Getting there
Gleno sits in a fold of the hills roughly 8km south of Larne, about halfway to Carrickfergus and just inland from the A2 Causeway Coastal Route. From the A2, the B99 (Waterfall Road) climbs to the village, where two small car parks serve the falls. Parking is free. For the sat nav, the postcode is BT40 3LE.
The lanes into Gleno are narrow and the two car parks are small – on a fine Sunday they fill early. If both are full there is nowhere obvious to leave a car without blocking a neighbour’s gate, so come early or come midweek.
The walk to the falls
The waterfall is barely 100m from the village street, so this is a short outing rather than a hike. A path leads from the car park through the trees to a footbridge, with the main drop – about nine metres over dark rock ledges – directly ahead. Cross the bridge and a few more steps bring you onto a small rocky platform, close enough to feel the spray.
The National Trust has laid stone steps up and down both banks, so you can make a loop of it rather than doubling back; the full circuit is around 0.8km. The steps meander through the gorge past smaller cascades above and below the main fall. It is graded easy for distance, but the ground is steep, uneven and permanently wet from spray and runoff.
The falls are at their fullest after heavy rain, which is also when the rock is most treacherous underfoot. Trainers with some grip are the minimum. After a dry spell the flow thins to little more than a trickle.
The village
Gleno is a cluster of whitewashed cottages on the hillside, with St Columba’s Church of Ireland at the top of the village. The 2001 census counted 87 people. Mauds, the Northern Ireland ice-cream firm, made its ice cream here through the 1990s before moving the factory to Carrickfergus. There is no café or shop in the village now, so bring what you need.
Before you go
Wild swimming is prohibited at the falls and there is no overnight camping. The glen is open dawn to dusk all year, and admission is free. Keep an eye on children on the steps and near the water: the gorge is deep, the paths are unfenced in places, and debris can wash down after storms.
Nearby
The falls pair well with the coast. Larne is ten minutes north for the ferry port and shops, and Ballygally with its 1625 castle sits on the shore just beyond. Further along the A2, the cliff path at Islandmagee (the Gobbins) and the walled garden at Glenarm both make a fuller day out.
Go after a wet spell to catch the falls at full force, but wear boots you don’t mind getting muddy – the steps stay slick long after the rain has stopped.