Glenarm
June 6, 2023
HM 224. Glenarm - a perfect harbour and a furry surprise.
Sailing north from Belfast, the scenery changes as you enter the Antrim Coast and Glens Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Glenarm village grew on the site of a Norman castle. The castle has since moved and morphed into a Palladian country house and is the seat of the current Earl of Antrim* and open to the public.
The harbour has also morphed from a busy 19C port exporting limestone to Scotland into an idyllic marina which is looked after by HM Billy McClelland.
Although born in nearby Portrush, Billy grew up as a fisherman in Portavogie (see previous post), a place with a deeply religious protestant community, seven churches and no pubs. Billy told me that the trawler fleet set out from the harbour at exactly one minute after midnight every Sunday and no nets could be mended on the sabbath.
Life was very tough and Billy missed beautiful Antrim.
He returned to work in the Michelin tyre factory in Ballymena but hankering after the sea he bought an angling boat based in Glenarm - so he knows the local waters well. He loves his job as HM in particular meeting yachties from a huge range of different countries.
Like all HMs he gets phoned by the coastguard in the middle of the night - most recently to deal with a drunken skipper who had forgotten the code to the gate at 3am... and had called 999.
The marina is home to a fascinating project run by Ulster Wildlife to restore "native oyster" beds. 800 mature oysters, sourced from Loch Ryan in Scotland, are being suspended from the pontoons in 30 cages. From these, a staggering 800 million oyster larvae will be released into surrounding waters every year, boosting biodiversity and reducing water pollution levels. (See comment for more info).
On my (infrequent) morning jog in Glenarm Forest I came face to face with a Pine Marten (photo 10 is not my photo!) and I had absolutely no idea what it was when I saw it.... would you?!
Thank you Billy for a great stay. Do visit Antrim - it is THE most beautiful place!
* He was one Earl who did not "flee" in 1607 - see future posts!
Sailing north from Belfast, the scenery changes as you enter the Antrim Coast and Glens Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Glenarm village grew on the site of a Norman castle. The castle has since moved and morphed into a Palladian country house and is the seat of the current Earl of Antrim* and open to the public.
The harbour has also morphed from a busy 19C port exporting limestone to Scotland into an idyllic marina which is looked after by HM Billy McClelland.
Although born in nearby Portrush, Billy grew up as a fisherman in Portavogie (see previous post), a place with a deeply religious protestant community, seven churches and no pubs. Billy told me that the trawler fleet set out from the harbour at exactly one minute after midnight every Sunday and no nets could be mended on the sabbath.
Life was very tough and Billy missed beautiful Antrim.
He returned to work in the Michelin tyre factory in Ballymena but hankering after the sea he bought an angling boat based in Glenarm - so he knows the local waters well. He loves his job as HM in particular meeting yachties from a huge range of different countries.
Like all HMs he gets phoned by the coastguard in the middle of the night - most recently to deal with a drunken skipper who had forgotten the code to the gate at 3am... and had called 999.
The marina is home to a fascinating project run by Ulster Wildlife to restore "native oyster" beds. 800 mature oysters, sourced from Loch Ryan in Scotland, are being suspended from the pontoons in 30 cages. From these, a staggering 800 million oyster larvae will be released into surrounding waters every year, boosting biodiversity and reducing water pollution levels. (See comment for more info).
On my (infrequent) morning jog in Glenarm Forest I came face to face with a Pine Marten (photo 10 is not my photo!) and I had absolutely no idea what it was when I saw it.... would you?!
Thank you Billy for a great stay. Do visit Antrim - it is THE most beautiful place!
* He was one Earl who did not "flee" in 1607 - see future posts!