Northern Ireland Is Home To A Clifftop Temple With Stunning Views & A Scandalous History

Scandal and history often make great bedfellows. Downhill Demesne, an 18th-century ruined mansion on the northern coast of Northern Ireland comes with plenty of both, including a "wicked prelate" as the lead character. Add to that a cinematic landscape of dramatic cliffs, broad beaches, sweeping seascapes, and a temple seemingly plucked from ancient Rome and placed high above crashing waves. Indeed, the script writes itself, especially when it includes the Picaresque tales of the estate's builder, Frederick Augustus Hervey, better known as Earl Bishop, the fourth Earl of Bristol and Church of Ireland Bishop of Derry. Even at his death, while traveling in Italy in 1803, he confounded many by requesting his body be shipped home in a casket of sherry.

All these ingredients make Downhill Demesne a popular sight, especially for weddings. The cherry on top comes in the form of Mussenden Temple. Inspired by the ancient Temple of Vesta in Rome, the Mussenden adopts a similar shape — a domed rotunda ringed by 16 Corinthian columns. Its frieze is inscribed with a quote of the Roman philosopher and poet Lucretius, which reads, "Tis pleasant, safely to behold from shore the troubled sailor, and hear the tempests roar." The temple certainly looks the part. It balances precariously atop a 120-foot cliff above the Atlantic Ocean, after centuries of erosion removed 30 feet of coastline. Fortunately, the temple is now secure thanks to an intensive stabilization project.

Mussenden Temple increases its appeal for book lovers with the knowledge that it was built as a library. That may be hard to see today in the bare brick walls and limestone floor tiles. However, with a bit of imagination, it's possible to envision the bookcases that once covered the walls and the marble busts that sat in the alcoves above the floor-to-ceiling windows. The temple also hosts two of the Earl's scandals, one true and one tragic. The first lies under the floor tiles in a secret chamber that the Protestant Earl allowed for Catholic worship after centuries of religious conflict, including the Penal Laws, which outlawed Catholic mass. The second lies in the tongue wagging by a local newspaper, which insinuated improprieties between the Earl and his cousin's daughter, whom he built the temple for. The accusation, so the story goes, overwhelmed her delicate constitution, and she died at age 22.

More romantic spirit can be found at the estate's other highlights, especially the shell of Downhill House. Once a three-floor, Italianesque grand mansion with two wings stretching toward the sea, it now lays in ruins, largely due to a devastating fire in 1851. All but empty by World War II, the house was taken over by the Royal Air Force for coastal defense before being dismantled in the 1950s. Nevertheless, enough remains today to spur visions of its glory days. The National Trust has worked to shore up what's left, including Mussenden Temple, a memorial for Earl Bishop's brother, and the grand "Lion's Gate."

Downhill Demesne sits along the 120-mile Causeway Coastal Route between Belfast and Londonderry. The route also connects several major sights of Northern Ireland, some short distances away. Chief among these is the Giant's Causeway, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the prettiest coastal destinations in Northern Ireland, according to Rick Steves. These 40,000 hexagonal basalt stepping stones, formed 60 million years ago, have long inspired legends, art, poetry, and a Led Zeppelin album cover. The Giant's Causeway is in Bushmills, and the famous whiskey distillery — the oldest licensed one in the world — is a few miles away. Between the Giant's Causeway and Downhill Demesne is the clifftop Dunluce Castle. Built in 1500, it was a lynchpin in the struggle between McQuillan and MacDonnell clans. Today, the ruins ooze romance in every sense of the word.

The Downhill Demesne region is also home to many beaches. The first, Downhill Beach, is in view from Mussenden Temple. Awarded Blue Flag status on several occasions, the seven-mile stretch of sand welcomes surfing, swimming, fishing, and boating. The beach is also one of many "Game of Thrones" filming locations you can visit. In the hills just above the beach is Umbra Nature Reserve, filled with wildflowers, butterflies, and breeding birds, including peregrine falcons. Heading in either direction along the coast leads to several more beaches, including the two-mile Portstewart Strand, another "Game of Thrones" location, and Whiterocks Beach, a favorite of children. Castlerock, the town closest to Downhill Demesne, also boasts its own beach. Aside from these places, a great thing is that Northern Ireland has no crowds and lower prices, according to world traveler Samantha Brown.