Leg 2, the Antrim Hills Way. Now this was a walk worth doing even with the slightly sore feet from yesterday’s road pounding. The Antrim Hills Way is a really lovely walk which once you have climbed out of Glenarm and got of the road almost immediately makes you want to smile. From up here even a shit-hole like Larne looks positively appealing (apologies to Larne-ites, but anyone who has ever missed their ferry connection and had to spend the day in the town knows what I mean). I enjoyed the walk so much that I again overshot my end point by 8k. I’ll do a very short day tomorrow as there is no point in my getting to Belfast ahead of schedule as I have to attend the Huntington’s Annual Conference on Friday (remember, that’s why I’m doing the hike – make a donation if you haven’t already http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/BrendanMajor).
I’m aware that my posting yesterday was critical of this island’s land access legislation and may have created the impression that I think all landowners are grumpy selfish buggers, that was not my intention and the photo of the signage as you enter the Antrim Hills Way is evidence that some landowners are encouraging of more open access. The Antrim Hills Way is wonderfully well signposted and you can generally see at least one waymarker ahead (if you can’t, just walk a few hundred meters in the direction of the arrow on the post and the next post will soon be visible). Some of the posts along the Black Hill/ Scawt Hill ridge have neat little fold-out panels containing information on the area, they are good though perhaps a bit repetitive concerning the work of the geologist CE Tillney – he discovered the mineral Scawtite when searching for dilithium crystals to make interstellar travel possible. My favourite story not mentioned on a panel relates to the little group of islands just off Larne harbour (The Maidens) and the mayor of Larne who during the war had to phone the military to tell them that there were no surfaced U Boats in bay so could they please stop bombing the islands. Look closely at the photo of the bay below, surfaced U Boats was an understandable mistake I think.
I’m keeping my eyes open for Red squirrels as I traipse around the north, they are lovely little creatures and where I live the Glens Red Squirrel Group (http://glensredsquirrelgroup.com/) work hard to protect them from being overrun by their bruiser cousin grey squirrels. The red squirrel group erect notices warning motorists to slow down in areas where there are Reds, I post below a photo of the sign they use. Am I the only one who passed this sign, too fast to read it, and thought “Odd! That appeared to be a sign warning that there may be native American Indians in full headdress on the road ahead?”. There was evidence of squirrel activity at Straidkilly nature reserve yesterday and I’ll check in Ballybooley forest tomorrow as I make my way toward Belfast – of course I’ll also report any sightings of native American Indians, particularly if I find them stealing nuts and seeds from the feeders.
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