Blackhead Lighthouse Path, Whitehead

The Blackhead coastal path curls north from the Victorian seaside town of Whitehead around a headland of black basalt cliffs to the trim white Blackhead Lighthouse, and the whole stretch offers dramatic maritime footage at the mouth of Belfast Lough. Pilots usually park and launch from the long Whitehead promenade, then either fly the cliffs from there or walk the path, with its handrails and tunnels, toward the light. The reward is the lighthouse perched on its rocky shelf with the Copeland Islands, the County Down shore and passing ferries and container ships as a backdrop. This is a busy walking route in fine weather, and the path is narrow with sheer drops, so a promenade or grassy clifftop launch away from pedestrians is far safer than trying to take off on the path itself. Coastal wind and cliff-edge turbulence are significant, and the exposed headland can be gusty even when the town is calm. Keep clear of the working lighthouse structure and any seabirds nesting on the cliff faces. Belfast City Airport lies roughly 20km southwest so there is no FRZ, but light traffic uses the lough and you should stay alert to it.