Garry Forest
Garry Wood is a small wood of just over 566 hectares. It lies to the north of Ballymoney. The forest area is made up of two main woodlands. These are Heagles and the main block, Garry. Both are mainly coniferous.
Activities
There are no facilities for recreational activities, but the public are welcome to visit this forest on foot.
There may be restricted access to parts of the forest during forestry works so pay attention to safety advice on forest signs.
Opening hours
The forest is open every day of the year from 8.00 am until sunset for pedestrians only.
About this forest
The size of this forest is deceptive as only 311.6 hectares of the actual forest area is planted and the remaining 40 per cent is made up of open ground.
An extensive portion of the open ground is a National Nature Reserve and an area has also been further designated as an Area of Special Scientific Interest. This is because the area contains one of the largest areas of undamaged lowland raised bog in Northern Ireland. The boundaries of these areas are hard to define on the ground and they can be challenging walking for inexperienced walkers.
The planted blocks have little by the way of roads. Garry Wood has a number of dead end roads which means walkers often have to retrace their steps if they only use the forest roads. The wood at Heagles has no forest roads and as such is rarely used by walkers. Garry however is one of the few forest areas where the cutting of turf banks is still actively being carried out.
How to get there
The forest is situated off the A26 Belfast to Coleraine road, opposite Ballymoney on the B66 Knock Road to Dervock (on the right when travelling from Belfast towards Coleraine). Heagles is off the B62 Ballybogey Road towards Ballybogey turning at the village for a mile onto the Ballindreen Road.