|
| |
|
CARNLOUGH AND WATERFOOT |
| |
|
|
| |
Shortly after leaving Glenarm, you'll pass through the hamlet of
STRAIDKILLY , the "sliding village", so named because of the houses'
moving about an inch annually towards the sea. Rounding the next bay,
you'll arrive at CARNLOUGH , standing at the head of Glencloy , the "glen
of hedges". The village's most striking feature is its sturdy, white
limestone buildings: until the 1960s, Carnlough's way of life was linked
to its limestone quarries. The shining white stone buildings in the
centre of the village were constructed by the Marquess and Marchioness
of Londonderry in 1854. Over the main road there's a solid stone bridge
that once carried the railway bringing material down to the harbour -
which itself has an impressive breakwater, clock tower and courthouse of
limestone. A mile north of the village, in a cottage garden on the
Ballymena road, there's an idiosyncratic alfresco " scrap museum ",
consisting of an astonishing range of cleaned up objets trouvés ,
ranging from Roman coins to tin baths, all bedecked with various
humorous slogans and philosophical statements from the owner.
Carnlough's tourist office inside McKillop's souvenir and ice cream shop
on Harbour Road (shop hours; tel 028/2888 5236) can solve any problem,
accommodation or otherwise. Almost next door, the solid Londonderry Arms
Hotel (tel 028/2888 5255; www.glensofantrim.com ; £70-90), once owned by
Winston Churchill, is a comfortable place to stay ; you can sample the
smoked salmon fished in Glenarm, or just go for a drink and admire the
bizarre collection of mementos of the 1960s' champion steeplechaser,
Arkle. For cheaper B&B, try Harbour View , 50 Harbour Rd (tel 028/2888
5335; £26-33), Bethany Guesthouse , 5 Bay Rd (tel 028/2888 5667;
£33-40), or the rooms above the Bridge Inn in Bridge Street (tel
028/2888 5669; £33-40). If you're camping , the Bay View Caravan Park
(April-Sept; tel 028/2888 5685) and Ruby Hill Caravan Park (March-Oct;
tel 028/2888 5692), both on Largy Road, have spaces for tents. Black's
Pub , on Harbour Road, is the place to head for music , with sessions
most nights. This is also a good place to attack the Ulster Way , with
walks up behind the village to forests and waterfalls along the
Carnlough River - check first at the tourist office for maps and an
update on the state of the paths.
From Carnlough the road skirts round a gaunt shoulder of land and on to
WATERFOOT , a short strip of houses with a couple of bars that comes to
life in the evenings. There's also plenty of B&B around including the
welcoming and comfortable Glenhaven , 38 Bayview Garron Rd (tel 028/2177
2839; £40-55) and farmhouse accommodation at Dieskirt Farm , 104 Glen Rd
(tel 028/2177 1308).
It's Glenariff , though, Waterfoot's glen, that is the real attraction.
Wide, lush and flat-bottomed, it's abruptly cut off by the sea, while a
few miles up the glen is the Glenariff Forest Park (daily 10am-dusk; car
£3, pedestrians £1.50) which has a campsite (tel 028/2175 8232; contact
the head forester in advance) and a number of waymarked trails. Opt for
the Waterfall Trail to see a spectacular series of waterfalls skirted by
a timber walkway, first built a hundred years ago. You'll pass
Altnagowna, the highest waterfall of all, as you travel up the Glenariff
road from Waterfoot and you can see some of the others by turning left
at the Manor Lodge sign and stopping at the restaurant.
To the north, between Waterfoot and Red Bay, there's a series of caves
with an odd history. The so-called "school cave" was where lessons were
conducted for the children of Red Bay in the eighteenth century, a
practice made necessary by the oppressive penal laws that outlawed
Catholic education. One such pupil was Dr James McDonnell, founder of
the Belfast Medical School. The largest of the caves, "Nanny's Cave",
40ft long, was the home of the redoubtable distiller of illicit poteen,
Ann Murray, who died, aged 100, in 1847.
|
| |
|
