A grey-stone Georgian house at Stranocum, with a beech avenue planted to lead straight to its door — the trees the world now calls the Dark Hedges. Come for the golf, the hotel and restaurant, or as the handy base for walking the avenue.
What you'll find — Gracehill House itself (a private Georgian home you can admire from the estate), an 18-hole championship golf course, and The Hedges Hotel with its bar and restaurant — all set in a 300-acre estate the famous beech avenue runs up to.
How to visit — you come here to play golf, stay or eat at the hotel, or park up and walk to the Dark Hedges. The avenue itself is a short stroll from the estate car park.
How long — an hour or two for the Dark Hedges and a bite; a half-day or more if you're golfing or having lunch. Easy to fold into a Causeway Coast day.
Cost — golf green fees and dining vary (check ahead), while walking the Dark Hedges avenue is free. Nothing to invent here — prices sit with the golf club and hotel.
This is the parking & base for the Dark Hedges. The estate car park is the main place to leave the car and walk up to the avenue — see our Dark Hedges guide for the walk itself.
The house is private. Gracehill House is a family home, not a house you tour — you're here for the golf, the hotel and restaurant, or the Dark Hedges walk.
What to bring & food — comfy shoes and a coat for the avenue; golf kit if you're playing. There's a hotel restaurant and café on the estate for lunch, coffee and a sit-down.
Plan your visit
What are you here for — golf, the hotel, or the Dark Hedges?
The estate wears three hats. Golfers come for the 18-hole course at Gracehill Golf Club, laid out through the estate's woodland, water and rolling ground. The Hedges Hotel has rooms, a bar and a restaurant, and there's a café on the estate too, so you can eat and stay. And for most day-trippers, this is simply the base for the Dark Hedges — you park here and walk up the famous beech avenue that the estate's owners are said to have planted to lead visitors to the house. Green fees and menu prices sit with the golf club and hotel, so check the current rates with them; the Dark Hedges walk itself is free.
On-site parking18-hole golfHotel restaurant & caféRooms at the hotelBase for the Dark Hedges
Two things worth knowing:
(1) Gracehill House is a private family home — you can admire it across the estate, but it isn't a house you tour inside. (2) The Dark Hedges avenue is a short walk from the estate, not right at the door — park up and follow the signs. See our Dark Hedges guide for the avenue itself.
Before you set off
What to wear & bring
👟Comfy shoesThe walk up to the Dark Hedges is short and easy, but the lane can be muddy after rain — trainers or boots beat sandals.
🧥A coat or a layerYou're up on the north Antrim plateau. A breeze and a passing shower are never far away, even in summer.
📷A cameraThe beech tunnel is one of the most photographed spots in Ireland — early morning or a soft grey day gives it real atmosphere.
⛳Golf kit, if you're playingClubs, spikes and a check of the tee-time booking with the club before you set out.
Good to know
Everything before you go
What it is
Gracehill House is a Georgian house and 300-acre estate at Stranocum, near Ballymoney. The estate is home to Gracehill Golf Club, The Hedges Hotel and restaurant, a café and gift shop, and the main visitor car park for the Dark Hedges beech avenue.
The house
Gracehill House is a private family home — admire it from the estate, but it isn't open as a house tour. You come for the golf, the hotel and restaurant, or the Dark Hedges walk.
Golf
Gracehill Golf Club is an 18-hole course laid out through the estate's woodland, water and rolling ground. Green fees, tee times and a pro shop are handled by the club — check current rates and book ahead.
Hotel & food
The Hedges Hotel on the estate has rooms, a bar and a restaurant, with a café nearby too. Handy for lunch, coffee or a sit-down before or after the Dark Hedges. Confirm opening times and menus with the hotel.
The Dark Hedges
The famous beech avenue is a short walk from the estate. Walking it is free. The estate car park is the main place to park — see our Dark Hedges guide for the walk, the best time to go, and photo tips.
Cost
Walking the Dark Hedges is free. Golf green fees and hotel/restaurant prices vary — check with the golf club and hotel directly, as we don't set or guess those.
Parking
On-site car parking at the estate — the main place to leave the car for the Dark Hedges. There's no parking on the avenue itself (the road through the trees is closed to traffic).
How long
An hour or two to walk the Dark Hedges and grab a bite; a half-day or more if you're golfing or dining. Easy to combine with the Causeway Coast.
Questions
Before you go
Is this where I park for the Dark Hedges?
Yes — the estate car park is the main place to leave the car and walk up to the famous beech avenue. The road through the trees is closed to traffic, so you park here and stroll up. Our Dark Hedges guide has the full walk and the best times to go.
Can I go inside Gracehill House?
No — Gracehill House is a private family home, not a house tour. You can admire it across the estate. What you're really here for is the golf, the hotel and restaurant, or the Dark Hedges walk.
What's the connection to the Dark Hedges?
The beech avenue is said to have been planted in the eighteenth century by the family who built Gracehill House, to make a grand approach leading up to their door. Two centuries on, those trees are the world-famous Dark Hedges — and the estate is still the way in.
How much does it cost?
Walking the Dark Hedges is free. Golf green fees and hotel or restaurant prices vary, so check the current rates with Gracehill Golf Club and The Hedges Hotel — we don't guess prices.
Is there food on the estate?
Yes — The Hedges Hotel has a bar and restaurant, and there's a café on the estate too. Handy for lunch or a coffee before or after the Dark Hedges. Check opening times with the hotel, especially off-season.
Is it good for a family day out?
The Dark Hedges walk is short, flat and free — grand for all ages and buggy-friendly on a dry day. Pair it with lunch at the hotel, and you've an easy stop on a Causeway Coast trip.
Getting there
Gracehill House, Bregagh Road, Stranocum BT57 8TF — near Ballymoney in north Co. Antrim, a short drive inland from the Causeway Coast, with on-site parking for the estate and the Dark Hedges.
Gracehill House was built in the 1770s by James Stuart, and named — the story goes — in honour of his wife, Grace Lynd. It's a handsome, four-square Georgian house of grey stone, set on rolling ground at Stranocum in north Antrim.
To make a grand approach to their new home, the family are said to have planted an avenue of beech trees along the entrance lane, over a hundred of them, so that visitors would arrive through a cathedral of branches. That was the whole idea: a bit of eighteenth-century theatre to impress you before you ever reached the door.
Two and a half centuries later, the trees did something no one could have planned. Grown gnarled and tangled and leaning over the road, the avenue became one of the most photographed spots in Ireland — and, after it stood in as the Kingsroad in a certain blockbuster fantasy series, a place people now fly in to see. The world knows it as the Dark Hedges.
The estate has moved with the times. An 18-hole golf course opened here in the 1990s, threading through the woodland and water, and The Hedges Hotel and restaurant sit alongside it. The house stays a private home — but the trees it was built to be seen through are open to everyone. Park up, walk up, and go and see them.