GREAT IRISH DRIVES:Views from great heights, archeological sites and the legacy of the Irish abroad
ONE OF the great pleasures of researching this series is the unexpected discovery of an area previously unknown to me, which reveals itself in its beauty and distinctive character.
The area between Ballymena and Larne climbs slowly from the Ballymena side to form uplands which fall abruptly towards the sea on the coastline north of Larne. This is an ancient area of habitation, as evidenced by the many archeological sites that occur all over its landscape.
Larne sits on the site of the ancient town of Latharna, which was pillaged by Viking invaders in the 10th century, and today’s bustling town is rarely out of sight of the heights above the coastline along our route.
We began our exploration by turning northeast at the Drumnahoe roundabout on the A8, about two miles outside Larne. At first the road skirts the eastern slopes of the uplands until the impressive cliffs of the Sallagh Braes rise in a semi-circle to the west.
Here, Robin Young’s Hill (384m) dominates, with its promontory fort. Our road begins to climb more steeply as it heads along the slopes of Ballycoos (361m) before coming to a small car park and observation point at Linford.
The view from here across Knock Dhu and towards the coastline and Larne is magnificent; in the distance, the Scottish coast is clearly visible.
As you leave the car park, notice the small plaque mounted on the large stone to the left of the exit, commemorating Judge Richard Campbell of nearby Deerpark, who emigrated to America and rose to be a Judge of the Supreme Court of the US.
Leaving Linford, the road continues northeast for a mile and a half before meeting a junction at Dunteige Bridge where we bear right and northwards.
As so often happens in Ireland, in that short distance the landscape changes dramatically. Heading towards Glenarm, Scawt Hill (378m) and Black Hill (381m) rise to the right.
To our left, the landscape opens out into the valley known as Great Deer Park, where the River Glenarm flows to meet the sea at the village of Glenarm. Although our route turns back towards Larne at the T-junction above Glenarm, it is well worth a short diversion down to the village, which has many points of interest – in particular its castle which was built by Sir Randle McDonnell in the year 1636.
This area around Glenarm is notable also for its chalky soil which is quarried, the open quarries taking somewhat from the otherwise attractive views of the village.
Having turned again towards Larne, we find ourselves for the final part of our exploration on an upper coast road. From there, we catch occasional glimpses of the much better known Antrim Coast Road as it winds along the edge of the seashore but to my mind this is an altogether more interesting and attractive road.
Certainly, the views in each and every direction are magnificent and the road surface is – as on this entire route – excellent and, even when it narrows in places, it is more than adequate.
This road (the B148) takes us back in a loop past the Sallagh Braes once more and eventually to Drumnahoe roundabout from where we started.
It’s a route of surprises and in the next article in this series we’ll explore further the interesting uplands that form such an unexpectedly wild and sparsely occupied area between Larne and Ballymena.