A GUIDE TO CONTENTS 03 Introduction 31 Wildlife 04 A landscape of Fire and Ice 32 Walking & Cycling in the Glens 06 A landscape of Mists and Myths 33 The Nine 34 Caring for the Glens Journey through the Glens 35 Background Reading 08 From to the Glens 10 & Glencloy 14 Glenariff & Glenballyeamon 18 Glenaan, Glencorp & Glendun 22 Over the Hills to Ballycastle 24 Glenshesk & Glentaisie 28 Ballycastle

02 | A guide to the Glens of Antrim Glenariff Glen

The spectacular Causeway Coastal Route, hugging the cliffs and coves of the north eastern coastline of Ireland is ‘the Essential Irish Journey’ - a very special trip not to be hurried. Gasp at the spectacular scenery and take time to immerse yourself in one of the renowned Glens of Antrim.

These nine famous glens, endowed of middle glens - first Glenariff, another, more hidden landscape of with evocative names and blessed above the village of Waterfoot, mists and myths, of legends and with a diversity of landscape are and Glenballyeamon behind the folklore and tales of giants, fairies also rich in history, in folklore and coastal town of , and and other wonderful creatures. in the natural beauty that is a second, Glenaan, Glencorp and Come and explore them all. world away from the frantic bustle Glendun, leading down to the of modern life. village of . Travelling over the hills to Ballycastle, the The aim of this guidebook is to two northern glens are Glenshesk take you on a leisurely journey and Glentaisie, both looking out through these enchanting glens, over the waters of Moyle to the beginning at the port of Larne and island of Rathlin. finishing at the seaside resort of Ballycastle. For ease of description Entwined with the rich history and the glens have been divided into the traditions of the communities four groups; the southern glens within the glens is the constant comprising Glenarm and Glencloy, sense of a dual landscape; one meeting the sea at the settlements of breathtaking natural drama of Glenarm and and beauty that opens up as you respectively. Then two clusters negotiate the hills and bends and

A guide to the Glens of Antrim | 03 1 2 1 Deserted village of Galboly 2 View from Lurigethan 3 3 in snow with Fairy Tree in foreground

Water, fire and ice were the original architects of the Glens of Antrim.

Ancient sea sediments became retreated towards Scotland as this former land bridges or narrow sea mudstones, clays and chalk, and long cold period declined between routes, about 8,000 years ago. earth movements raised these 20,000 and 10,000 years ago. The Since then, human activities have to become hills and cliffs. About gouging of the ice scooped out modified the landscape to create 60 million years ago, volcanic deep valleys where geological moorland, forest, small farms and eruptions spread lavas in thick faulting had already created settlements, now bounded by a layers which cooled to form the weaknesses and jumbled the rocks. bold coast road built by glensmen dark basalt rock that is evident between 1832 and 1842. today, capping the brilliant Changes in sea and land levels white chalk. took place, as melting ice added The building of the Antrim huge quantities of water to the Coast Road greatly improved On this sandwich cake of rocks, sea, and the land rose slowly, communications for the people giant hands pressed down on the released from a great weight of of the glens and made travel for land to leave imprints, like long ice. Slippage and settlement put visitors less hazardous. Before fingers radiating seawards from the final touches to the land, the road was built, a narrow and high ground inland. Those giant leaving opportunities for plants to rough track passed through the and heavy hands were glaciers, become established. Grazing and wooded slopes above the coast originating in a great thickness predatory animals soon followed, and Highwaymen, probably based of ice, and their imprints became and Stone Age people arrived on at the now deserted village of today’s glens. The ice eventually this north-east coast, possibly by Galboly, tucked out of sight above

04 | A guide to the Glens of Antrim Garron Point, were reported to rob and murder travellers, especially between Carnlough and Cushendall. It was also at a wooded spot not far from Garron Point that the last wolf in Ireland was reportedly shot in 1712. The Coast Road therefore and the country railroads that followed, revolutionised access to the glens for day-trippers and other travellers keen to absorb the magical atmosphere of a region for so long sheltered from the outside world.

A guide to the Glens of Antrim | 05 1 2 1 Fairy Tree 2 in the mist

Not so long ago many more people lived in the glens than do today.

These communities worked the headaches without even needing nature), left to replace a kidnapped land, fi shed the coastal waters physical contact with their patients human child. A more benevolent and entertained themselves with to effect a cure. Some are said fairy, the small and hairy but very the occasional ‘ceili’, (pronounced to survive today, so if you have a friendly Grogoch, features in many caylee), a tradition of gathering in headache... folk stories particularly from the each other’s homes to swap news, northern glens and . listen to music, sing and enjoy the The Fairy Family craic of story-telling. Of course, many of the old stories The Folklore of Trees also talked of fairies and other There has always been a strong Many of the stories told in these supernatural beings such as association in the glens between days dealt in the currency of magic. Leprechauns, Banshees, Sheeries the hawthorn tree and fairies. People talked of the curse that and the Pooka - the most feared Small, gnarled hawthorns, often of accounted for a failed harvest or of all, a vindictive fairy, sometimes great age, survive on slopes and in an outbreak of disease while some appearing as a horse, an eagle, fi elds where other obstructions to people, it was believed, had the or in the guise of the bogeyman the plough have long since been power to put a curse or ‘blink’ on himself. Tales also exist of pipers removed. Stories abound of the cattle, preventing them from giving being led away, condemned misfortunes that have befallen milk. Others had the gift of charms. forever to entertain the fairies, those foolish enough to cut down They could cure ailments such as and of ‘changelings’ - unwanted a ‘skeoch’, as they are known, eg warts, sprains, burns and migraine fairy children, (often of a grumpy someone struck dumb or even a

06 | A guide to the Glens of Antrim Close to the head of Glencloy and Glenarm, lies Slemish Mountain where Saint Patrick herded sheep as a boy.

man’s head turned back-to-front! A sprinkling of folk stories and Twigs of hazel are favoured by tales of strange events are water diviners and noted for included in this guidebook and providing protection against while you may be sceptical, when mischievous fairies, (tying a hazel mist curls up the glens, or low branch to a horse for example, cloud distorts the landscape you discourages fairies from taking the can, almost, believe anything. animal). Alder, on the other hand is feared for harbouring water spirits and the ash is said to be the fi rst tree that lightning will strike, and should be avoided in a storm.

The survival of beliefs and traditions within the glens continues to enrich the cultural heritage of the area, and, although not everyone will admit to believing in fairies, few would dare to cut down a hawthorn tree.

A guide to the Glens of Antrim | 07 1 2 1 Carnfunnock Country Park 2 Head 3 4 3 Ballygally Castle I 4 Black Arch I Lady Isabella Shaw, Ghost of Ballygally Castle

Journey through the Glens

Larne is known as the ‘Gateway to Ulster’

Today’s visitors arriving by ferry for America and in 1872 regular raised beaches. Passing through come ashore on a strip of land sailings were established between the famous landmark of the Black known as The Curran, where Larne and Stranraer. Arch just north of Larne, there is an archaeologists in 1935 discovered underground sea tunnel where the Larne to Glenarm flint implements from a Stone Age foamy turbulence of the water gives Heading north from Larne, where settlement of around 8000 years this the name Devil’s Churn. Local the road drops down to the coast, a ago. Larne’s long human history is legend recalls a drunken piper who plaque on a plinth by the seashore a mere blink in time, as evidenced lost his way in this tunnel, and still railings is the monument to William by fossils discovered along the plays his pipes at a distant house Bald, who engineered the Antrim adjoining coast, including a 200 where the tunnel is said to emerge. Coast Road, and the men of the million year old Icthyosaur - the glens who built it between A few miles north of Larne is name means ‘fish lizard’ - found at 1832 and 1842. Carnfunnock Country Park, a nearby Waterloo Bay in 1999. place to stop off for walks, The road was - and is - quite an The port of Larne is well used to camping and caravanning. engineering feat. Bordered on one comings and goings. In 1327 King side by the North Channel and on Rounding Ballygally Head, a Robert the Bruce of Scotland landed the other, for much of its length, by prominent , there is a here, 1639 saw the arrival of the cliffs of white chalk and dark basalt, small rocky promontory crowned first of many Scottish Covenanters, it occupies a narrow ribbon of land by the remains of a stone building. in 1717 the vessel ‘Friends Goodwill’ that includes parts of post-glacial This is known as O’Halloran’s left the port with emigrants bound

08 | A guide to the Glens of Antrim Castle, after a character in a There is a surprise around almost novel written by a Larne doctor in every headland on this scenic road, 1820. Other stories linked to this not least being the attractive small ruin tell of it being the home of town of Glenarm, and the fi rst of a famous bard, a place where a the Antrim glens. local chieftain’s daughter was held captive and - more likely - a small Anglo-Norman castle built early in the thirteenth century.

A more substantial building is Ballygally Castle, built in 1625 by James Shaw of Greenock, Glasgow. More of a fortifi ed house than a castle, it claims a resident ghost, Lady Isabella Shaw, shut in the tower by her cruel husband because she failed to produce a son and heir. It is now a hotel and restaurant.

A guide to the Glens of Antrim | 09 1 2 4 1 Salmon fi shing, Glenarm 2 Glenarm Harbour 3 3 Wild Garlic 4 Glenarm Castle

Journey through the Glens

Glenarm - Glen of the Army Glencloy - Glen of the Hedges

Glenarm Ireland and a designated Area of with a fi ne view on a clear day. Travelling up the glen, rushy Special Scientifi c Interest. A viewpoint panel explains the vista, fi elds gradually give way to a from Scotland’s Mull of Kintyre in Looking across the glen, the more open landscape of small the north, to nearer features such patchwork of dark spruce and farms with stone-walled pastures, as the glen, its castle and the spire paler larch is evident in the then extensive moorland. The of Saint Patrick’s Church in the forest plantations, while lower whaleback ridge of Slemish coastal town of Glenarm. down towards the river are other Mountain becomes visible to woodlands, including hazel scrub. Glenarm Castle the south-west. Here, in the fi fth In early spring, before the leaves Castle turrets have been a feature century, a young man was brought are fully developed and reduce of Glenarm since Medieval times. from Britain to work in service to the light, the ground beneath The Bisset family is an early link a local landowner, tending pigs these deciduous trees is carpeted to the fi rst castle at Glenarm. John on the slopes of Slemish. He was with primroses, wood anemones, Bisset was exiled from Scotland to become Saint Patrick, Ireland’s bluebells and other wild fl owers, in 1242 for murdering a local earl. patron saint. many of which can also be seen He acquired lands on the Antrim From the top of the glen, the great adorning the grassy road banks. coast, and resided at Glenarm expanse of bogland visible to the Castle, which was then on the There is a small lay-by on the north is the Garron Plateau, the north side of the river. Another right-hand-side of the B97 road nearest thing to a wilderness in Scot, John Mor McDonnell, brother at the top of the glen’s north side, agriculturally dominated Northern of the Lord of the Isles, married

10 | A guide to the Glens of Antrim FAIRY FIDDLERS This glen has produced its fair share of skilled fi ddle players, and in the past, when fl ax was grown in abundance, the fi ddlers would be key entertainers at the fl ax harvest celebrations. Those with exceptional skills and knowledge of rare and beautiful tunes were said to have learned these from the fairies, known to be fi ne musicians. Ask about belief in fairies and you may receive a cautious or shy response. Fairies are feared, and it is safer to refer to them less directly, using terms such as ‘the little folk’.

A guide to the Glens of Antrim | 11 into the Bisset family and their A major feature is the Barbican farms. Views from the top are of descendants inherited the castle, Gate of Glenarm Castle, built when moorland and forest, and once which has been home to the Earls Edmund McDonnell restored the again Slemish Mountain can be of Antrim for over four hundred castle in 1825. seen. Look out for occasional years. Randal McDonnell rebuilt impressive stone gate pillars, The harbour dates from the the castle, this time on the north usually with a conical top. Once fifteenth century. It was once filled side of the river, in 1636. Six years widespread throughout the glens, with trading and fishing boats, but later, it was attacked and burned, here and there some were left with it is less commercial now. Today’s then rebuilt in 1750, with attractive flat tops so that the fairies could lobster and crab fishers work close towers, turrets and crenellations. dance on them. inshore, using small boats and Today’s owner is Randal McDonnell, there is an Atlantic salmon farming Doonan Fort and Waterfall Viscount Dunluce and the fourteenth enterprise, with floating holding Well down the north side of the Earl of Antrim. pens visible in the bay. glen on the A42 road is a walled Glenarm Town lay-by. A nearby flat-topped mound Glencloy Glenarm is a small town with a is Doonan Fort, an Early Christian Glencloy is a shorter, broader glen village atmosphere. Believed to have stockade built to defend homes and than Glenarm. Hedges of hawthorn been granted a municipal charter livestock and occupied about 1200 and gorse lower in the glen give by the Anglo-Norman King John years ago. At the lower end of this way to neat stone walls on higher early in the thirteenth century, it is lay-by is a small viewing platform, ground, all part of the many small one of the oldest towns in Ireland. overlooking Doonan Waterfall.

12 | A guide to the Glens of Antrim 1 2 3 1 Glencloy Glen 2 Carnlough Harbour 4 5 3 The White Lady 6 4 Garron Plateau 5 Bluebells 6 Cranny Waterfall, Carnlough

Carnlough Beside the coast road just north Beginning life in the early of Garron Point is a large inscribed seventeenth century as a small slab of chalk known as the Famine fishing settlement, Carnlough is Stone. It was inscribed by the an attractive village with its neat Marchioness as a memorial to the limestone bridge, picturesque hardships and loss of life in the harbour and historic buildings. Great Irish Famine of the 1840s.

Londonderry Arms Hotel The White Lady This attractive and stately hotel in A short distance north of the the centre of Carnlough was built Famine Stone, on the inland side of in 1850 and was once owned by the road, is a tall chalk pillar, once Winston Churchill when he was a sea-stack, known as the White Secretary of State for War. It was Lady. It has the appearance of a part of the estate of his great- bustled Victorian woman, looking grandmother, Frances Anne Vane, out to sea. Nearby is the Foaran Marchioness of Londonderry, and River, a tumbling stream running a came to him as an inheritance. brief course from the cliffs to the It is now owned and managed, sea, said to be the shortest river (and has been for many years), in Ireland. by the O’Neill family.

A guide to the Glens of Antrim | 13 1 2 4 1 Looking towards Lurigethan 2 Glenariff Glen 3 I 3 Lurigethan 4 I Watershee

Journey through the Glens

Glenariff - arable or fertile glen Glenballyeamon - Edwardstown glen

Glenariff Lurigethan This hill top fortifi cation is also If, as the road sign approaching Lurigethan, also known as known as Lignafenia, which means the village of Waterfoot proclaims, Lurigedan or simply Lurig, is the the ‘hollow of the warriors’, a Glenariff is ‘The Queen of the long ridge bordering the north side reference to the band of adventurers Glens’, then she is ably crowned by of Glenariff, separating it from known as the Fianna, led by Fionn the prominent peak of Lurigethan Glenballyeamon. The faint outlines mac Cumhaill (Finn MacCool). They on the north side. The wide base of an early Iron Age, (approximately are characters from Irish tales of of the glen meets the sea at a long 500 B.C. to 500 A.D.), promontory long ago, and Finn reappears, in strand by Waterfoot. Glenariff fort are visible to those energetic elevated status, as the colossus is indeed a spectacular glen, a enough to scramble to the top of who built the Giant’s Causeway on classic U-shaped valley created this steep-sided headland. What the nearby north Antrim coast. by a glacier. Tumbling waterfalls a view those early high ground feed the river that meanders along dwellers had! The Antrim hills are Glenariff Mines the valley bottom, woodland and spread out all around, sheltering The thick layers of basalt that scrub clothe the steeper slopes, the middle glens, and across cap the glens hills have layers of and narrow fi elds run up the sides the North Channel, the hills of weathered red soils that contain of the valley, crossed regularly by Galloway in Scotland can be seen iron ore and bauxite (aluminium hedges - part of the distinctive on a clear day. ore). Iron mining began in upper ‘ladder farms’ of Glenariff. Glenariff in 1873 and ceased in the 1880s. The fl at trackway of an old

14 | A guide to the Glens of Antrim THE WATERSHEE Usually appearing as either a female fairy or a beautiful woman, the Watershee lures weary travellers into bogs and lakes with her sweet singing; only to drown them and devour their unfortunate souls.

Only the wearing of a cross or saying a prayer will protect human beings from her dark and evil ways.

A guide to the Glens of Antrim | 15 iron ore railway - the first three foot Another pier survives by the There is a minor road from the shore gauge in Ireland - can still be seen sandstone arch just north of the near Cushendall Golf Club that on the southern slope of Glenariff. village, once busy with sailing winds uphill to the remains of the Larger deposits of iron ore were ships loading the iron ore, and ancient church and graveyard of extracted a short distance later a terminus for a small ferry Layde, a quiet place from which to south-west of Glenariff, in the that connected with Campbeltown enjoy views of Red Bay and the lush hills around Glenravel, which is in Scotland from 1969 to 1972. countryside surrounding Cushendall. known as ‘The Tenth Glen’. Mining Cushendall Glenballyeamon here was at its peak in the 1870s Cushendall is a conservation town, The road from Cushendall up the and 1880s. These ores were and is known locally as the Capital south side of the glen is close to the transported by road using horses of the Glens. The prefix ‘Cush...’ in steep slope of Lurigethan, where and carts, then by railway down to Cushendall and Cushendun means crooked tracks have exposed bits of Red Bay where they were joined by ‘the foot of the river...’ and in these the white chalk that form the lower the outputs from local mines and cases the rivers are the Dall and part of this basalt-capped ridge. shipped to Britain for processing. the Dun. Francis Turnley, who built The dark lump of Tievebulliagh The supports of a chalk-built the prominent curfew tower in its dominates the view of the north railway bridge, an old pier and centre in 1817, owned Cushendall, side of this glen. The scene changes a line of former miners’ houses once known as Newtownglens. from small and fertile farms to high can be seen as the coast road Troublesome citizens were confined moorland with forest plantations approaches Waterfoot. in this tower. stretching away to the south-west,

16 | A guide to the Glens of Antrim 1 2 4 5 1 Tievebulliagh 2 Layde Church and Graveyard 3 6 3 Turnley’s Tower, Cushendall 4 Redbay Harbour, Waterfoot 5 Redbay Castle 6 Glenariff Mountain

where , at 1800 feet, is the Ireland’s first export industry, highest hill in Antrim. At the top of and another ‘axe factory’, exploiting Glenballyeamon, Gaults Road links the same type of rock, existed on the two sides. Rathlin Island off Ballycastle.

Tievebulliagh axe factory The dark outcrop of Tievebulliagh is a hard volcanic rock called Porcellanite - so named because it is a blue-grey porcelain-like colour. Around five to six thousand years ago, stone-age settlers quarried this rock to make axe heads, then used sandstone to add a beautiful polish and a sharp edge. These artefacts were so distinctive that archaeologists have recognised them from finds scattered the length and breadth of Britain and Ireland, and as far away as Greece. Tievebulliagh may have been

A guide to the Glens of Antrim | 17 Journey through the Glens

Glenaan - Glen of the colt’s foot Glencorp - Glen of the slaughtered Glendun - Glen of the brown river

Glenaan these with heather, and once the Glencorp Lower Glenaan has beautiful confrontation began, lured the The A2 road from Cushendall fuchsia hedges, ablaze with cavalry into these traps. As the towards Cushendun cuts through hanging scarlet and lilac flowers enemy floundered, the McDonnells Glencorp for a distance of about in summer. This hardy variant, cut them down, and were victorious. two miles. This short, wide glen Fuchsia Magellanica, has been Hugh Phelim O’Neill was killed has a pleasant landscape of fields, extensively planted as a hedging nearby, and his tomb, difficult to lush hedges, woodlands, stone shrub throughout the glens and find now, lies amongst the boggy walls and hills dotted with gorse along parts of the Causeway Coast, humps and hollows near the bushes, which often grow on rocky and has adapted well to the summit of Slievanorra. ground where soils are thin, and maritime climate. can hide or disguise early man- American Wakes made features such as raths and Battle of the Boglands A wake in Ireland is a gathering to similar structures. On the treacherous peat bogs of mourn the deceased, but it is also Orra Beg, in 1559, the McDonnells a celebration of that person’s life. Raths of the Isles, settlers from Scotland, An American wake, once a regular These circular earth-banked fought the Ulster MacQuillans, event in a more populated Glenaan, structures, usually with an outer who had the advantage of horse was a party tinged with sadness, to ditch, are widepread throughout soldiers led by Hugh Phelim O’Neill. say goodbye to emigrants leaving the glens. Some are built of Prior to the battle, the McDonnells for America. stones, and are known as Cashels. dug pits in the bog, disguised They are mainly Iron Age to Early

18 | A guide to the Glens of Antrim 1 2 1 Glenaan 2 Ossians Grave, Glenaan I I Ossian and Niaomh

Christian structures (500 BC to 1200 AD), sometimes referred to as ringforts. They were defensive enclosures for families and their farm animals, protecting them OSSIAN THE BARD against small-scale local raids. On Ossian, (pronounced However, he could not resist the south slope of Cross Slieve hill, ‘awsheen’), son of Finn coming back to Glenaan, and north of Tiveragh, are two closely MacCool, was a poet as well on doing so, he fell from his spaced rath-like enclosures known as a warrior, and he lived for a horse and on contact with the as The Twin Towers. while with a beautiful woman, ground aged and died almost Niaomh, who had tempted at once. A stone-age burial The Fairy Hill him to dwell in the Underworld, cairn at Lubitavish, half a mile A prominent round hill on the known as Tir Na Nog, Land of up Glenaan, has long been east slope of Glencorp is called Eternal Youth, where no one romantically associated with the Tieveragh. This is famed as the ever aged. He was warned never grave of Ossian and also has a home of multitudes of fairies, said to set foot on land again or he memorial to John Hewitt, the to emerge in a procession on May would at once grow old and frail. famous poet of the Glens. Eve (30 April). Those who doubt the existence of the little folk will not see them, for they reveal themselves only to believers.

A guide to the Glens of Antrim | 19 1 2 3 5 1 Glendun 2 Glendun Viaduct 4 3 Cushendun 4 Glencorp 5 Aerial view over Cushendun

Glendun throughout the glens, and beneath buildings, including Queen’s A steep-sided and pretty glen, the hazels and other small trees, University, designed the bridge. its river tumbling over shiny and along the road banks, in Cushendun stones of greenish-grey schist, spring, is a wonderful richness of This attractive village, owned by the peat-stained water the colour wild flowers - white stitchwort, the National Trust and best known of whiskey. Moorland and bog lemony primrose, violet, bluebell, for its unusual Cornish-style dominate the hills above the glen, wild garlic (white) and golden architecture, (the work of Clough giving way lower down to small celandine. Williams Ellis between 1912 and fields bounded by stone walls and The Big Bridge 1925), has a pleasant beach with hedges of hawthorn and gorse, Down the valley where Glendun a car park behind the warren on the latter not restricted to hedges begins to widen, the A2 road crosses the other side of the road. Behind and appearing in clumps on the Dun river on a magnificent the car park is Glenmona, once the hillsides and ridges. Its vivid yellow high viaduct, known in the area home of Lord Cushendun, Ronald blossoms, smelling like coconut, simply as ‘the big bridge’. It took McNeill, (1861-1934), a prominent are so bright in late April and early glensmen five summers to build Ulster and British politician. May, you almost need sunglasses (1834-1839), drawing the stone by to view them. Hazel copses, known Castle Carra horse and cart from Layde quarry locally as ‘scroggery’ - an old Scots This ruin of a tower house stands near Cushendun. Charles Lanyon, term - clothe the lower slopes. in a field above Rockport House architect of some of ’s finest This type of scrub is widespread at the north end of Cushendun

20 | A guide to the Glens of Antrim Bay. In 1567, two years after being defeated by the self-proclaimed Earl of Ulster Shane O’Neill, the McDonnells entertained their former adversary in Castle Carra, providing two days of hunting and feasting. However, on the third day, taking advantage of the confusion of a quarrel, they stabbed O’Neill to death and their earlier defeat was avenged. According to one account, the proud O’Neill was cruelly mangled, his head was cut off and sent pickled in a jar to be displayed on a spike at Dublin Castle. In a fi eld a little way up the Torr Road, a cairn and a large Celtic cross mark the site where Shane O’Neill’s remains were laid.

A guide to the Glens of Antrim | 21 1 2 I 3 4

1 Watertop Open Farm 2 I The vanishing Horsemen of Loughareema 3 Loughareema, empty 4 Torr Head with Mull of Kintyre in background Journey through the Glens

Leaving Cushendun, you are faced with a choice of routes to Ballycastle.

Either take the narrow and bed of cracked mud and not a drop The mound a short way before the dramatic coastal route or the road of water in sight, this is indeed a Church, cut through by the road out of the village to the north mysterious place. and visible in the fi eld opposite, which swings uphill to join the was a fort known as The Seat Culfeitrin Church A2 across the moors, passing of the Kings of Ulster, once a About half a mile from the famous vanishing lake and substantial stone construction. hamlet, on the right hand side dropping down the lovely valley Evidence of battles came from of the road travelling towards of the Carey river past Bonamargy a nearby bog where spears and Ballycastle, is an attractive stone Friary to Ballycastle. other weapons were found. Church of Ireland. This is an Loughareema - The Vanishing Lake ancient site, with two Bronze Age The Torr Coast Road Dropping down from the standing stones rising amongst the This is an extremely narrow winding moorlands of Cushleake and more recent headstones close to and hilly road with spectacular Grange, the A2 road passes the south wall of the church. What views on a clear day across over a stone-walled culvert by makes these stones unusual is the sound to Scotland’s Mull of Loughareema, the ‘fairy lough’ their recognition by archaeologists Kintyre, twelve miles at the closest immortalised in the songs and as ‘male and female’ stones, the point. From further north on this poems of former Cushendun former tall and pointed and latter road, the Scottish islands of Jura poetess Moira O’Neill. One day a smaller with a fl at top. Such and Islay can also be seen in good sparkling lake, a few days later a combinations are rare. weather, lying to the north-west.

22 | A guide to the Glens of Antrim Torr Head is an obvious promontory - once an ancient fort - and a steep run downhill brings you past the ruins of coastguard houses to a small car park. A scramble up to THE VANISHING HORSEMEN the disused coastguard lookout Loughareema lake lies in an rewards you with spectacular views. area riddled with sink-holes, Sea mammals, usually the common and it empties rapidly through porpoise and more rarely the minke these to underground whale, pass by offshore. watercourses, and can fi ll again quickly as rainwater drains off Between Torr Head and the hamlet the surrounding bogs. The old of Ballyvoy, there are signposts road ran across the dry bed of to Murlough Bay, one of the most the lake, and one dark night scenic places in Ireland, and to Fair long ago, a Colonel McNeill, his Head (636 ft), an imposing cliff coachman and horses drowned that marks the north-east corner when the driver misjudged the of Ireland, looking out over Rathlin state of the water level. It is Island and Scotland. said that their ghosts still haunt the lake.

A guide to the Glens of Antrim | 23 1 2 3 4

1 Breen Wood 2 Autumn Gold 3 Glenshesk, looking towards Rathlin Island 4 Armoy Round Tower

Journey through the Glens

Glenshesk - Glen of the Sedges & Glentaisie - Glen of Taisie of the bright sides

Glenshesk Road meets the B15, there is a formerly by hand using a sleán or This is a well-wooded glen, and small car park. An information long-bladed spade but now mainly is reached by taking the B15 road panel at the entrance tells you this with specialised machinery. beside the River Margy Bridge at is the way to Breen Wood. Breen The cottage fire was kept alive Ballycastle golf course. means ‘the place of the fairies’, overnight by raking the ashes and if you make the effort to walk over the glowing peat embers, a Drumeeny Church the three-quarters of a mile to process known as smooring. The On a ridge above the Glenshesk this ancient oakwood you will ashes retained enough heat for River on the Knocklayd side is the be rewarded by an enchanting the fire to be fanned into life again ruin of a Drumeeny Church, said to location, a 2000 year old survivor the next morning and it is said have been founded by Saint Patrick of the type of woodland that once there were cottages about the in the fifth century. The site may covered large expanses of Ireland. glens where the fire never went have also been a place of ritual in out. If the Grogoch or any of the pre-history, with links to the Stone Eternal Flames other wee folk visited during the and Bronze Ages (5000 BC to The distinctively fragrant night, they could sit at a warm and 500 BC). It is an enigmatic spot, blue smoke of peat fires from welcoming fire. difficult to find but worth the effort. hearths throughout the glens is a welcoming feature, typical of rural Doonfin The Fairy Wood Ireland. Peat - or turf - has been cut You do not have to travel far in Five miles up Glenshesk from the from the extensive bogs in the hills to encounter Finn Margy Bridge, where the Drumavoley around the glens for centuries, MacCool, whether in his legendary

24 | A guide to the Glens of Antrim giant form or as a Celtic warrior. In the latter guise he is said to have slain his favourite hunting dog Bran in Glenshesk - at a spot now known as Doonfi n - during an incident in the pursuit of deer. Hunting features frequently in tales of Finn and his band of fi ghters, the Fianna, and Finn’s two dogs, Bran and Skolawn, are recorded as being a type of greyhound, but no doubt larger and heavier than today’s refi ned racing dogs.

Armoy Round Tower At the ancient crossroads of Carneagh, at the top of the two glens, is Saint Patrick’s Church of Armoy, in the grounds of which stands an eleventh or twelfth century round tower. The upper

A guide to the Glens of Antrim | 25 storey and cone-shaped roof are battle with the Norweigans, was Knocklayd missing, but the remains of the given a gift of land by the grateful The name means ‘The Broad Hill’, lower part of the tower are in good couple, Congal and Taisie. Fergus and on the round top is the remains condition. A church was founded chose to settle at Broom-More of a large burial monument, possible here by Saint Olcan, who was on the slopes of what was to a passage grave. Known as the Bishop of Armoy in 460AD and become known as Glentaisie. His Cairn of the Three, legend records saved from dying at birth by Saint legendary mansion of Duntaisie is that three large bronze swords were Patrick. Excavations at this church visible as a large mound - probably found here, embedded upright in in 1997 revealed the 400-500 year a fort or motte - on the hillside the ground like King Arthur’s famous old remains of a leper, an unusual above Ballydurnian, about a mile up sword, Excalibur. discovery because normally one the glen from start of the Hillside Knocklayd featured in a major so affl icted was not buried in Road, which forks from the road hoax in the newspapers of 1788. Church grounds. to Coleraine. Reports claimed that the top of the Glentaisie The Battle of Glentaisie hill burst open, releasing burning Glentaise, interpreted as ‘Glen of In 1565, Shane O’Neill - whose fate matter and hot stones that killed the bright sides’ gained its name at Castle Carra in Cushendun is cattle in the nearby fi elds. Lava from a popular folk tale , (see described on page 21 - defeated a was supposed to have fl owed Fairy Facts). greatly outnumbered force of the down the valley then over the top clan McDonnell in Glentaisie, slaying of nearby , which was an One Chieftan, Fergus MacLaide, around seven hundred of their men. uphill journey! The source of this who helped defend Rathlin in the

26 | A guide to the Glens of Antrim I 1 2 3 I Wedding of Taisie 1 Glentaisie 4 2 Knocklayd 5 3 Fairhead 4 Cotton Grass 5 Gorse

story may have been a bog slide on THE WEDDING OF TAISIE the slopes of Knocklayd, but the Taisie, the daughter of a King exaggerated claim of a volcanic of Rathlin, was a great beauty eruption came at a time when who had gained the attentions scientific debates were running hot of the King of Norway. He sent a and heavy about whether basalt, contingent of his men to bring (the rock that caps Knocklayd), her back to be his bride but his originated in lava flows or demand was refused for Taisie sediments deposited in oceans. was promised to Congal, heir to the Kingdom of Ireland. One of the predictions made by When Taisie and Congral’s the Black Nun of Bonamargy in the wedding celebrations were in 17th Century was that Knocklayd full swing the King of Norway would erupt and spread lava across suddenly arrived with his 12 miles of surrounding countryside. army to capture Taisie but in the subsequent battle the Norwegian king was killed and his army returned home leaderless and empty handed.

A guide to the Glens of Antrim | 27 1 3 5 1 Ballycastle Golf Club 2 Wild Orchid 2 4 I 3 Ballycastle Marina 4 Lammas Fair 5 Bonamargy Friary I Black nun of Bonamargy

Journey through the Glens

Beautifully situated where the North Channel sweeps past Fair Head to mingle with the Atlantic Ocean, Ballycastle is the northern gateway to the Glens of Antrim.

It is also a popular seaside resort, Looking around Ballycastle today, A less tangible resource, but famed for its historic and lively it may be difficult to believe that in equally rich, is the wealth of folklore Lammas Fair, held in late August. the eighteenth century this was a that abounds in the area. Here are busy industrial town, largely due just some of the tales. The son of Sorley Boy McDonnell, to the energy of a local landlord, the first Earl of Antrim, built a Hugh Boyd. A visitor to the town Bonamargy Friary castle in the centre of the old in 1760, for example, would have Founded by Rory McQuillan in the town. This was first recorded in seen a glass works, tanneries, a late fifteenth century and built of 1565, and before then the name brewery, soapworks, bleachworks red sandstone, granite and dark of Ballycastle probably did not and, towards Fair Head, coal basalt, this Fransican friary was exist. The bay was know as Port mines, ironworks and salt pans. shut down in the 1530s as part of Brittas, and a small settlement Local natural resources such as Henry VIII’s purge carried out by the river Margy was called coal, limestone (chalk), sand, against such establishments. The Margietown. There is now no sea water, fireclay and seaweed, church was burned in 1584, but trace of the old castle. West of the (burned to make kelp, a source of the McDonnells, who acquired town, at Dunaneeny, on the cliffs many useful chemicals), were all the friary in 1559, added a private overlooking Rathlin Island, was the used to facilitate these industries. chapel next to the ruin in 1621. 16th Century McDonnell castle. It The site continued to be used as too has vanished, save for a few a graveyard. stones near the cliff edge in the private estate of Clare Park.

28 | A guide to the Glens of Antrim Deirdre of Sorrows Another story of exile and return is centred on a rocky promontory along Ballycastle beach called Carraig Uisneach, currently known as the Pans Rock - a former salt- making site. THE BLACK NUN Bonamargy Friary contains some of which local believers Around the fi rst century AD, important tombs. The crypt of claim to have been fulfi lled. Deirdre, daughter of King Conor the McDonnell clan is in the There have been many sightings of Ulster, fl ed to Scotland with her main church, close to that of of a headless fi gure, reported lover Naisi and his two brothers their stewards, the McNaghtons. to be the Black Nun, haunting Ainle and Ardan, because her A small rounded cross with a Bonamargy. father was jealous of her love for hole in the centre at the west Naisi. Eventually the King sent door marks the grave of Julia word that they were forgiven and McQuillan, a recluse who could return. Deirdre and the three resided here in the 1600s, better sons of Uisneach came back to known as ‘The Black Nun’. She Ireland, landing at what became was famous for her predictions, known thereafter as the Rock of

A guide to the Glens of Antrim | 29 Uisneach. But in time the King’s jealousy returned and overcame his promise of pardon, and he had the three brothers slain. Deirdre died of a broken heart. THE CHILDREN OF LIR Lir was a famous Irish chieftain about the bay. Finally, on the whose wife died after giving coming of Christianity to Ireland, him a daughter and three sons. the children of Lir regained

I 2 3 4 He then married his dead wife’s human form. Old and weak, they 1 5 half-sister, who was jealous of were baptised and died together. Lir’s love for his four children. I The Children of Lir 1 Fairhead She cast a spell on them, Every autumn, fl ocks of wild swans 2 Buzzard turning them into beautiful fl y in over this north coast on 3 Butterfl y 4 Fulmar white swans, and they were migration from Iceland to spend 5 Wild Flowers destined to spend nine hundred the winter in Ireland’s milder years in exile. Three hundred of climate. Their haunting and these years were passed here, musical calls are a reminder of on the Waters of Moyle, and the one of Ireland’s favourite legends. birds’ lonely cries were heard

30 | A guide to the Glens of Antrim The glens provide many habitats - sea, shore, cliffs and slopes, woods and forests, farms, bog and moorland, rivers, streams and small lakes - that support interesting plants, insects, birds and mammals:

some live here all the year round, animals are slightly different to The cliffs are populated with grey others are migrants. In the case of their counterparts in Britain, hence and white fulmars, which are not plants, each season provides its the Irish identity. The woods and seagulls, but members of the own delights: vivid yellow gorse, forests are filled with songbirds, petrel family, and expert gliders. (also known in Ireland as whin or and fox and badger often make You may hear the shrieking call furze), in spring, rare and colourful their homes here, from which of the Peregrine falcon echoing orchids in summer, tall thistles in they travel out into the open for the heights. Large black autumn - pillaged for their seeds countryside to find food. Broad- cormorants perch on sea rocks or by flocks of finches. Even in the winged buzzards, our largest bird the remains of old piers, wings depths of winter, there is a flower of prey, drift over the farmlands, sometimes spread to dry, for the in bloom somewhere amongst hunting for rabbits. The rivers bird is not naturally waterproof, these sheltered glens. are favoured by the shy otter, and and has to spread a body oil on its by special river birds such as the plumage to repel water. Over the open moorland and bobbing, black-and-white dipper grasslands, a large hawk, the Seals occur around the coast. and the vivid blue and orange hen harrier, hunts its prey, and Usually all you see is a dark head kingfisher. Salmon, brown trout skylarks sing in the clear air. The bobbing in the water, but at Rathlin and sea trout provide excitement russet Irish hare bounds across Island off Ballycastle, they can be for anglers in the glens rivers. the heather, and agile Irish stoats watched basking on the shore. negotiate stone walls hunting for mice and small birds. These two

A guide to the Glens of Antrim | 31 Whether walking or cycling it’s a journey not to be hurried, every twist and turn in the road will reveal new sights.

For cyclists the journey through the ways. On a clear day you can Glens of Antrim on the Causeway see for miles - green fields, stone Coastal Route provides the link walls and forests with stunning between the way-marked National mountains as a backdrop - and all Cycle Route No. 93 Ballyshannon the way across to Scotland across - Ballycastle and the return leg to the North Channel. Ballyshannon via Armagh on the your guide to cycling

National Cycle Route No.9 starting Whether walking or cycling, these 14 CYCLING ROUTES from Belfast. are journeys not to be hurried, take time to enjoy the scenery, the people, In addition, the Glens of Antrim the storytelling and the craic! have an entire network of quiet country lanes to enable cyclists to For full details including guided experience rural life and get close tours and fully inclusive packages, to nature. please contact any of the Tourist Information Offices listed on the Walkers are also well catered for back of this guide. with a similar network of quiet country lanes and way-marked

32 | A guide to the Glens of Antrim Glenarm: Gleann Arma. Glencorp: Gleann Coirp. The glen of the army. The glen of the slaughtered. Overlooking Glenarm village, eleven miles north of Close by Glenaan and roughly parallel to the main Larne on the famous Antrim Coast Road. road from Cushendall to Cushendun.

Glencloy: Gleann Claidhe. Glendun: Gleann Abhain Doinne. The glen of the hedges. The glen of the brown river. Two miles north of Glenarm, with the village of Adjacent to Cushendun village; spanned by a viaduct Carnlough at its foot. on the main Cushendall - Ballycastle road

Glenariff: Gleann Airimh. Glenshesk: Gleann Seist. The arable or fertile glen. The sedgy glen. The best known of the nine, which sweeps majestically East of the town of ballycastle and sweeping towards towards the village of Waterfoot. the ruins of historical Bonamargy Friary.

Glenballyeamon: Gleann Bhaile Glentaisie: Gleann Taoise Taobh Geal. Eamoinn. Edwardstown glen. The Glen of Taisie of the bright sides. At the foot of which is Cushendall, more or less at the Roughly west of Ballycastle and, like Glenshesk, close centre of the nine glens. to the town.

Glenaan: Gleann Adhann. The glen of the colts foot. Or rush lights, a rugged glen, having the site of the legendry Ossian’s Grave, with the Cushendall mountain road.

A guide to the Glens of Antrim | 33 When exploring the glens, common sense should be your constant companion.

With such diverse scenery, it is not voluntary schemes that provide is made available to as many surprising that many areas have advice and financial assistance, so people as possible. been given protective designations. that farming can help maintain an Ensure you park sensibly and You will find National Nature attractive countryside with a good safely, respect the countryside and Reserves (NNR), Areas of Special variety of wildlife. These agricultural its wildlife, and do not assume a Scientific Interest (ASSI) and other and environmental initiatives right to roam at will. Unless on a designations applied to certain include the Environmentally way-marked route, it is best to ask areas. The built heritage has not Sensitive Areas programme and permission to enter farmland or been ignored, and there are village the Countryside Management even open moorland, for much of and town Conservation Areas. A Scheme, both administered by the the glens countryside is privately large expanse of the countryside Department of Agriculture and owned and farmed. For these and coast, containing all nine glens Rural Development. reasons, dogs are best left behind and comprising 273 square miles, The local authorities in the if you are crossing farmland or high is listed as an Area of Outstanding glens area, are active in tourism ground where sheep are wandering. Natural Beauty (AONB). promotion and provide a variety of When exploring the glens, Farming is a major activity in information services and activities. common sense should be your Northern Ireland. The countryside Councils also employ Countryside constant companion. and wildlife of the glens have been Officers who ensure that this influenced by agriculture. Farmers valuable asset is protected, while are encouraged to join various still ensuring access to the region

34 | A guide to the Glens of Antrim Cahal Dallat, 1990 (reprinted 2004) Environment and Heritage Service. The Glens of Antrim Historical The Road to the Glens Antrim Coast and Glens. Leaflet. Association (Historic Photographs) Department of the Environment. The Glynns The Friar’s Bush Press, Belfast. (journal published annually Tony McAuley, 2000 since 1973) Cushendall, Co Antrim. Cahal Dallat, 1991. Tony McAuley’s Glens: Walking Antrim Coast and Glens: and Cycling in North Antrim The Glens of Antrim Historical A Personal View Cottage Publications, Society, 2000 Belfast, HMSO. Donaghadee, Co Down. From to Glen: a visual record of a millennium Maureen Donnelly, 1974 Jon Marshall, 1991 Glens of Antrim Historical Society, The Nine Glens Forgotten Places of the North Coast Cushendall, Co Antrim. Published by the author and Clegnagh Publishing, Moss-side, printed by The Newtownards Co Antrim. Sandy Watson, 2004 Chronicle, Newtownards, Co Down. Old Antrim Coast Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland Stenlake Publications, Catrine, Maureen Donnelly, 2000 (revised), Discoverer Maps Series (1:50 000), Ayrshire, Scotland. The Nine Glens Sheet 5 (Ballycastle) and Published by the author and Sheet 9 (Larne) printed by Impact Printing, Published by the Ordnance Survey Coleraine and Ballycastle. of Northern Ireland, Belfast.

A guide to the Glens of Antrim | 35 Causeway Coast and Antrim Glens Ltd 11 Lodge Road Coleraine Co. Londonderry BT52 1LU Northern Ireland T (028) 7032 7720 F (028) 7032 7719 E [email protected] www.causewaycoastandglens.com

Regional Tourist Information Centres

Ballycastle Limavady Sheskburn House 7 Mary Street Museum and Civic Centre 7 Connell Street Ballycastle BT54 6QH Antrim Street, Carrickfergus BT38 7DG Limavady BT49 0HA T 028 2076 2024 T 028 9335 8000 T 028 7776 0307 F 028 2076 2515 F 028 9336 6676 F 028 7772 2010 E [email protected] E [email protected] E [email protected] www.moyle-council.org www.carrickfergus.org www.limavady.gov.uk

Ballymena Coleraine 76 Church Street Railway Road Development Services Department BT43 6DF Coleraine BT52 1PE Mossley Mill T 028 2563 8494 T 028 7034 4723 Newtownabbey BT36 5QA F 028 2563 8495 F 028 7035 1756 T 028 9034 0000 E [email protected] E [email protected] F 028 9034 0062 www.ballymena.gov.uk www.colerainebc.gov.uk E [email protected] www.newtownabbey.gov.uk Ballymoney Larne Riada House, 14 Charles Street Narrow Gauge Road Ballymoney BT53 6DZ Larne BT40 1XB T 028 2766 0200 T 028 2826 0088 F 028 2766 0222 F 028 2826 0088 E [email protected] E [email protected] www.ballymoney.gov.uk www.larne.gov.uk

This publication has been assisted by the Causeway Coast and Glens Heritage Trust as part of the Natural Resource Rural Tourism Initiative under the EU Programme for Peace and Reconciliation.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The information given in this Guide is given in Maps reproduced from the 2004 Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland good faith on the basis of information submitted to The Causeway 1:250 000 Ireland North map with the permission of the controller Coast and Glens Limited and McCadden Design Limited. The Causeway of Her Majesty’s Stationery Offi ce, © Crown Copyright 2004. Coast and Glens Limited and McCadden Design Limited cannot Permit ID: 40302 guarantee the accuracy of the information in this Guide and accept no responsibility for any error or misrepresentation. All liability for Photography by E. Crawford, NITB, National Trust. loss, disappointment, negligence or other damage caused by the Design by McCadden Design. reliance on the information contained in this Guide, or in the event Printed in Northern Ireland. WGB 02.06 12k of the bankruptcy or liquidation of any company, individual or fi rm mentioned, or in the event of any company, individual or fi rm ceasing to trade, is hereby excluded.