway Road.

Overall, I spent about 30 minutes away from the car, but this was one of those deals where it could easily be a shorter or longer visit depending on how long you wish to linger.

Authorities

The Dunseverick Waterfall is near the town of Bushmills in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. It is administered by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, you can try visiting the Causeway Coast and Glens website.

Dunseverick_016_07192024 - Descending towards a locked gate and stile at the start of the path leading from the Dunseverick Layby towards the Dunseverick Waterfall
Dunseverick_018_07192024 - Going beyond the stile as I approached the Causeway Coastal Way Trail en route to the Dunseverick Falls
Dunseverick_023_07192024 - Following the foot trail that was the Causeway Coastal Way Trail en route to the Dunseverick Waterfall
Dunseverick_028_07192024 - Starting to get a glimpse of what the Dunseverick Waterfall looks like as I scrambled closer to get a better view
Dunseverick_036_07192024 - Wide view of the Dunseverick Waterfall spilling into the North Atlantic Ocean as I continued to try to get a more frontal look at the waterfall
Dunseverick_038_07192024 - Portrait look at the Dunseverick Waterfall from a slight angle with the footbridge on the Causeway Coastal Way in the background
Dunseverick_043_07192024 - Looking down in the other direction along the rugged coastline from the Dunseverick Falls view
Dunseverick_009_iPhone_07192024 - Broad look at the Dunseverick Waterfall and the bay that it's in
Dunseverick_010_iPhone_07192024 - Another stitched look at the Dunseverick Waterfall under some overcast skies
Dunseverick_046_07192024 - Contextual direct look at the Dunseverick Waterfall with the footbridge and Causeway Coastal Way in the background
Dunseverick_051_07192024 - Direct look at the Dunseverick Falls with some hikers continuing along the Causeway Coastal Way Trail in the background
Dunseverick_012_iPhone_07192024 - Direct look at the Dunseverick Waterfall backed by some homes after having scrambled a bit further for this look
Dunseverick_061_07192024 - Looking downstream at the colorful waters of the North Atlantic from the Dunseverick Falls
Dunseverick_074_07192024 - Broad look back at the Dunseverick Falls as I started to head back
Dunseverick_075_07192024 - Looking back towards the rocky coastline as I was looking for a way back to the Causeway Coastal Way Trail en route to the layby and parked car after having had my fill of the Dunseverick Waterfall
Dunseverick_077_07192024 - Heading back towards the stile after regaining the Causeway Coastal Way Trail upon having my fill of the Dunseverick Waterfall


The Dunseverick Waterfall resides near the touristy town of Bushmills.

There’s a couple of ways to get from Bushmills to the Dunseverick Falls (both a little over 5 miles drive).

Drive_to_Dunseverick_002_MingSung_07192024 - Heading east after having left the Giant's Causeway towards the direction of the Dunseverick Castle
Heading east after having left the Giant’s Causeway towards the direction of the Dunseverick Castle

The first route is to drive north on the A2 from Bushmills for about a mile from the roundabout by Market Square joining the A2 with Main Street.

Then, we’d turn left onto the Causeway Road for about 4 miles to a large lay-by opposite the Dunseverick Road.

Note that about 0.8-mile into the Causeway Road is the turnoff leading to the famous Giant’s Causeway.

Anyways, the large lay-by is where we parked the car and started the hike, as this represented the nearest place to park the car to get to the Dunseverick Waterfall.

Drive_to_Dunseverick_008_MingSung_07192024 - On the Causeway Road between the Giant's Causeway and the Dunseverick Castle
On the Causeway Road between the Giant’s Causeway and the Dunseverick Castle

There’s also parking by the Dunseverick Castle roughly a half-mile to the west of the large lay-by.

Overall, this drive would take about 15 minutes or so.

Similarly, from the roundabout in the town centre of Bushmills, we could also drive the A2/Whitepark Road for about 4.3 miles before turning left onto the other end of Causeway Road.

From there, we’d drive about a half-mile or so to the large lay-by on the left opposite Dunseverick Road.

Dunseverick_079_07192024 - Looking along the Causeway Road towards the phone booth end of the long Dunseverick Layby, which was opposite the Dunseverick Road and was the nearest place to park the car to pursue the Dunseverick Falls
Looking along the Causeway Road towards the phone booth end of the long Dunseverick Layby, which was opposite the Dunseverick Road and was the nearest place to park the car to pursue the Dunseverick Falls

Again, this drive would also take no more than 15 minutes.

For context, Bushmills is about 6 miles (about 15 minutes drive) east of Portrush, about 9 miles (15 minutes drive) northeast of Coleraine, about 29 miles (over 30 minutes drive) northwest of Ballymena, about 37 miles (under an hour drive) northeast of Londonderry, 58 miles (over an hour drive) northwest of Belfast, about 95km (about 90 minutes drive) northeast of Letterkenny (Ireland), about 136km (about 2 hours drive) northeast of Donegal (Ireland), and 258km (about 3 hours drive) north of Dublin (Ireland).

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Right to left sweep providing a profile view of the bottommost drop of the cascades spilling right into the ocean


Right to left sweep of a less angled view of the tiers of the cascades spilling into the ocean


360 degree sweep before focusing on a direct look at the falls while also noticing the swells in the ocean

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Tagged with: dunseverick, castle, giants causeway, causeway coast, bushmills, portrush, wild atlantic way, antrim, ulster, northern ireland, britain, united kingdom



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Johnny Cheng

About Johnny Cheng

Johnny Cheng is the founder of the World of Waterfalls and author of the award-winning A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls. Over the last 2 decades, he has visited thousands of waterfalls in over 40 countries around the world and nearly 40 states in the USA.
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