Overview
In 1910 Lilian Bland hauled a home-built biplane up Carnmoney Hill and glided off it. She was the first woman in the world to design, build and fly her own aircraft, and she ran her early tests on these slopes before moving to a flatter field at Randalstown for the powered flights. She called the plane the Mayfly, because, she said, it ‘may fly or may not fly’.
Carnmoney Hill (the page calls it Carnmoney Mountain, but every local and every sign says Hill) rises to 231 m (758 ft) just north of Belfast, above Newtownabbey. The Irish Carn Monaidh is usually given as ‘cairn of the bog’. It’s a genuine green hill ringed by housing, and the honest snag is that the development keeps closing in: the Woodland Trust and the council own only the eastern third, while the crest and the western two-thirds are in private hands, so you’re walking a slice of the hill rather than all of it.
If you’ve an hour, go straight for the top. The lower woodland loops are pleasant, but the reason to come is the view from the summit.
The walks
Three waymarked routes start near the main entrance on Knockenagh Avenue, and there’s a welcome board there with QR codes for downloadable maps.
- Red (gentle) – the shortest, easiest loop around the lower woodland.
- Yellow (cross-country) – about 45 minutes through ancient woodland to a viewpoint over Belfast Lough, with some steep, uneven sections.
- Blue (hilltop) – the long one, roughly two hours over the top of the hill, with the full panorama: Belfast and its lough, north Down, south to the Mournes, north-west to Slemish and north to the Antrim coast.
For wheelchairs and pushchairs there’s a separate 800 m paved loop at the base, with tactile way-markers. Whichever route you take, wear proper footwear: the paths get muddy and slippery in winter.
History on the hill
The southern slope holds Dunanney, a substantial earthen ring-fort thought to date from around 500 BC; tradition has it that local chieftains once gathered here. The name is linked to the Celtic goddess Áine, Dún Áine meaning Áine’s fort. Elsewhere on the hill are prehistoric souterrains (underground stone passages) and the remains of Victorian limekilns and a water well.
The hill also gave Northern Ireland one of its odder court cases. Mary Butters, the ‘Carnmoney Witch’, was a local ‘wise-woman’ hired by a farmer to lift a curse he believed had stopped his cow giving butter. Her night-time ritual went badly wrong: the farmer, his wife and his son died, apparently from the fumes she used, and in March 1818 she was put on trial for murder. She was discharged at the Spring Assizes.
Woodland and wildlife
The Woodland Trust has restored native woodland across its part of the hill, a mix of oak, birch and holly alongside open grassland, wetland and wildflower meadow. Foxes, Irish hares and badgers live here; buzzards and sparrowhawks hunt overhead, and there are long-eared owls and kingfishers. In spring the ground comes up in bluebells, early purple orchids, wild garlic, primroses, dog violets and red campion, and the ponds bring dragonflies through summer.
Getting there
- By road – Carnmoney Hill is about 10 km (6 miles) north of Belfast. Head for Glengormley, take the O’Neill Road (B531) and turn into Knockenagh Avenue; the main entrance and lay-by are on the left.
- Parking – Free, but the Knockenagh Avenue lay-by only holds a handful of cars, so come early. There’s also free roadside parking at the Rathfern activity centre and children’s play park.
- Facilities – Public toilets are in the community centre at the base, open to the centre’s hours.
- Access points – There are six ways in: the main one on Knockenagh Avenue, two to the south, and two to the north off Fernlea Lane.
Nearby
Cave Hill, the best known of the Belfast Hills, is a short drive south and a bigger day out, with Belfast Castle and the zoo on its lower slopes. Closer to home, the Lilian Bland Community Park at Glengormley has a sculpture of the Mayfly marking her flight.