10 Things to See & Do In Newcastle in Northern Ireland

Newcastle in Northern Ireland is a beautiful coastal town to visit. We love visiting there as a family and there may not be much to do in the means of attractions and such. But there are mountains views, hikes to go on, amusements to enjoy and best of all? Good food! You can travel to Newcastle with ireland tours, or by car. And you will have the loveliest afternoon!

Throughout this post, I am going to give you my honest advice on where to go and what you can do for fun during your visit to Newcastle.

Places to stay in Newcastle in Northern Ireland

We have stayed in the Greenhill YMCA Accommodation twice now. Once as a gifted experience {which you can find here} and as paying customers. We choose Greenhill because we are a big family and it’s the only place I can find that will accommodate a big family such as ours.

Greenhill’s log cabins can sleep up to 12 people, have two bathrooms, one with a shower. Each cabin has a living/dining space with a kitchen {including a dishwasher!} and the beds are crazy comfy! They aren’t luxury by any means, but they are clean, have everything a family needs during your stay. If you are a bigger family, such as ours, or just looking for a place to stay with family, then check them out.

Quinns Bar & Restaurant

We have eaten in a few places in Newcastle and I think we have yet to have a bad experience. The nicest place, by far {so far} that we have eaten is Quinns Bar & Restaurant. It’s on the High Street, on a corner {with an off-license next door} and everything about our experience was lovely.

How they handle covid restrictions, how friendly the staff were and the food was delicious. I highly recommend you eating in Quinns if you’re ever in Newcastle.

Black Box Donuts

This place is a no brainer and must-visit if you’re ever in town! The doughnuts they have available are amazing. They look incredible and they taste incredible too! However, they have a little cabin down the road from their store and they sell cronuts! And oh my days!

A doughnut/croissant combo filled with Mr Whippy ice cream and a topping of your choice! I mean, if that doesn’t scream heaven, I don’t know what does! And they’re reasonably priced too! Around the £3.50 mark – which I thought was great!

Kents Amusements

This is the biggest amusement place in Newcastle and it is really popular. Tickets galore on the majority of rides/games and machines in the place, which kids go mad for! It even has a few VR machines and a dodgems track at the back which is loads of fun.

Castle Park Boating Pond

This area of the town is lots of fun with loads going on for the kids. From a carousel, go-karts and swan boats. The swan boats in particular, with covid restrictions, were amazing.

Each Swan boat is cleaned down after every session. Life jackets are handed out to everyone and sprayed down too after use as well. Great measures in place and the staff were amazing! It cost around £15 for two swan boats {for 7 of us. 2 in one and 4 in the other}.

Visit Newcastle beach

It isn’t huge or anything particularly special, but the views of the Mourne Mountains are breathtaking. It is a beautiful spot to sit, enjoy the sound of the waves {and maybe even a cronut from Black box!} and just take in the sights.

Visit the Funfair

The Funfair is next door to Kent’s amusements and it’s always somewhere we swing by when we are there. Purely because some of the rides are lots of fun and can kill half an hour, easily. It costs £20 for 40 tokens and each ride costs anything between 3 and 5 tokens per person.

Go for a walk in Tollymore Forest

This place is from my childhood memories for sure. And if you are a family who loves the woods, hiking and maybe even a spot of tree climbing, then Tollymore is for you!

Donard Park, Newcastle

Donard Park is a beautiful spot and just down from the Greenhill accommodation mentioned earlier in this post. And also situated just 10 minutes from Newcastle strand. It is a public park next to the Glen River and it forms a boundary around the foot of Slieve Donard. Which is also the highest mountain in Northern Ireland.

Which both football and hockey pitches to enjoy there are also picnic facilities and it is the perfect spot to lay down a blanket, enjoy the sunshine and a burger or two!

Pay a visit to Murlough Beach

Murlough Beach is a short 10 minutes from Alieve Donard Spa or a short 15mins bus ride from the Newcastle Promenade. It is known for its most extensive {and best} sand dune heath in the whole of Ireland. This is a fragile 6000yr old Sand dune system and has a network of paths and boardwalks to allow you to walk around it but still protecting the sand dune structure.

With panoramic views of the beautiful Mourne Mountains, it also gives you access to one of the finest beaches in County Down. A sure fire place to visit and enjoy when visiting Newcastle.

If you ever make it to Newcastle in Northern Ireland or any of the places that I have mentioned above! Do let me know what you think! Or, better still if you visit a place that I haven’t mentioned above, I’d love to know about it!