slemish on Carncormick

One of the first times I can remember being impressed by the beauty of the Antrim hills was on a school field trip to the Quolie reservoirs many years ago. I had never been back since so I followed gerrym's route to take in both the reservoirs and the summit of Carncormick. It was another beautiful spring afternoon as I headed up Quolie Lane towards Reservoir 1. There is space to park at the gate without blocking it. The initial stages were easy over sheep-cropped fields. The imaginatively-titled Reservoir 2 soon comes into view. As you ascend the ground becomes more boggy with the odd peat hag although nothing as bad as Trostan or Slievenanee. It must be a mile to the summit at least as this part seems to go on for ages. Care should be taken as the deep heather hides the many small burns which cross the slope. A misplaced foot into one of these can easily result in an ankle sprain or worse so keep your eyes peeled. Eventually you reach the trig pillar on the summit at 436m. The flush bracket and spider in particular were in very good condition. Today was fine and very warm for early April but quite hazy. This meant there was no chance of the longer views to the Sperrins and Scotland. However there were still fine views to be had: east to Mid Hill and the gaping Glenariff, south over the Braid valley to Slemish and Agnew's Hill and north to Glenravel with the village of Cargan hugging the slopes of Slievenanee with Trostan and Slieveanorra to either side. I completed the walk by descending to the south back to Quolie Lane. Took longer than I expected but a beautiful and peaceful walk. Total trip about 2 hrs. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/668/comment/3695/

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gerrym on Carncormick

This walk starts from the SE side of the hill. Take the road to the Quolie resevoirs, using the parking space for several cars before the gate (B (D174 114)). Follow the track alongside the Quolie river, firstly with pasture hemmed in by stone walls containing cows, sheep and horses as company, but then further into the rough moorland of the surrounding hills. The water of the river is brown from the peat covered hills and soon glimpse the bank of grass holding back a great volume of it at Quolie resevoir 1. Cross the grass bank and a bridge over the water outlet, which cascades down a glittering stairway. A raised trackway follows the river on one side and the resevoir on the other, I wore my temporary shepard hat here as a group of sheep hurried along in front with no escape.
Occasionally fish would perform ballet in the air above the waters of the resevoir as i walked. An iron girder provides a crossing point over the river onto the hillside, as climb the second higher resevoir comes into view. A few fish jumping here would have been welcome to reduce the cleg popualtion which had great joy in biting through my light fleece. The ground is good for a while but soon turns to deep tussocky heather where every footstep is an accident waiting to happen - this goes on for ages as walk NW before reaching the sensibler ground at the trig pillar.
It was a good day and the views were similar, all the bigger hills to the N (Trostan, Slivenanee etc), the Sperrins from the N coast down and most impressively into the gaping valley of Glenariff which had a swathe of low cloud reaching up to its brim. Absolutely beautiful views in all directions as puffy cumulus dotted a blue sky. Butterflies and bees kept me company as i sat and drank in the views and my lunch.
Continued on to Mid Hill following the fenceline and returned back down to Quolie resevoir 2, following the track easily back to where i had parked. I think there is no doubt that it does pay to explore the lower hills - new experinences and challenges are an important part of walking as well as going back to the trusted and well worn paths of the likes of the Mournes. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/668/comment/2816/

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NICKY on Carncormick

Carncormick is a hill only to be appreciated in good weather. The views can be anywhere between great and awful depending on the weather. By this I mean on a sunny day it is worth it and even on a dull day with a high cloud base the view can be colourless and dull. The best route is to start from Martinstown on the A43 and take the minor road which leads you to a junction between Islandnabracky and Knocknagully.Take a right then a quick left and follow this to the very end. This leads to a country track that will take you to Carncormick's South-Western slopes. When the track splits in two take the left and then just pick your way up the slopes to the cairn. When you arrive you will understand my earlier comments about the views. On this walk you could also include Mid Hill and Collin Top. Simply just follow the North-East ridge through the Red Sea. To complete the route (sorry about the road walking) head for the track on the Northern side of Dungonnell Dam and take left. This is a now a pleasant stroll downhill past Craignamaddy and Cargan Rock. (do these also if you have the time) When you come to the junction near Ballsallagh Bridge take right, then a left at the main road to take you back to Martinstown and your car. A great route which can very peaceful! Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/668/comment/2737/

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three5four0 on Carncormick

We followed Nicky's excellent route description for the ascent of Carncormick on a cold and clear day in the week past. There was still some small patches of snow, from the snowfall several days previous around the summit trig point, and as we crossed the fence to reach the summit the views opened up towards Scotland. The mountains of Arran were poking over the Mull of Kintyre framed by the jaws of Glenariff, with possibly the Argyll hills slightly to the left showing through as well.

With a day like this, it would have been rude not to continue on the suggested circuit, so go to Mid Hill for the continuation of the route Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/668/comment/3430/

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