Things We Love: Great Hikes – Slemish

We’re not going to lie to you. It’s been a struggle the last six to twelve months to post something on here. Seeing so many plans for so many people get repeatedly thwarted across the last year just made it feel hard for us to encourage you all to make plans to come see our wee homeland of Northern Ireland and hike in our gorgeous countryside.

But we’ve decided that’s enough of that. We’re generally an optimistic enthusiastic bunch both here at The Inside Trek and in Northern Ireland generally. And stepping back and looking at things over the last couple of weeks, there’s been loads of things that we’ve loved in those last twelve months or so, not least every single walk we’ve been lucky enough to have with our amazing guests in our first six months as a business.

The ‘Things We Love’ Series

So we’re going to get back on it, by telling you about all the things we love here at The Inside Trek, including the best things to see and do, great local places to eat and drink, the best Northern Irish music and literature, and the amazing Northern Irish businesses that help us do what we do. We’ll also give you super little tips to help you get the most from your hiking, as well as updates on our progress as we keep trying to be better. Our previous posts have mostly been about ‘Moving Forward’. It’s time now for ‘Looking forward’.

Slemish

We’re really looking forward to showing you a lot more about what makes us tick – but more importantly what makes our wee homeland such a special place. Starting of course with a hike! As we’re also big on supporting ‘local’, we had to begin close to home too for that hike. So please let us introduce you to Slemish Mountain.

Historically called Sliabh Mis, meaning “Mis’s mountain”, Slemish rises to about 1500 feet (or 437ms). It’s actually the central ‘plug’ of an extinct volcano, so it leaps up out of the surrounding plain like a Northern Irish Uluru (with more changeable weather). Due to its distinctive shape, Slemish is arguably the most famous of the Antrim Hills.

St Patrick Was Here

But Slemish is also cherished for its association with St Patrick. In local tradition, the mountain was the site of the saint’s slavery, where he spent 6 years, from ages 16 through 22, herding livestock for a local chieftain named Milchu. During this time, as consolation for his loneliness and miserable conditions, St Patrick turned to frequent prayer. And on St Patrick’s Day (17th March), large crowds now hike to the top of the mountain as a pilgrimage (https://www.midandeastantrim.gov.uk/stpatricksday).

Slemish is a short but stiff climb, with no set route up or down. But it does go straight up in places, so it can be a scramble where you often need your hands for balance as you pull yourself up, and a slide down on your bum to ease yourself back down certain drops.

There are spectacular 360 degree views from the top. The hills near Belfast lie to the South East(ish). Ballymena with Lough Neagh and the Sperrins behind stretches out to the West. The central area of the Antrim Hills call to the North. And the escarpment that includes the Sallagh Braes means that you just can’t quite see the sea off the East Coast. It’s a fun climb and you’ll be up and down in an hour. But you’ll be blowing during that hour.

Slemish also sits on the Antrim Hills Way (https://walkni.com/walks/antrim-hills-way/), giving the option to also add on a decent few miles across sweeping heather-clad terrain before or after going up the mountain maybe even with a wild hare or two for company as you head out the back toward Shillnavogy.

In short, we’re really lucky to have such a great hike as Slemish right on our doorstep