Port of Larne is a deep-water port offering superb passenger and freight facilities. The passenger terminal has a café providing a wide range of freshly prepared hot and cold meals and a shop selling newspapers, sweets and gifts. The Port of Larne offers up to 38 daily sailings to ports in England and Scotland; over three quarters of a million passengers and more than half a million of vehicles pass through the Port of Larne each year. The town of Larne combines an historical past with modern port, shopping and leisure facilities.
Port of Larne is a deep-water port offering superb passenger and freight facilities. The passenger terminal has a café providing a wide range of freshly prepared hot and cold meals and a shop selling newspapers, sweets and gifts. The Port of Larne offers up to 38 daily sailings to ports in England and Scotland; over three quarters of a million passengers and more than half a million of vehicles pass through the Port of Larne each year. The town of Larne combines an historical past with modern port, shopping and leisure facilities.
Larne History. The name of the town is believed to have derived from the Irish Prince, Lathar, who was granted the lands by his father in ancient times. The area became known as Lathar-na, and was finally reduced to Larne. Archaeologists have produced remains and artifacts in the area suggesting an ancient population lived close to the shores of the North Channel and traded with others around the coasts of Scotland. Nowadays the trade links still remain, as Larne is a busy market town.
Larne Shopping and Dinning. Larne offers shops ranging from large department stores to the small, family run, businesses. A popular street market is held every Wednesday morning in Larne market yard offering a variety of produce. On Fridays, a livestock market is held for the farming community. Bars, cafes and restaurants are also plentiful and within easy reach of the town centre. Several distinctive blue plaques commemorate the town's links with the USA as a result of emigration across the Atlantic, which started in the 18th century.
Larne Attractions. One of the most modern roll on/roll off ferry ports in the United Kingdom, Larne has no shortage of visitors and is an ideal base from which to explore the beautiful countryside of County Antrim.
Larne Museum, situated at the Carnegie Arts Centre, is the place to discover Larne’s rich and varied past and to research family connections in the area. Carnfunnock Country Park is an extraordinary attraction that consists of country walks, a maze, a nine-hole golf course, a gift shop and coffee shop, a children's activity centre, and a camping and caravan site. Two thirds of Larne Borough has been designated as an area of outstanding natural beauty and the unspoilt countryside and seascapes of Larne remain Larne’s greatest natural asset.
The town of Larne boasts several excellent parks and recreation facilities within easy reach of the town centre. Curran Park has excellent bowling, putting and play facilities within its attractive grounds and it also offers privately operated caravan and camping facilities, convenient to the town centre. The Town Park, situated off Glenarm Road, offers excellent tennis courts, a putting green and children's playground, while the less energetic may prefer a stroll along the Bankheads. The park is close to Larne Promenade, Chaine Memorial Tower and local landmarks such as the Princess Victoria Memorial, the Clyde Valley Memorial and the William Bald Memorial, dedicated to the engineer who built the Antrim Coast Road.
An imposing statue, commemorating Larne's role in the eighteenth century as a port of emigration, is situated in the town's Curran Park. Chaine Park, named in honour of James Chaine, who developed the sea route to Scotland, overlooks the North Channel and is an attractive spot from which to admire the magnificent views towards Scotland.
