Carnearney is a forest covered hill that only affords views on the approach roads or from one area of cleared forestry on its western slopes. It is popular with mountain bikers and scramblers, so the trails through the trees are churned up and very muddy in places. By parking at the forestry entrance at 176923 A, you can ramble along the forest track to a telecommunications mast, from where the small summit clearing is a short uphill hop. Alternatively from the forest entrance you can head directly to the summit through the trees in about 10 minutes, where you will soon join a churned up trail leading to the summit trig pillar which is obscured amongst vegetation. Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/933/comment/5692/

Despite being one of the closest hills to where I live, I had never climbed Carnearny before. It doesn't look particularly exciting from afar with its wooded summit only 319m high, but I found climbing it an enjoyable experience. I parked at the entrance to the forest (176923 A) and followed the track all the way round to the northern side of the hill. A vast area has recently been felled on this side which opens up a fantastic view. A line of 400m+ summits extends from the wind farm on Slievenahanaghan through
Skerry Hill, Slievenanee, Trostan, Carncormick, Slemish and Douglas Top. To the east, another wind farm - this one on Big Collin and beyond that Agnew's Hill. I walked down a short path which opened up another view to the west and the Sperrins, the distant peaks of Sawel and Dart were shimmering in the autumn sunshine. Turning round, I headed up past the huge mast towards the summit area. Unfortunately some quad bikes have badly churned up the path to the summit which didn't help considering I was wearing trainers. The path winds its way upwards through very dense tree cover. I was beginning to lose hope of discovering the trig pillar when suddenly I emerged into a little clearing and there it was. Perhaps Antrim's least conspicuous trig pillar? Even the vegetation in the clearing now obscure the pillar itself, never mind the trees. Maybe the protection afforded would explain why the flush bracket and spider were in such good condition. Soon enough I headed back to the car by retracing my steps, an excellent way to spend an hour or two on an October afternoon. Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/933/comment/4193/

In rating Carnearny my scores did not lift it above the lowly 21%. Today to me it is not a place that is a great challenge, has wonderful views or is a wild and lonely place - but go back to my childhood and it is a very different story.

Living in Antrim on the shores of Lough Neagh, Carnearny rose to what seemed to be unimaginable heights and was often dusted with snow when we were soaked by rain. Many a Sunday was spent walking with family and pets through the wooded slopes. With age and independence i visited on my own to walk, cycle and run - as i still do today. At a time the wooded summit was clear and views abounded - to the Sperrins, the Mournes, Belfast hills and the whole of Lough Neagh - now it is glimpses here and there. To be there was like being on top of the world, everything was a marvel - a trig pillar! a communications mast! fire dams! looking into the big quarry!

The tracks through the forest will provide an hour of exercise and can easily be linked with nearby Tardree Mountain to prolong the experience. It doesn't grab my heart now in the way the cliffs of Slieve League or other big dramatic hills do but it does have a special place there and always will do - it is where i started walking in and wondering at the marvel of the hills in Ireland. Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/933/comment/3360/

Carnearny’s summit once boasted fine views across Lough Neagh and to the Mountains of Mourne and the Sperrins. Those views would need to be sought on the approach to the hill, as the summit itself is now mostly covered in forestry. As well as smothering the views, the forestry provides excitement to quad bikers, scramblers and mountain bikers who have churned up the trails leading to the summit. However there is an area on its western slope where forest clearance allows views out to the west. By parking at the forestry entrance at 17692, you can ramble along forest tracks to the cleared area to the west. A track leads past a telecommunications mast to the small summit clearing, where a trig pillar sits amongst the vegetation. Alternatively from the forest entrance you can head directly to the summit through the trees where you will soon join a churned up trail to the summit. The return trip could be as little as 30 minutes, with little to promote a longer stay unless you ramble along the forest tracks. For those travelling from further afield, Carnearney can easily be included in a spate of individual hill climbs in Antrim.

As an interesting aside, the well known Hyde Park Speakers Corner orator, Bonar Thompson, who held forth from 1920-1960, was born in the area of Carnearny. Perhaps he practiced his craft on these slopes? The book about the story of his life ‘Bonar Thompson, the Old Days of Carnearney’ may contain useful tidbits about this low, forest covered hill. One of Bonar Thompson’s quotes could be applied to our sport of climbing the hills and mountains of Ireland – ‘he who tries can fail. But he who doesn't try, already has’. Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/933/comment/6162/