Off The Beaten Track
Fair Head
*Crown Copyright. Route and Distances are approx. Only for guidance.*
Fairhead and Grey Man's Path
Fair Head is one of the great headlands of Ireland, magnificent when seen from any view…from Ballycastle or Rathlin Island or any of the other headlands on the North Coast. The massive basaltic cliff falls sheer for nearly 180 metres and some of the columns are 15m wide and hundreds of metres high.
Its base and face are so inaccessible that a pair of golden eagles was reputedly able to nest here and rear two young in 1953. After that, their nesting was intermittent and ceased in 1960.
Benmore (the great headland) on Fair Head looks across to Rathlin Island and Kintyre in Scotland.On the clifftop there are dark loughs and a crannog, a cairn, a megalithic chamber and the remains of a motte and bailey Norman fort.
The whole area is steeped in myth and legend, including The Grey Man’s Path, the Grey Man being a spectre that is supposed to be seen when the mist rolls in from the sea and he takes human form up this gully.
Evidence of human life and industry from a more recent age is dotted all along the coastal path from Ballycastle to Fair Head and further round the coast at Murlough Bay.
There were Porcellanite mines in this area in the stone age – but the tennis courts at Ballycastle are on the site of a harbour that was opened here in 1743, to export coal that was mined just outside the town. Coal mining was big business – beginning back in the 1600’s, production peaked around 1750, when 5-8000 tons a year was being produced. The coal also powered other industries –a glass works between the tennis courts at the sea at the mouth of the Margy river – there were salt pans, a tannery, candles and soap production, a brewery and others. The last mine closed in the middle of last century.
Height: 180 metres (590 feet) maximum
Round trip: 8 Kilometres (5 miles)
Time: 5 hours
Level 4: Easy leading to Moderate and then Difficult
This starts as a fairly easy level walk along a coastal path but then requires a scramble up a rough track or grass banks, which are steep and can be very slippery in wet weather. The last part is a level walk along clifftop tracks, which can be very windy, and finally a tricky descent down an extremely steep gully. A good level of fitness is required for the ascent, a good head for heights along the cliff top paths and also the descent down Grey Man’s Path, where great care must be taken
Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland Discoverer Series 1:50 000
Map 05 Ballycastle
Map Coordinates: Start: 153420 Finish: 182438
Refreshments
There are a lot of shops and cafes in nearby Ballycastle from which to get sandwiches, food and drink before you start on this walk.
Start and Finish
The walk begins at what is known locally as Marconi’s cottage (153420), although the truth of a link to the inventor of wireless telegraphy is questioned.
This is at the end of a single track road which is accessed from either of two left turns out of Ballycastle approx 1km or 2.5km along the A2 from Ballycastle to Cushendun.
It ends at the Grey Man’s Path (182438) on top of Fair Head. It should be pointed out that the last part of this walk, although along the clifftop, is on private land. While the local farmer landowners are used to ramblers and visitors on this land, walking here is a privilege, not a right.
If you do not intend to walk all the way back along how you arrived, you should consider having transport ready to take you back. There is a National Trust Car Park about 1 km away near Lough na Cranagh (181425) and a local farmer has similar provisions.
Terrain
The path along the coast is well defined and fairly solid, although it is very muddy in parts, particularly in wet weather. It undulates over grass, bog, rocks, fences and heather and through waist – high ferns. Eventually it peters out and if you continue around the base of Fair Head Cliffs, you are faced with gigantic boulders and rocks which can be both slippery and dangerous. You can slip down easily between them and run the risk of sprained or even broken legs and ankles. If you do decide to make the ascent up the cliff, it is best to do this through a couple of gullies (before you reach this boulder field), which can be crumbly and slippery. Alternatively you can scramble up various parts of the grassy face which can also be very slippery.
The clifftop track is over rock and bog and along peat paths through heather which although fairly well defined, are muddy and water-filled, particularly in wet weather.
The final descent of the Grey Man’s Path is down rocks which have been smoothed and polished from the boots and hands of numerous climbers and walkers over decades. These can be very slippery, as can the grass and path and it is highly recommended that you do not do this alone. It is a remote location, open to the elements. If you are alone and run into problems, it is possible that no-one would pass by there for some considerable time
Route
As already stated, starting at the end of the road simply follow the path along the coast moving north eastwards. You will pass Ballyvoy Pier on your left as you enter Colliery Bay and several coal spoil heaps on your right, close to the path.
After approx 1 to 2 km crossing several fences and stiles, you come to a wide, open and flat grass area, with a fence in front of you and two small islands just off the coast to your left. These are the last remnants of the coal industry in this area. They used to have piers for the ships and boats but most of the evidence for these has disappeared.
To your left is a steep gully, with a waterfall, which leads up to the cliff top. If you choose to climb this, it will take you on to fairly flat grass pasture land, but it is private farmland. Further along the coast, there are other possible scrambles up steep grass and rock, none of which are very evident. There is one other gully which will take you up to Lough Doo. All of the land on top here is privately owned, although as mentioned, many walkers do cross it.
If you do continue along the coast, there is the previously mentioned boulder field which has virtually no routes up the cliff face, other than for experienced climbers and mountaineers. Once on the top of the cliffs there is a rough path along the edge over rock, bog, heather and fences as previously mentioned. Following the edge on your right, from a safe distance until you reach the Grey Man’s Path, an obvious large gully, spanned at the top with a distinctive collapsed slab.
Local Walking Contacts and Association
Points of Interest
The ruins of Ballyvoy pier and the remnants of the coal industry along the coast are fascinating. The views from the clifftop across to Rathlin and Scotland and back to Ballycastle are spectacular. Dark Lough Doo with its legends of a devil horse, the Crannog in the middle of the Lough which bears its name and Grey Man’s Path and the sea views from it are all stunning.
Gallery
Faire Head looking back to Ballycastle.
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© MMIX