Shapely scarply Sallagh Braes

North of the summit and over a road is the 2km long arc of Sallagh Braes, a spectacular semicircle of a valley where the higher ground to the west (left) falls away towards the sea.

This picture was taken from the south end of the valley. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/533/comment/14991/

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slemish on Agnew's Hill

Agnew's Hill is somewhat underrated in my opinion. At an impressive 474m it is the fifth highest in Antrim, much higher than its more celebrated neighbour Slemish. I climbed it today for the first time on a beautifully clear afternoon. I took the A36 from Larne before turning right onto the Starbog road. The hill looks particularly impressive when approached from this direction as it drops steeply on this side. There is space to park at a little lay-by at Old Freehold, about 200m east of where the Ulster way crosses the Starbog road (B (D329 028)). From here it's less than 150 vertical metres to the summit. Quite boggy on the initial approach but it soon dries up as you ascend. The climb was steep at first but got much easier after about 400m. I was very surprised to meet four grazing cows at about 430m, although they didn't seem in the least concerned by my presence. Agnew's Hill has quite a broad flat top which descends dramatically via rocky bluffs towards Larne. On a clear day like today the views from here were excellent. I could clearly make out the Ayrshire coast behind Ailsa Craig and Kintyre to the left. I would agree with pdtempan, the cairn on top of Agnew's Hill is by no means the highest point but from here the view from south-west to north-west was stunning with many Antrim summits visible - Carnearny, Big Collin, Slemish, Carncormick, Slievenanee and Trostan. The distant Sperrins loomed through the haze to the west, the outline of Slieve Gallion in particular easy to pick out. It was incredibly windy on top and I foolishly thought that it being early October, I could forgo the hat and gloves. Five minutes on the summit showed the folly of my ways so I quickly descended to the car by the same route. Total trip - an easy 1 hour walk. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/533/comment/4191/

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Summit from Starbog

Another beautiful November Saturday afternoon. Had planned to climb Slievetrue but the Woodburn forest area is now out of bounds due to a fungal infestation affecting the larch plantations there. So headed off to Agnew’s Hill instead. Started where the Antrim Hills Way crosses the Starbog Road. There is a stile on the left as you travel up from Larne direction. The stile is dedicated to Hugh Munnis, a local walker and historian who died in 2008 and helped popularise walking in the area. It was Hugh Munnis who informed the East Antrim Ramblers where the name ‘Starbog’ originated. Apparently it was named to commemorate the passing of a large fireball or meteorite in 1902 which passed over the area and landed near Crumlin. Bits of it are preserved in the National History Museum, London.
It’s quite a steep climb following the line of the fence. It was pretty boggy so I was soaked in muck and glaar by the time I reached the summit cairn. This cairn is probably not the highest point on the hill as pointed out by previous commentators. I spotted a suspicious looking lunch box among the stones which turned out to be a ‘geocache’. It was late afternoon when I arrived at the top and the light was dimming. There were views of Islandmagee, Slemish and Capanagh Wood below me. Ravens croaked and the sound of shotguns firing could be heard (hopefully not at the ravens!)
To the west I viewed a lovely sunset and to the east the light of The Maidens winked up. Descent was more problematic than the ascent. I nearly cowped twice. The whole jaunt took about an hour. A pleasant way to spend an autumn afternoon. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/533/comment/6627/

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pdtempan on Agnew's Hill

Wot, no comments? Let's see about that! Agnew's Hill is the highest hill in Mid-Antrim, being higher than Slemish. It presents a broad line of east-facing crags when seen from Larne, which give it a rather sombre look, especially in the afternoon. Probably the most important thing to say about Agnew's Hill is that it is now open for business again. The access problem on the Ulster Way has been resolved, and walkers are welcome again. When we climbed it, we arrived from the north, having already visited Sallagh Braes. The summit is a short haul of about 1 mile from Star Bog Road at Old Freehold. There is a cairn on the summit plateau, but we were not convinced that it marked the actual summit. A point about 200m further south near a stile appeared to be higher. The view is good, but not exceptional, as Agnew's Hill is rather too far removed from the sea and other hills to give a very dominant position. Due to the severe wind, we did not dawdle on top, but returned by our line of ascent and walked the road back to Larne. We did not explore the southern approach via Shane's Hill. Overall Agnew's Hill is definitely worth climbing, at least once, but it is outclassed by the lower hills to the north which offer more variety and better coastal views. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/533/comment/3123/

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Nice little climb

The final top in a 4-top bagging day in Antrim Hills. This is a nice little hill with a fine aspect when viewed from the east, with a plunging slope dropping about 170m. A track (not bad but in poor condition in parts) leads most of the way to the summit from the north. A cairn of sorts becomes visible near top, although the actual unmarked high point is 200m further south. The sun was declining as I reached the top and luckily the great skies parted briefly. I imagine this summit offers decent views on fine days, but mine were limited. Still, a nice climb of about 150m ascent is worth the effort. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/533/comment/23767/

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