Iniscarn Forest
County Londonderry
Distance 2 miles
OS Map 13
Terrain Forest road, track, country road
Nearest Town Magherafelt
Route Shape Linear
Grid Reference H82499
Route Type Woodland
The walk starts from the forest entrance on the Iniscarn Road. Entering the forest you will see a forest road heading straight, follow this road as it ascends through the forest. Continue along this forest road as it sweeps through the forest you will pass on old house on your right. At this juncture take the path to the left and continue along this path as it continues to take you up towards the summit. Take time to enjoy the view. Continue along this path, it will narrow as you pass under the pylons, & follow it towards the top of the forest and Slieve Gallion. Please note that the land around the summit of Slieve Gallion is privately owned. Sheep graze these uplands and all dogs MUST be kept under control.
Iniscarn contains many species of birds and animals. Buzzards can be seen in springtime displaying over the mature hardwood areas. Occasionally hen harriers can be spotted hunting on the open moorland next to the forest
The forest is off the A29 Tobermore to Moneymore road. From here take the Iniscarn Road and continue along this road for just over 2 miles. The forest is on your left.
Translink – journeyplanner.translink.co.uk
Must be kept on a lead.
Parking is permitted at the entrance to the forest. Cars must not block the forest gates.
Grade
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Walk Route
Iniscarn Forest
I cannot stress enough how dangerous and dirty this walk is. Iniscarn more like inisshit. Took my three kids here on the weekend for a nice family outing since their dad left and it was just terrible, my 7 year old daughter fell in the steam and got soaked, and my 10 year old tripped over one of the many many massive rocks in the walkway and has dislocated his ankle. Would not recommend for kids as the path is not clear and there are no toilet facilities in the area which led to an accident or two😬. Other than all the terrible things that occurred wouldve been a nice walk to go on if i didn’t bring my kids and instead went with their father, if he hadnt have cheated on me and left us.
This is a fantastic walk especially now in the autumn season with the leaves changing colour and falling onto the forest floor. multiple types of mushrooms to identify, sunlight pushing through intensifying the cobwebs and raindrops on the trees.
from the car park it starts of pretty steep, then there’s a ‘chatty bench’, inviting walkers to stop for a moment before pushing on up the hill. The terrain is mixed so walking boots are recommended. Once at the top it is very windy and offers stunning views across the countryside. We stopped here for lunch before retracing our steps then turning off at a left fork to enjoy more of the forest floor and returning in a circular route to the car park. Enjoy ….
This is a beautiful walk up through mature forest, is shaded most of the way, and provides a challenging, sunny 1.5-2 hours of solid exercise along a forest trail.
It is steep for most of the way, so be prepared! 🙂 Well worth it once you get to the windy top, which has masts on private ground, a stone cairn and two crosses. Views are amazing, with the feeling that you could see almost every other mountain we have here. Have fun spotting them all.
Wear good walking boots, as though the route is well maintained, the stone parts of the path can be rough. The day we were there, it had been raining all the day before, but the path was only a little wet and mucky in places. And, the top of the mountain felt pretty dry – again, only a bit boggy in places, but mostly grassy.
There is parking just outside the forest for about 5 cars. And, there are no toilets.