Yours for £200,000: a broken-down old RADAR station with commanding views of Co Antrim coast

The station is listed as for sale via PropertyPal, with offers of £200,000 upwards being invited.

It is described as a “unique historical building with stunning sea views”.

And it could be a sound investment too; the location is one of two which have been mooted as the site for a possible Northern Ireland / Scotland bridge.

The idea, which Boris Johnson had instructed civil servants to investigate in 2019, is to build a suspension bridge from there to the Mull of Kintyre in Scotland for about £15bn, or from Larne to Portpatrick for about £20bn – although there is little sign of the project getting off the ground any time soon.

Another significant infrastructure project – the Torr Head Tidal Scheme – had been mooted for the area, consisting of electricity turbines just off the cliffs which would take advantage of the powerful coastal currents.

The RADAR station is often confused with the coastguard station at Torr Head; the coastguard station is also derelict and consists of an old ruined house near Torr Head carpark and then a watch post on top of Torr Head hill.

The RADAR station is set back slightly further inland, and is bigger.

The sale of the B1 listed building (which has access to mains electricity) is being handled by Daniel McAlister & Son estate agency.

The agency describes it as follows: "For someone wanting to think outside the box, the sale of this former radar station offers a once in a lifetime opportunity to acquire something different.

"The sprawling property is in a state of disrepair at present. This unique historical building is set on a spacious elevated site with commanding view over the North Channel and Scottish Coastline.

“This B1 listed building, occupies an elevated site with views as far as the Paps of Jura and as far south as the Ayrshire Coast.

"Located approximately eight miles from Ballycastle this property is looking for that person with the imagination and drive to create something different in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.”

Love Heritage NI, a public body, says the RADAR base was built by the Air Ministry in 1955-56, adding: “There were only two other similar complexes built in Northern Ireland, one at Killard Point near Strangford, and one at Castlerock.”

The nearby Torr Head coastguard station was attacked in the 1920s by the IRA, and the area was also the scene of an IRA ambush in 1956 or ‘57 during the Border Campaign.

According to the website royalmarineshistory.com , the Special Boat Service had sent covert teams to the area in the mid-70s to interdict IRA weapon smuggling.