Overview
Broughshane has won so many flower-growing competitions that it bills itself the Garden Village of Ulster – Britain in Bloom, Entente Florale, the All-Ireland Tidy Town award, the Britain in Bloom Champion of Champions crown in 2007 and 2012, and Channel 4’s UK Village of the Year in 2018. The motto, spelled out in the beds, is People, Plants and Pride growing Together.
It sits on the A42, about five kilometres north-east of Ballymena and 40 km from Belfast. The name comes from the Irish Bruach Sheáin, ‘Shane’s bank or dwelling’, after a 16th-century castle of Shane mac Brian O’Neill; the castle is long gone. If you only do one thing here, drive or walk out to Slemish – the flower beds are a pleasant hour, but the mountain is the reason the place is on a map.
Walking and wildlife in the village
The River Braid, a quick spate river, runs through the middle of the village. Just behind Main Street, the Little Acorn Wood and Riverside Walk follows the bank – flat and paved for the most part, popular with families, dog walkers and runners, though a few woodland stretches are uneven underfoot.
A short walk from the high street, volunteers have turned the ground around the village pond into the Broughshane Waterfowl and Wildlife Trust, home to nearly every species of swan and several uncommon geese, with a feeding platform. Public toilets and free on-street parking are close by, and the grounds are accessible.
Raceview Mill
Broughshane’s landmark is Raceview Mill, a 200-year-old woollen mill on the edge of the village. A local family bought the derelict building in 2013 to stop it being demolished, restored it, and turned it into a business park that now houses more than 35 enterprises – designers, food producers and craftspeople among them. The Wool Tower, with its original vaulted ceilings and stone floors, works as a wedding and events venue.
Slemish and the legend of St Patrick
North of the village, Slemish Mountain rises 437 metres (1,500 ft) out of flat farmland – the eroded core of an extinct volcano. Tradition has it that a young St Patrick, brought to Ireland as a slave, herded sheep on these slopes for six years, and that it was here he turned to prayer before escaping and, eventually, returning as a missionary.
The summit path is a 1.5 km round trip, about an hour in good weather – but it’s steep and rocky, and slick when wet, so wear boots with grip. From the top, clear days give you the Braid Valley, the Antrim and Scottish coasts to the east, and Lough Neagh and the Sperrins to the west. On St Patrick’s Day the mountain fills with pilgrims and day-trippers; go any other morning if you want it quiet.
History and the community museum
The Braid Valley was settled early. There’s Neolithic activity going back 5,000 years – a megalithic portal tomb at Ticloy, stone axes and flint tools – and later ring-forts and cashels, including a well-preserved stone fort in the townland of Tamybuck.
For the more recent past, the Broughshane Community Museum occupies the top floor of Broughshane House, with thousands of artefacts covering local medicine, military history, farming and schooling. It opens the first Saturday of each month, 11am–2pm (except January), and by appointment for groups; admission is free, donations welcome. The collection nods to two local names: Victoria Cross recipient Sir George White and the actor James Nesbitt, who grew up here.
Fishing, golf and cycling
The Braid holds brown trout, seasonal salmon and migratory dollaghan, with the best runs roughly July to October; you’ll need a day licence, so ask locally before you cast.
Ballymena Golf Club, founded in 1903, is about a 15-minute walk from the western edge of the village – an 18-hole course under Slemish, with a visitor tee-time policy, so book ahead.
Cyclists can pick up the signed Slemish Cycling Route (NCN97), which loops out from the Ecos Centre in Ballymena through Broughshane and Buckna onto the Antrim plateau before circling back. It’s mostly smooth tarmac and fine for families, with toilets at the start and in Broughshane.
Practical information
- Getting there: the A42 links Broughshane to the M2. Ballymena railway station is 6 km away, Cullybackey 9 km.
- Parking and facilities: free on-street parking around the village and at the Waterfowl Park; public toilets at the wildlife trust, the museum and the Slemish visitor area.
- Accessibility: most village paths and the waterfowl grounds are paved and wheelchair-friendly; Little Acorn Wood has some uneven sections.
- Contact: Broughshane and District Community Association, Broughshane House, 70 Main Street, BT42 4JW. Tel 028 2586 2777, email broughshane@nacn.org.
- Nearby: it pairs well with the Antrim Coast and Glens or a run up the north Antrim shore.
The gardens peak from late May to September, which is also the drier window for the Slemish climb – aim for a settled morning and you’ll get the beds and the mountain in one trip.