Blackcave Tunnel, Coast Road, Blackcave North, Larne, Co Antrim is a Grade B2 listed building in the Mid and East Antrim local planning authority area, Northern Ireland. First listed on 16 October 1995.
Blackcave Tunnel, Coast Road, Blackcave North, Larne, Co Antrim
- WRENN ID
- hallowed-spindle-dawn
- Grade
- B2
- Local Planning Authority
- Mid and East Antrim
- Constituency
- East Antrim MP: Sammy Wilson (DUP)
- Country
- Northern Ireland
- Date first listed
- 16 October 1995
- Irish grid reference
- D 398 052
- Coordinates
- 54.87512, -5.82177
- Source
- NI Environment Agency listing
Description
The Blackcave Tunnel is a rare and well-known rock-cut road tunnel, notable for its historical and scenic importance as part of the Antrim Coast Road. Constructed between 1840 and 1859, the tunnel carries the main coastal road from Larne to Ballygalley through a basalt headland.
The tunnel is built with a parabolic arch and vault. The arch itself is formed of rusticated sandstone voussoirs with tooled edges, flanked by basalt vaults at each end. A sandstone string-course runs above the arch, with coursed basalt forming the spandrels, and basalt rubble filling the space above to the natural stone opening.
The Antrim Coast Road was initially designed by William Bald in 1832, under the auspices of the Board of Works, and completed in 1842 by Charles Lanyon. The tunnel is an example of industrial archaeological interest, reflecting the period’s engineering and construction techniques.
Local climate
Blackcave Tunnel, Coast Road, Blackcave North, Larne, Co Antrim sits in a wetter-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 1,090 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 87% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 88% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 5 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 97% of listed buildings. Of these, 3 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.2°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
More on this building
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- No EPC on record for this property
- No sale records on file
- No related consent applications matched
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- No flood data for this area
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
Matched applications, energy data and sale records are assembled automatically and may contain errors. Flag incorrect data.
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