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N. Antrim Hills Epic
Starting and finishing at Cushendall, NE Antrim coast. A long ride combining minor roads with forest tracks and some good climbs and descents.
Starting in Cushendall, ride the road up Glenann and enter Slieveanorra Forest from the NE corner. Follow the forest tracks around the mountain and ascend the summit from the south west.
Descending to the north east cross the road and follow the Moyle Way / Ulster Way through Breen Wood to Ballycastle Forest (the going is very difficult along the forest edge to McQuillan’s Grave).
From Ballycastle head to Ballypatrick Forest (number of options available) and exit the forest to the south east along the path marked. Crossing the main A2 road follow the minor roads to Knocknacarry then over Cross Slieve back to Cushendall.
A long ride combining minor roads with forest tracks and some good climbs and descents in an area where you're unlikely to come across too many other MTBers. Need to be self sufficient on this route as only civilisation you'll encounter is in Ballycastle.
Some fantastic views to Rathlin and over to Scotland on good days.
Antrim Hills Epic Starting in Ballycastle
James (BC Diver) and Norman Woods, 26 May 07, MTB XC trip, covering 41 miles in about 7 hours.
I would like to thank Mountain Biking Trails in Northern Ireland for their ideas. http://mtbtrails.blogspot.com/ (That's now TrailBadger). It was based on the Cushendall / Ballycastle Epic.
We started in Ballycastle in front of the Marine Hotel entered the park crossing the footbridge of the Glenshesk/Carey river. This allows you to follow Ballycastle bay along the edge of the spoiling a good walk links. Passing pans rocks on the left. Then veering right we commenced our first little climb up past Corrymeela, to the first view point which looks back over the bay to Rathlin Island from the top of Drumroan. A great start to the day and one of many views we will experience on our way. The skies were overcast with the sun appearing now and again.
We continue onto the A2 heading East to Ballyvoy. At Ballyvoy we leave the A2 for a while and head along Torr road. We do not follow the scenic route but continue along the same road which leads onto Ballyvennaght road. Our plan is to get a good amount of cross country in. Ballyvennaght road takes you south east and will eventually become a track taking you across "Watertop farm" land. We will be passing through gates. This track formed part of the old Cushendun road and runs virtually parallel with the A2. This is a fun part of the route which requires some skill to remain on the bike. I took my first fall of the day, as luck would have it, it was wet and soft. http://www.mtbrider.com/gallery/disp...&cat=-23&pos=0. There are slow and fast sections here. The last descent leading you back onto the A2 at the Junction of the B92 is great fun. It encourages speed and those who can keep their fingers off the brakes will probably gain the most. The grass is growing quit tall at the moment making it even more interesting! A few close calls but we managed to stay on the bikes. (Don't forget to close the gates and speak/acknowledge the farmer/workers if you see them).
Back on the A2 we enjoyed the easy descent to Glendun viaduct and left the A2 on the North side of the Glen heading South West along Glendun Valley. This is a pleasant road with the river to your left and waterfalls to your right. During our trip we experienced the pleasant aroma of wild garlic as we were cycling along. Well, James had me convinced it was wild garlic. I thought it was because of the meal James had last night but then again, I could still smell the Garlic when he was behind me!!
At the junction of Bryvore Bridge, (more of a large culvert than bridge) we crossed the bridge and went to the North east Corner of Slieveanorra Forest ahead of us. The entrance came up on our right. There is a gate across the entrance preventing vehicle access. This is a good time to feast on some food and drink. Fuel for getting you to the top of Slieveanorra.
On entering Slieveanorra Forest at the Northeast corner on forest tracks we passed an old disused building to your right then took the first forest track on the left. Taking us South and up hill. Our first marker as we descend is the "Moyle Way" which crosses our track and we note its heading out to the west on our right and up to Slieveanorra. There is open ground to our right. Continuing on the Forest track we go slightly up hill then follow the contours along a slight but speedy descent with the contours of the hill dropping to our right. We took the next clear forest track dropping down to our right just before a bend in the track to the left. This will took us down and across a culvert/ stream then immediately on the other side we will started a steep climb. This was the start of our climb to the top of Slieveanorra.
The climb levelled off(ish) on occasions as we followed the track along the contours of the hill heading Northwest. At the crossroads we turned right heading Northeast. This track will lead us to the top of Slieveanorra with the two large radio masts. It was a hard slog and neither one of us wanted to be the first to get off the bike and walk. Although, I new if James got off his bike there was no hope for me! But we made it!! (Without walking that is) The view to the South overlooks Lough Neagh and to the North Rathlin Island and on a good day the Scottish Islands of Islay and Jura. Breathtaking views. http://www.mtbrider.com/gallery/disp...&cat=-23&pos=1
http://www.mtbrider.com/gallery/disp...&cat=-23&pos=2
We did not get the best visibility but we did see Lough Neagh and Rathlin. At the top I took the opportunity to completely change my clothing following that earlier fall which was into a wet ditch. I put on my new cycle jacket. I was now all warm and cosy and ready for the cool air which would rush by on our descent. The descent was quick and all to short. (Forest track with long switchbacks) Both of us nearly left the track a couple of times due to speed and enthusiasm. A good Downhiller probably would have ignored the track and went straight down but it certainly got our hearts racing.
As we have now joined the Moyle way we started to meet people. At one point earlier on we thought we were in some sort of wilderness due to lack up human contact. After descending to the road we headed northwest for a short distance and departed the road onto the Moyle way which is well marked. During one of our stops and conversations with some walkers James noticed one of his disc brake callipers was loose. (Lucky!!) A quick tighten of the allen screws and on our way. At this point while stopped the midges had a feast. We had a great time attempting to stay on our bikes every inch of the way. We both took different approaches to the track with James keeping mostly to the narrow track and negotiating tree roots. Myself I stayed out of the track (such as it was) to one side and choosing to ride through the bog. James made better progress but appeared to fall more times. Mine was smoother progress put when I got stuck I almost had to swim out and got just as wet as I was before. On reaching the edge of the trees we both had big grins on our faces and laughed at each others antics, including how deep I sank into the bog at the end of a long uninterrupted cycle with a smug look on my face that said I had chosen the correct path.......Nat!!
Looking north we could see Breen Wood in the distance and a healthy looking dirt track following roughly the edge of the Wood along a river to McQuillans grave. http://www.mtbrider.com/gallery/disp...&cat=-23&pos=3 . It is a rough road and walkers we had spoken to said it was here last year. We worked our way down to this track/road carrying the bikes most of the time but James did manage to travel about 50 yards downwards on his bike without coming off. (A wannabe downhiller I think) I was impressed! The dirt track was great and we managed to get a bit of speed up. Just passed McQuillans Grave at the end of the track there is a gate. To the left is a footbridge leading into Breen Wood. After carrying the bikes over the bridge. We then pushed them up the hill at the edge of Breen wood until we met the forest track at the top. There are some nice views on the way up the slope to take in, if you choose to take the odd pause! We followed the forest tracks on a well deserved decent through Breen Wood. At the end we crossed the B15 road and headed Northeast around the bottom of Knocklayed.
Fortunately the Sun made an appearance for us and we were able to enjoy the views across the Glenshesk valley and as the road started to head North toward Ballycastle Forest we could see across the end of the Valley to Rathlin Island and beyond that the two hills of Jura, a Scottish Island.
At the entrance to Ballycastle forest we new the route and this was the last climb of the day. Looking a bit grimy we shared our remaining energy bars, had a good drink from our hydro-packs, adjusted our attire for a hot climb and without a word spoken between us clipped into our pedals and pushed up through the forest with Knocklayed over looking us. From the top James being the local lad brought us out the other side down some fast tracks Heading North and down through Kilcreg ending in a steep loose rocky track which spat us out almost in the middle of town doing more than the speed limit. I did not have the nerve to look down and see what speed we were doing, but felt major compression of the suspension and was glad I had them adjusted for a slow rebound!!
Norman Woods
