The Wayside Inn
The Wayside Inn once stood along the Frosses Road outside Cloughmills, a familiar stop for travellers passing through County Antrim. It had been a true roadside hub — a bar and restaurant, a small fuel station, a cash-and-carry wine & spirits and even a small coal business all sharing the same site. For years, it served the local community and those journeying along this busy stretch of road, offering food, drink, and fuel under one roof.
When I first visited, the doors had long been shut and the building was slowly crumbling back into the landscape. The forecourt was overgrown, the pumps long gone, and the paint was peeling from the timbered façade. Inside, the air was heavy with damp and the faint smell of stale beer.
A few forgotten items still lingered—a Murphy’s mirror, empty whiskey display tins, old sale dockets, and an electric shaver. Upstairs, the remains of a snooker room sat quietly, complete with its overhead lamp and a scattering of other discarded belongings.
Most striking of all was an old jukebox, half-buried in the shadows of one of the back stores. Its casing was cracked and dulled with age, but when I shone my torch across the song labels, a few titles were still legible—faded echoes of the music that once filled the place. If you click through the images below, you’ll see what I managed to capture — a handful of track titles still clinging to the selection window. After looking them up, I realised most of the songs date from the late 1960s to the early 1970s, with very few selections from any later era. I even tracked each one down on YouTube to match them properly. Some of you might remember those tunes from nights spent in the bar when the place was full of life.
From what I could determine at the time, the property was for sale. There had even been plans drawn up for redevelopment — a new garage, restaurant, and motel to replace the old inn. But after the major road upgrade in the area, those plans were shelved, and the site was left to decay. When I photographed it, it was already in poor condition, and each time I passed by afterwards, it became worse — the roof sagging, windows smashed, nature reclaiming what man had abandoned.
Update 2023: That story has since come to an end. The Wayside Inn has now been demolished, its shell and memories cleared away. In its place stands a new Solo Garage, modern and efficient, serving the same travellers who once pulled in for pints and petrol at the old inn. It’s strange to see the spot so changed — bright lights, clean lines, and no trace of the building that once stood there.
Still, as I drive past, I can’t help but picture how it used to be: the cars lined up for fuel, the warmth spilling from the bar windows on cold evenings, and the sound of that jukebox playing through the chatter of familiar voices. The Wayside Inn may be gone, but for those who remember it, the stories and the spirit of the place still linger just beneath the surface.
