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PORTRUSH |
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The town of PORTRUSH , on the Ramore Peninsula, has sandy beaches
backed by dunes, running both east and west, and everything you'd expect
from a seaside resort, including summer drama in the Town Hall and
plenty of amusements for children. Many students from the University of
Ulster at Coleraine live here, and make it a considerably livelier place
than you might expect, even out of season. The huge popularity of the
local dance scene draws clubbers from all over the North and the town
can have a distinctly raucous feel at weekends. The beach is long and
sandy, ending, towards eastern Dunluce at the White Rocks , where the
weather has carved the soft limestone cliffs into strange shapes, most
famously the so-called "Cathedral Cave", 180ft from end to end.
On a different note, Portrush offers a range of activities and
entertainments for children and wet afternoons. There's the all-weather
Waterworld , by the harbour (June-Aug Mon-Sat 10am-9pm, Sun noon-9pm;
Sept Fri 3-9pm, Sat 10am-9pm, Sun noon-9pm; £4.25), with water flumes,
slides, sauna, jacuzzis, aquarium and restaurant; Fantasy Island indoor
adventure playground on the promenade (Easter-Sept Mon-Sat 10am-8pm, Sun
noon-8pm; Oct-March Fri-Sun same hours; £3.25; £2.50 for under-4s); and
the summer-only Barry's Fairground just behind the seafront. The
controversially expensive Dunluce Centre , 10 Sandhill Drive (April Sat
& Sun noon-5pm; May, June & early Sept daily noon-5pm; July & Aug daily
10am-7pm; £5) houses the tourist office , a viewing tower and a variety
of interactive and cinematic experiences. The former bath-house for the
well-heeled patrons of the Northern Counties Hotel on the seafront is
now the Portrush Countryside Centre (June-Sept Mon & Wed-Sun 10am-6pm;
free), with an indoor sea-creature-filled rock pool, local natural
history displays and staff who will happily name your rock samples or
flower specimens. There is rewarding surfing here off West Strand and
White Rocks: you can rent boards and gear at one of the surf shops in
Portrush or further along the coast in Portstewart, but first check the
safety of the waves (tel 028/7082 4596). Safety considerations are
seemingly jettisoned during the annual raft race at the end of May when
participants race each other across the harbour on homemade rafts.
The main sporting attraction is the Royal Portrush Golf Club (tel
028/7082 2311), which hosted the British Amateur Championships in 1993.
The North's premiere club, it boasts one nine-hole and two eighteen-hole
courses, though in fact most of the coast seems to be covered in greens
and putters - eighty in all - whose vistas offer a welcome distraction
from your handicap. Demand is high in the summer, especially in good
weather, and it's wise to book ahead . A detailed list of green fees,
course lengths and standard scratch scores is available from the tourist
office.
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