Bellarena

Bellarena
Bellarena Location within Northern Ireland
• Belfast	55 mi (89 km)
District	Causeway Coast and Glens
County	County Londonderry
Country	Northern Ireland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LIMAVADY
Postcode district	BT49
Dialling code	028
Police	Northern Ireland
Fire	Northern Ireland
Ambulance	Northern Ireland
UK Parliament	East Londonderry
NI Assembly	East Londonderry
List of places UK Northern Ireland County Londonderry 55°07′40″N 06°57′09″W / 55.12778°N 6.95250°W / 55.12778; -6.95250

Bellarena (derived from French belle "beautiful" + Latin arena "sand, strand")^[1] is a small village and townland in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is on the A2 coastal road between Limavady and Coleraine, 6 miles (9.7 km) north of Limavady. The land was settled in the mid-17th century by a Northamptonshire gentleman, William Gage, who bought the lease of the estate – then called Ballymargy from the Irish meaning "town of the market" – from the Lord Bishop of Derry. In the 2001 census the population was 291. The village lies within Causeway Coast and Glens District Council area and the Binevenagh Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, with open views eastwards to the scarp slope of Binevenagh.^[2] The village gets its name from the Earl Bishop of Derry.