The Coastal Drive Percy French Made Famous

Start the day on Newcastle's promenade with the full sweep of Slieve Donard (*Sliabh Donard*) rising straight ahead of you. Grab a table at Niki's Kitchen Cafe or the Great Eastern for a proper Ulster fry, or something lighter at Caffolla's with a window seat overlooking the beach. No rush. You've got the whole coast ahead of you.

Five minutes south of Newcastle on the A2, the road crosses *Droichead Fuilteach* — Bloody Bridge. The name comes from a 1641 massacre, when prisoners were slaughtered and thrown over the bridge. It was also the coastal landing point where smugglers hauled contraband ashore before loading ponies for the trek inland over the Brandy Pad. Pull into the small car park and walk a few minutes along the river. The mountains close in around you immediately.

Keep your eyes on the left as you drive south. A deep chasm cuts through the cliffs to the sea — this is Maggie's Leap (*Leim Mhairgead*). The story goes that Maggie, chased by a soldier, leapt across the gap carrying a basket of eggs. In one telling she made it across without breaking a single egg. In another, she fell. Whitewater Brewery liked the story enough to name a beer after her. There's a layby to pull in — get out, peer over the edge, and feel the spray.

The road drops down into Annalong (*Ath na Long* — "ford of the ships"), a harbour village built on granite. At the peak of the stone trade, 18 boatloads of Mourne granite sailed from here every month — the stone that paved Liverpool, built the Albert Memorial plinths, and clad the walls of Stormont. The harbour is tiny and photogenic. Walk across to the Annalong Cornmill, an early-1800s watermill with a 15-foot waterwheel still intact. Three floors of exhibitions cover the milling, the granite export, and the stone workers' lives. A thermos of tea at the harbour wall here is perfectly valid.

Between Annalong and Kilkeel, the Mourne Mountains are right beside you, dropping towards the sea. This is the stretch Percy French painted and wrote about. Wind the windows down. The air smells of salt and gorse. Stop at any layby that catches your eye — there's no wrong answer on this road. If you spot a van selling ice cream, that's your cue. The views from here, looking back towards Slieve Donard with the sea at your feet, are the ones that end up on postcards.

Kilkeel (*Cill Chaoil* — "the narrow church") is home to Northern Ireland's biggest fishing fleet. In 1890, a third of all herring landed in Ireland came through this harbour. Today more than 100 boats still work from here — prawns, crab, lobster, and whatever the Irish Sea offers up. The harbour is the star. Watch the boats, smell the salt, and eat the freshest fish you'll find anywhere. The Fisherman's Catch does fish and chips right on the harbour, or grab a seat at the Kilkeel Cafe for something more leisurely. This is not a place for fine dining — it's a place for honest food in a real working harbour.

South of Kilkeel, the road swings along the shore of Carlingford Lough (*Loch Cairlinn*). Pull off at Greencastle to see the ruins of a 13th-century royal castle built by Hugh de Lacy around 1230 to guard the lough entrance. Four storeys of stone still stand. Edward Bruce attacked it in 1316. From the castle walls you can see Carlingford Castle directly across the water on the Republic side — two fortresses staring at each other across the lough for nearly 800 years. Free to visit, and rarely crowded.

The drive from Greencastle to Rostrevor hugs the northern shore of Carlingford Lough with the Cooley Mountains of County Louth across the water. This is where the landscape shifts — from rugged coast to lough-side gentleness. The light on the water in the afternoon is extraordinary. Find a layby, breathe it in. You're driving the edge of an ancient boundary between kingdoms.

The coast road delivers you to Rostrevor (*Ros Treabhair*), an adventure village tucked into the foot of Slieve Martin with Carlingford Lough spread out before it. Victorian terraces, independent shops, and a square that hosts one of Ireland's longest-running folk festivals (Fiddler's Green, every July). If you have energy left, walk up to the Cloughmore Stone — a 50-tonne boulder the giant Fionn Mac Cumhaill supposedly threw across the lough from the Cooley Mountains. Forty minutes up, views forever.

Finish the day with dinner in Rostrevor. The Kilbroney Bar does hearty pub food with views over the lough. The Corner House is a solid local choice — friendly, unpretentious, good portions. Or try the Cloughmor Bar for a pint and something from the grill. None of these are Michelin-starred, and that's the point. This is a coast-road day, and it ends the way a coast-road day should — with a quiet pint, a full stomach, and the memory of mountains meeting the sea.