There’s more to Coleraine than just the Giant’s Causeway

When I moved to Exeter to go to uni, the fact that I was from N.Ireland made me sort of exotic. Once they’d gotten over the initial assumption that I was Scottish, most people would faun over my accent, laugh at how I say “shower” and “mirror” and generally take an interest. The problem came when I tried to explain exactly where I’m from. “Coleraine? Never heard of it.” I soon learnt to just say that I come from a small town, near the Giant’s Causeway which is about an hour and a half from Belfast by car. Everyone’s heard of Belfast. Even those select few who don’t realise that N.Ireland is part of the UK. Anyway, since it’s the season for sticking up for our home towns here’s why you should locate it on the map and visit Coleraine:

There’s rain in the name for a reason

Ok so the weather is likely to be awful, even if you’re visiting in the summer, you’ll realise there’s rain in the name for a reason, but Coleraine is quite picturesque. Most tourists just bypass it on the way to the Giant’s Causeway or the more popular seaside towns of Portstewart and Portrush but with the River Bann, a forest and it’s own cheese factory, Coleraine still has its charms.

Derry is bitter we have a better uni

For a little town it’s quite surprising that Coleraine has its own University and Londonderry/Derry is still bitter about the fact that it only got the Magee campus. But I suppose they would have been even more cheesed off it they’d called it the University of Coleraine. Coleraine isn’t arrogant like that. Not like Belfast which gives its name to two airports even though one of them is actually in Antrim. With the new campus opening in Belfast though it might claim Coleraine’s uni as its own too… Anyway, Ulster University isn’t to be sniffed at. This year it placed #95 in the Times Higher Education ranking. Things can only go up from here.

Home to The Estate and the Caring Caretaker

Coleraine has many classic locals, from the Caring Caretaker who sits out with his donkey every Christmas to raise money for charity to Peter Ferris MBE who is constantly running marathons and was once arrested in Turkey because they thought he was an Al Quaeda terrorist. Then there’s the more notorious ones. Unless you’re from N.Ireland you probably won’t have seen the BBC documentary The Estate which aired in 2012 and is basically our answer to Benefits Street  since Coleraine is home to one of the country’s largest housing estates.

Ballysally, or Ballyscally as it is affectionately known, houses around 3,000 residents. Stand out characters from the series were Martin the alcoholic and teenager Kelly-Ann who, in regards to dealing with customer complaints in a restaurant famously said “I’d just be like ‘fucking eat it ye bastard’.” She got a My fair lady style makeover out of it though.

We don’t even need a nightclub

Coleraine doesn’t actually have a single nightclub unless you count the bar in the student union or the Christian hangout Exodus. Nevertheless, there’s a few cool pubs like the Railway arms near the train station which is summed up quite well by someone on tripadvisor who wrote “My first impression was that it was a bit ruff and ready, but after spending some time there, realised that it’s a great spot.”

If in doubt though the best place to go is Spoons which is in the Old Courthouse building on Waterside. Cheap food, cheap drinks, and the occasional fight are all guaranteed.

image credit – Jonny Blair

It’s in a perfect location

If you want to see the main tourist sights like The Giant’s Causeway, Carrick-a-rede rope bridge or other delights of the North Coast then Coleraine is a great place to stay. It’s only a few miles from the seaside and easily accessible by bus or train. What more could you possibly want?

David Cameron thinks it rocks

With so much to offer you’d be a fool not to put Coleraine on your list of places to visit. Or if you don’t fancy it at least you’ll know where it is when it next pops up on the BBC weather map.