Road sense
All you need to know about towing on the A2
FROM SOUTH TO north, the A2 starts at Newry, a vibrant city that was once a major port and is now a thriving retail centre. To the east are the Mourne Mountains to the south-west, the Ring of Gullion Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
From there, the A2 runs alongside the Newry River, then the east bank of Carlingford Lough – the west bank is in the Republic of Ireland
– as far as Lisnacree, crossing to Kilkeel and turning north to hug the Co Down coastline, sandwiched between the sea and the Mourne Mountains, to the seaside town of Newcastle.
The town sits at the foot of Slieve Donard, Northern Ireland’s highest mountain. Out in the harbour are seals and smugglers’ caves and along its shore, the UK’S only seaweed bath-house.
The road passes Murlough Nature Reserve, managed by the National Trust, on the Mourne Coastal Route to Belfast. There are a couple of car parks along this stretch.
At Clough, the A2 turns east, then south to Tyrella Beach, backed by 25 hectares of mature sand dunes. This is a conservation area with a large car park. At Killough, it circumnavigates the sheltered harbour then continues on to Ardglass before heading north-east towards Strangford. Strangford Lough is a large sea lough, almost enclosed by the Ards Peninsula.
At its narrowest point at Strangford, the road meets the ferry to cross to Portaferry. Here, you could follow a narrow road around the loughside, but the A2 leaves Portaferry, heading north-east to Cloughey, from where it hugs the eastern shore of the Ards Peninsula, passing through Bangor then into Belfast, becoming Shore Road.
Causeway Coast
Once clear of Belfast and following the Belfast Lough through Carrickfergus, the road then becomes the Causeway Coastal Route, following the western edge of Larne Lough to Larne.
From here, the route is sandwiched between sea and mountain as far as Cushendall, at which point it meanders inland a little, crossing the Glendun River, as far as Ballycastle.
From Larne to Ballycastle, the road passes through the glorious Antrim Coast & Glens
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
After Ballycastle, the A2 follows the Causeway Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty to Portrush, passing the Giant’s Causeway. After Portrush, it enters Co Londonderry.
At Portstewart it runs south to Coleraine, crosses the River Bann, then heads north again to follow the coast beyond Castlerock. It passes the Umbra Nature Reserve and then turns inland. At Limavady, the road heads westwards.
At City of Derry airport, it becomes a dual carriageway to the outskirts of Derry. The road enters the city to cross the River Foyle at Waterside, then heads north-east to the border.