ISSUE #001 · 5–11 OCTOBER 2026
There’s more to going out than going for a drink.
The point isn’t to give you everything happening in Northern Ireland. It’s to find the things that give you a genuinely different reason to go somewhere.
For Issue #001, that means heating up beside the sea, seeing the Giant’s Causeway after the usual crowds have gone, trying songwriting yourself and following one of Northern Ireland’s strangest local stories on foot.
We went through 95 events. Six made the cut.
Here’s what’s worth your time.
ANYTIME
HEAT UP. COOL OFF. GO AGAIN.
ANYTIME · DATE IDEA · GROUP PICK
At Benone Strand or Groomsport Harbour, HotBox Sea Sauna puts a sauna right beside the water.
Book a shared session, heat up, step outside for an optional sea swim or cold plunge, then head back in. Sessions start from £20, and unlike most of this week’s picks, this is one you can save for another weekend.
THE DETAILS
ANYTIME
Benone Strand / Groomsport Harbour
£20–£35 per session · booking required · shared sessions 18+
THIS WEEK
SEE THE GIANT’S CAUSEWAY AT TWILIGHT
AFTER HOURS · DATE NIGHT · 18+
Most people know the Giant’s Causeway. This gives you a reason to see it differently.
The £40 evening pairs a guided twilight tour with a chocolate tasting and masterclass, hot chocolate and a truffle demonstration, plus a take-home chocolate bar.
Familiar territory, turned into a proper after-hours experience.
THE DETAILS
Thu 8 Oct · 18:00–20:30
Giant’s Causeway Visitor Centre, Bushmills
£40 · booking required · 18+
WRITE A SONG IN OMAGH
TRY IT YOURSELF · CREATIVE · £10
For £10, you’re not being asked to watch a music festival. You’re being invited to sit down and try songwriting yourself.
The practical workshop starts at 10:30 on Saturday. The wider Omagh Music Festival also includes free elements and a £15 Saturday concert, but this is the part that gives the weekend a proper join-in option.
THE DETAILS
Sat 10 Oct · songwriting workshop 10:30
Strule Arts Centre, Omagh
£10 · booking recommended
FOLLOW THE ISLANDMAGEE WITCHES TRAIL
LOCAL STORY · WALKING · DATE IDEA
Start inside Carrickfergus Castle, then follow the Islandmagee witch-trial story out through the town on foot.
Castle admission, a witches’ brew and biscuits are included. The draw is the format: local history turned into an actual afternoon out rather than something you only read on a plaque.
There are several staircases, so check the organiser’s mobility note before booking.
THE DETAILS
Sat 10 or Sun 11 Oct · 12:50
Carrickfergus Castle, Carrickfergus
£22 adult / £20 child · booking required
MAKE A DAY OF MOUNT STEWART
FREE · FAMILY · BUILD YOUR OWN DAY
A familiar estate becomes a free day you can build yourself.
Shorelife at Mount Stewart is walk-in, so you can arrive without a full plan and choose how involved you want to get once you’re there.
Some activities need separate pre-booking, but the main event itself is free.
THE DETAILS
Sat 10 Oct · 10:00–17:00
Mount Stewart, Newtownards
Free event; some ticketed activities separately booked · walk-in
LAIRD AND SMITH, IN CONVERSATION
LITERATURE · READINGS + CONVERSATION
Nick Laird and Zadie Smith together at Seamus Heaney HomePlace is the point here.
It’s a 90-minute evening of readings and conversation with James Conor Patterson in Bellaghy.
The format is simple. The pairing and the setting are what make this one worth the trip.
THE DETAILS
Sat 10 Oct · 19:30–21:00
Seamus Heaney HomePlace, Bellaghy
£20 · booking required
ANYTHING HERE YOU’D BE UP FOR?
KNOW SOMEONE WHO ALWAYS DEFAULTS TO THE SAME NIGHT OUT?
Send them this.
There’s more to going out than going for a drink.
BREAK THE DEFAULT.
OFF THE DRINK CLUB is a free weekly guide to finding better things to do across Northern Ireland.
No endless listings. Just the things we think are actually worth knowing about.