United KingdomBritish IslesIsland

Rathlin Island

14.4 km² of land in the Sea of the Hebrides.

N 1 km

BeachesFerry portsLighthousesPeaks

Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2017 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.

In numbers

14.4km²

Area

36km

Coastline

136m

Highest point

150

People

14°C

Warmest sea

September

669km

To the mainland

When to go to Rathlin Island

Good all year round.

The sea is warmest in September (14 °C) and coolest in March (8 °C). The water never reaches 21 °C: bring a wetsuit.

9°8°5°

Jan22

8°7°5°

Feb19

8°8°5°

Mar18

8°10°6°

Apr16

9°12°8°

May16

11°14°11°

Jun17

12°16°12°

Jul20

14°16°13°

Aug20

14°15°12°

Sep18

13°13°10°

Oct21

12°10°8°

Nov22

10°8°6°

Dec22

Sea temperature (the water level) Air: night low to afternoon high Wet days

Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.

Island in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, UK

Rathlin Island is an island in United Kingdom. It belongs to British Isles. It covers 14.4 km², with 36 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 136 m. About 150 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 669 km away.

Getting there

Campbeltown Airport (CAL)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 36 km in a straight lineCar hire at LDY airport (Derry, Derry and Strabane)Discover Cars · Affiliate link
FerriesRathlin Island ferry
669 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast

Plan the trip

Ferries, stays and things to do

Car hire at LDY airport (Derry, Derry and Strabane)Discover CarsSee

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

On the island

What you find on Rathlin Island.

7beaches
1viewpointsKnockans Viewpoint
3lighthousesRathlin East (Altacarry Head) Lighthouse, Rue Point Lighthouse, Rathlin West Lighthouse
1ferry terminalsRathlin Island Ferry
2named peaksSlieveard, Slieveacarn
22ruins and archaeological sitesStanding Stone, Rathlin Castle and 20 more
2waymarked walking routesBallyconaghan Circular Trail, Rathlin, Ballycarry Trail, Rathlin
1campsitesRathlin Glamping Pods
3hotels, guesthouses and apartments
4restaurants, cafés and bars

Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.

Cross-checked with our atlases

Rathlin Island in our other atlases

Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Rathlin Island, each with its own numbers.

7beaches and covesCoastya

Beach with the warmest sea
14.0°C
Portnaboe
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya

7 beaches

on Coastya, the beach atlas

Park Covecove13.9°C
Ushet Portcove13.9°C
Portnaminnoncove13.9°C
Portawillincove13.9°C
Portcastlecove13.9°C
Portnaboecove14.0°C
Portnandooncove14.0°C

Open Coastya ↗

The shape of the land.

On average the island stands 62 m above the sea. 100 % of it is below 200 m.

39 %0–50 m
61 %50–200 m

Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).

Size, for real

Next to islands you may know.

Rathlin Island14 km²

Capri10 km²

Manhattan54 km²

5 km

All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).

Month by month

The weather on the island.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Afternoon high (°C)	8	7	8	10	12	14	16	16	15	13	10	8
Night low (°C)	5	5	5	6	8	11	12	13	12	10	8	6
Sea (°C)	9	8	8	8	9	11	12	14	14	13	12	10
Rain (mm)	140	106	98	74	86	92	106	122	105	143	142	142
Wet days	22	19	18	16	16	17	20	20	18	21	22	22
Sun h/day	0.6	2.2	3.7	6.1	7.0	6.3	5.6	5.0	3.7	2.3	0.8	0.4
Wind (km/h)	34	31	28	24	23	20	20	22	26	29	31	32

Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.

Recent years

Warmer and cooler years at sea.

Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
2020	+0.5	+0.1	+0.1	+0.2	+0.3	+0.3	+0.1	+0.2	+0.1	+0.1	+0.5	+0.5
2021	+0.4	−0.1	±0.0	±0.0	±0.0	+0.1	+0.7	+0.3	+0.3	+0.5	+0.7	+0.3
2022	+0.7	+0.7	+0.8	+0.7	+0.9	+0.6	+0.2	+0.5	+0.8	+0.8	+1.2	+1.3
2023	+1.3	+1.1	+1.1	+0.9	+1.0	+1.1	+1.0	+0.9	+1.1	+1.1	+1.2	+1.1
2024	+1.1	+1.2	+1.1	+1.1	+1.1	+0.1	+0.1	±0.0	+0.1	+0.4	+0.6	+0.7
2025	+0.9	+0.8	+0.9	+1.0	+1.3	+0.9	+1.0	+1.0	+0.6	+0.6	+1.0	+0.8

+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual

Photos

Seen by visitors.

South leg of Rathlin Island looking towards Fear Head — Van helsing · CC BY 2.5

Ferry boat ST SORNEY of Rathlin Island Ferry Ltd. arriving Ballycastle (2012) — JoachimKohler-HB · CC BY-SA 4.0

Old kelp store at Rathlin Island, 2017 — Transbedy · CC BY-SA 4.0

Rathlin Island Northern Ireland 07 — Brian O'Neill · CC BY-SA 3.0

Nearby

More islands nearby.

Islay

United Kingdom615 km²491 m53 km away

Isle of Arran

United Kingdom428 km²874 m68 km away

Jura

United Kingdom363 km²785 m92 km away

Isle of Bute

United Kingdom121 km²278 m94 km away

Colonsay

United Kingdom41 km²135 m86 km away

Isle of Man

Isle of Man568 km²608 m159 km away

Isle of Mull

United Kingdom883 km²966 m129 km away

Iona

United Kingdom8.5 km²97 m116 km away

About these numbers

Names, area, population	Wikidata (Q1136111) · CC0
Outline	© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
Sea temperature	NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020
Climate	NASA POWER · 1991–2020
Relief, 3D model	Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails	© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
Towns	GeoNames · CC BY 4.0
Images	EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls	Coastya — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

The family

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