Not to be confused with A2 road (Great Britain).

The A2 is a major road in Northern Ireland, a large section of which is often called the Antrim Coast Road because it follows the scenic coastline of County Antrim.

Mostly a single carriageway, the road actually follows the majority of the coastline of Northern Ireland. It is connected in several places to other major roads.

Designed by the architect and engineer Charles Lanyon, the Antrim Coast section from Larne to Ballycastle was built in the mid-19th. century following the potato famine, when many Irish people living in the remote Glens of Antrim died of hunger. The road was primarily designed to make the Glens more accessible, but incidentally and thanks to Lanyon's skill as a designer, also became one of the most beautiful scenic drives in the British Isles.

Route

The Causeway Coast

After Dundrum the road continues via Ardglass to Strangford, where traffic following the road takes a car ferry to Portaferry. From there it meets the Irish Sea coast of the Ards Peninsula at Cloughey, and follows it through Portavogie, Ballyhalbert, Millisle and Donaghadee to Bangor, County Down, from where it forms a major dual carriageway to Belfast.

After its intersection with the M3, it continues through Belfast city centre's complex one-way system via the Queen's Bridge and Queen Elizabeth Bridge, past the Custom House and on along Corporation Street, eventually joining York Road. Along this stretch and further out the Shore Road, the main route is formed by the M3, M2 and M5, until the M5 ends in Newtownabbey in the northern suburbs of Belfast.

After a suburban stretch through Jordanstown, Carrickfergus and Whitehead, it enters open countryside en route to Larne, beyond which the most notable section of the road, the Antrim Coast Road, begins. This has been compared to Australia's Great Ocean Road and Big Sur in California. It is regarded as one of Ireland's most scenic drives. The road here is not a primary route and is narrow but lightly used. This section of the road closely follows the coast through the villages of Ballygalley, Glenarm, Carnlough, Waterfoot and Cushendall before leaving the coast, which it rejoins at Ballycastle.

It then continues along the coast to Portrush and continues on into County Londonderry through Coleraine and Derry to the border with the Republic of Ireland. Currently upon approach to Derry city it is a dual carriageway from Maydown to The Foyle Bridge (Ireland's Longest Bridge) but from the end of 2008 work will begin on further dualling of this route from Maydown to City of Derry Airport an Airport which is rapidly expanding.

Tourist attractions

Owing to its length and the fact that it follows the coast, the road passes a large number of Northern Ireland's tourist attractions. These include:

• The Mourne Mountains.

• Carrickfergus Castle, a Norman castle built in 1177.

• The Glens of Antrim, a series of steep coastal valleys and hills with spectacular scenery.

• Ballycastle, site of the 400 year old Ould Lammas Fair.

• Bushmills, site of the Old Bushmills Distillery which was founded in 1608.

• Dunluce Castle, dating from the 13th century and battered by the Atlantic Ocean.

• Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, a rope bridge to the tiny Carrick Island.

• Portrush, and the nearby Giant's Causeway.

• Derry and its Walled City.

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