A group of adventurous Trekkers in May 2010 took to the road north and ventured for the first time to the nine Glens of Antrim to walk in the footsteps of the Fianna in the kingdom of Dal Riada. Some weeks previously, Monty and Evelyn completed the ultimate trip recce, a weekend away to the planned location, that is Carnlough in Co Antrim. Duly satisfied with the location and wonderful environs, promising a great selection of walks and hikes, another connection was made, a Rock boy was proprietor of the Londonderry Arms Hotel. Without delay the booking was made and deposit secured.
The group of sixteen, both B and C walkers, set off for Carnlough at various times on Friday evening 7 May. Some were very ambitions and took in the Giant's Causeway en route! Myself and Gaye left work shortly before 4pm and were pleasantly surprised to find the journey took less than three hours from Dublin. The Group all met for pre-dinner drinks, followed by a lovely meal in the hotel restaurant. Some of us were not allowed to sit with the grown-ups on the first night, but good behaviour would earn us a seat at the BIG table the next night! Our guide for the weekend, Cowper Lynas, arrived for a briefing session after dinner and walk plans for Saturday and Sunday were made.
An early night was had by all but some of the group managed to squeeze in a little nightcap before turning in. Surprise surprise, Karl had disappeared for an early night too, but not quite, he had taken on the task of checking out suitable pubs and clubs for the Trekkers to visit on Saturday night and arrived back armed with local knowledge. There was a promise of great nightlife for Saturday's 'après-hike'!
Start time agreed for the next morning was 10.30 and we all assembled outside the hotel. Packed lunches had been prepared by the hotel so we were all ready to go. The B group which included myself, Gaye, Maeliosa, Brendan, Ita, Karl, Tom, Paddy and Bob joined forces with Cowper and his Saturday morning hiking group. The C group which was Monty, Evelyn, Marie, Catherine, Sheila, Hilary, and Aidene gathered and took a few cars in the direction of Fair Head. Our B walk headed off at 10.50 from the village of Carnlough. We made our way up Gartford Lane which was a lovely but steep track up to the Garron Plateau which divides two of the nine Antrim Glens, namely Glencloy and Glenarriff, the latter being known as Queen of the Glens and is a classic example of a U shaped glacial valley.
It didn't take long to reach open boggy ground and get our first sight of the very distinctive Slemish Mountain to the SW of County Antrim near Ballymena. As the story goes, this is where St. Patrick worked as a boy minding cattle for the local chieftain. Our trek brought us to Craigfad Lough which is actually two lakes on top of the Plateau where we stopped to take in the magnificent views over the Glens and out east and north to Scotland. Paddy's stepping stone, a lump of rock just off the coast was clear to see, and also the outline of the Mull of Kintyre and the near hills of Scotland. We continued over open bog across the Cranny Water and had lunch in the sun at the Peat house.
After lunch we made our way across Pollan Burn onto a track with many barbed wire hurdles to cross. Lucky for us Cowper had an ingenious prop with him, a piece of 'wavin' pipe to cover the potentially dangerous fence as the agile Trekkers leaped on over. We finished by visiting Cranny Falls and followed the Old Mine train tracks back to Carnlough and awaited the return of the Cs. They arrived shortly and had also completed a wonderful walk in the area of Fair Head, traversing the Grey Man's Pass looking out to Rathlin Island. Some of us Thirsty Trekkers found a little bistro with a sun terrace and quenched our thirst with some chilled vino, others gathered in the hotel bar for a few welcome pints, and some even made it to evening vespers. So before rendezvous time there were quite a lot of z z z z 's arising from the LDA Hotel as the tired Trekkers grabbed forty winks before dinner.
Everyone enjoyed another lovely meal in the Trophy Room at the hotel joined by Cowper as guest for dinner. There was plenty of chat about the days walk and plans were firmed up for Sunday. As already mentioned, Karl had recce'ed the hotspots of Carnlough, so without further delay the thirsty Trekkers hit the town in search of the craic. The Waterfall was the chosen pub, a lovely little gem which of course served Guinness. We soon saw the attraction as Karl drew our attention not once but thrice, to the collection of ????? on the ceiling … the mind boggles but at least it stopped him from serenading Hilary who was out for the night no matter what. Paddy shared some very interesting stories of his mis-spent youth chasing local girls around the bogs of Offaly.
Sunday morning was once again a beautiful day, not as sunny as Saturday but less of a chill in the air. Cowper arrived to meet us all at 09.30 with one enthusiastic walker from his Saturday group. Despite concerns from some of our crew about the very early start, it was a happy bunch that were packed and ready to go. The plan for Sunday was for the group to drive to Laragh Lodge in Glenarriff so we headed on up the stunning Antrim coast. Our hike from LL took us up to the Glenarriff Waterfall where we had a spectacular view and took photos. After one hour walking, the group split at the upper car-park and the B group set off still on a track, in the direction of Trostan. Our route took us to a forest and we followed the Moyle Way gradually upwards through an enchanted fairytale woodland to the open Plateau and a moderate climb to the summit of Trostan (550m). This County top is almost lunar in its bare rocky state, compared to the green rich boggy uplands we had previously traversed. Although not warm, we were able to add a few layers and have lunch sitting by the Trig Pillar on the top. Such amazing views towards Agnew's Hill and Slemish to the South, the village of Cushendall could be seen framed by the dramatic slopes of Lurigethan and Tievebulliagh and Kintyre just about visible on the horizon.
Our trek took us almost six hours over 12km and brought us back to the Glenarriff Park where we stopped again to take in the wonderful views of the Glen. There were some other items of interest on route, of curiosity I should say. A certain little three-sided hut looked like an outside toilet, so very quickly there was a queue. In fact, it was a type of toilet, a facility for emptying treated matter from visiting camper vans. Some of our Trekkers were very interested in this freak of nature!!! (see pics)
Our lovely day finished back in the LDA where Cowper and William joined us for coffee before we left for Dublin. Ita realized that the Antrim air had chilled her out so much that she had left her handbag in the hotel lobby that morning. Thankfully it was spotted and was waiting for her behind reception. Sheila wasn't so lucky with her missing dancing shoes … . Cinderella must have left the ball in a rush, they never turned up. The C group had already headed for home as their walk had finished earlier.
Thanks to everyone who had a part in organizing this trip, in particular Monty who took a lot of time and effort into research and planning. It was a lovely place to explore and a great time had by all. I have no doubt that everyone would like to return some day to the Glens of Antrim.