Clare Forest

Clare Woods East refers to some small woods, which are grouped together as a management unit. All the woods, although small, have their own individual characteristics. This grouping of small woods is spread out in a north/south line starting with Clare Wood just south of the north coast, to Ballykenver Wood just north of Armoy. There are no amenity car parks, so if you are travelling to these woods by car you will need to find a safe place to park.

It is possible to traverse all of these woods on foot, being careful when using the main roads to get from one forest to the next.

Starting from the top, you can get into Clare Woods from the Glenstaughey Road. The gate is on a bend just less than a kilometre form the turn off the B15 Whitepark Road. From the gate the forest road goes through a lodgepole pine plantation.  Birch, willow and gorse soften the path edges.  About 1km along this road the trees give way to a small wetland area which supports moorhens and damselflies.  Walking on past the pond and turning right at the t-junction brings you down onto the A2 Straid Road.  Turn right along the Straid Road.  Here the forest straddles both sides of the road with ash, alder and sycamore growing along the roadside edges of the commercial pine plantations.  At the end of the plantation there is a forest road to the left that skirts round the edge of the forest. Walking along this road there is a more open aspect with the upland fields to one side and the forest on the other.  This road can be followed for about 2km where it swings in through the forest and comes out through a Sitka spruce plantation ending in a wetland area with ponds.

If you wish to continue your exploration of the woods in this area you can use the lane across the field to gain access to Brouhgammon Wood. This wood has been planted up with Sitka Spruce, but the soil is poor, so the trees are sparse and slow growing.The fire dam at the side of the road could be a hazard to the unwary, but on a warm sunny day it is the hunting ground for damselflies and dragonflies, and the wildflowers on the path edges provide a habitat for butterflies such as fritillary and ringlet.

The forest road passes through the Sitka Spruce plantation, a small stand of Japanese Larch and then passes into Moyarget Wood, which is mostly Lodgepole Pine. Continuing on through the forest, the road comes out on to the Islandarragh Road.

Turning left, cross the B67 Moyarget Road and on to CapecastleWood.   This small wood sits among the heather moorland where ravens and buzzards can be seen above, and the songbirds heard in among the trees.  The forest road cuts through the forest and at its boundary joins a private lane that brings you down onto the A44 Magheramore Road.

Turning right along the Magheramore Road, watch out for the Ballykenver Road on the right.  About 2km along this road there is a lane which turns off to the right, past a house and swings left into Ballykenver Wood.  A local club has the shooting rights of this forest.  They have done a lot of work in the area, which now supports the usual duck and pheasant.  But it is also a haven for other wild life including flora such as ragged robin and valerian, butterflies such as the painted lady, and raptors such as buzzards.

From the Ballykenver Wood you can access the main A44 Magheramore Road just north of Armoy.  This route is about 20km in total.  However individual woods can be explored one at a time as they are easily accessed from the various roads.

Clare Woods West

Clare Woods West refers to some small woods, which are grouped together as a management unit in a similar fashion to Clare East. All the woods are small in size and the area is made up of ten blocks in total with the smallest of these being only 4.2 Hectares in size comprising mostly scrub. A common feature with these blocks is the lack of access roads to and within these blocks which means that there is little or no provision for walkers. Any access roads which are present are short and rarely used. The blocks fall under four names: Cloonty Wood, Straidbilly Wood, Moycraig Wood and finally Carnmoon Woods. These woods were primarily planted in the 80’s with Lodgepole pine making up the bulk of the area, although some small pockets of Sitka spruce planted in the early 70’s make up the remainder save for a few small areas of scrub. These blocks all lie to the east of the small village of Bushmills and the largest block can be found by turning off the Straid road to Ballycastle onto the Carnlelis Road where the block lies to your right. Care should be taken on the roads leading to these blocks as many are little more than single track, and signage is minimal.

How to get there

Situated in the triangle between Armoy, Bushmills and Ballycastle. The forests are open every day of the year from 8.00am until sunset. Admission is free.

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