The Rocking Stone

The Rocking Stone TownTactics (Atlas Obscura User)

During the 19th and early 20th-centuries, hundreds traveled to the East Antrim coastline for day trips out of Belfast to places like the Gobbins Cliff Path, Portmuck, Brown’s Bay, and the National Trust Skernaghan Point Reserve.

From Skernaghan Point, there are stunning views of the East Antrim Coastline, as well as the Maidens lighthouses and the Irish Sea. There is also a strange stone known locally as the Rocking Stone that sits precariously on the sea cliff’s edge.

The Rocking Stone is a remnant from the last glacial Ice Age. It was given its unique moniker because, in the past, the large stone was routinely rocked from side to side while an individual sat at the top.

This tradition was eventually put to an end by the National Trust out of safety concerns. The rock is now cemented onto a plinth to stop it from being moved. Today, the rock has also become the canvas for graffiti artists.

Know Before You Go

To reach the Rocking Stone at Skernaghan Point drive to Brown’s Bay and park in the car park. Then, walk along the coastal footpath heading in an easterly direction until you reach a gate with a sign welcoming you to the National Trust’s Skernaghan Point Reserve. If you continue to walk for a few more minutes along the coast, you will come across the odd stone sitting on a rock plinth at the edge of the coast.