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Ballymena to Broughshane – Long Walk

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Friday 15th February 2019

LONG WALK – 6 miles/c 4 hours plus breaks.  

LEADER: Robert McDowell, Telephone No 028 93373084 (land line)   07711 706022 (mobile)

MEETING POINT/TIME: Ballymena Railway Station at 10.03 am

PUBLIC TRANSPORT:

Outward Journey:

Train – Dep Whitehead 8.45 am, dep Carrickfergus 8.54 am, arr Yorkgate 9.16 am.  Change to L’derry line. Dep Yorkgate 9.24 am, dep Mossley West 9.33 am, arr Ballymena 10.03 am.

Return Journey:

Bus – Dep Broughshane 3.29 pm, arr Ballymena Railway Station 3.45 pm.

Train – Dep Ballymena 4.00 pm, arr Mossley West 4.26 pm, arr Yorkgate 4.35, arr Lanyon Place 4.39 pm.

Options:

  • Disembark from L’derry train at Yorkgate at 4.35 pm. Change to Larne line. Dep Yorkgate 4.59 pm, arr Carrickfergus (terminus) 5.20 pm.
  • Stay on L’derry train to Belfast Lanyon Place, arr 4.39 pm. Dep Lanyon Place 4.44 pm (no stops before Carrickfergus), arr C’fergus 4.59 pm, arr Whitehead 5 pm, arr Larne Town 5.25 pm
  • If you miss (2) above, dep Lanyon Place 5.16 pm (no stops before Carrickfergus), arr C’fergus 5.31 pm, arr Whitehead 5.42 pm, arr Larne Town 5.58 pm.

BY CAR:

Take M2 Motorway following signs to Ballymena (c 30 miles from Belfast city centre) or the A36 from Larne to Ballymena (c 18 miles).  There is a car park at Ballymena Railway Station, accessed from the narrow street opposite Ballymena Police Station (left hand side of Galgorm Road).  As it has very few parking spaces, you could park in one of the avenues off Galgorm Road (in the direction of Galgorm/Ahoghill).  For those who wish to drive straight to the Ecos Centre or Raceview Woollen Mill and start a shorter walk from either of these, there is ample free parking at both.  If you wish to travel by car direct to the Ecos Centre, do not take the Ballymena turnoff from the M2 but stay on the motorway and take the next turnoff to Broughshane/the Ecos Centre, the latter of which is clearly marked.

THE WALK:
Begins at Ballymena Railway Station which is c 1.5 miles from the start of the Ecos Centre walk via Broughshane Street and Suffolk Street (both in Ballymena town centre). Our walk of c 1 mile in the Ecos Centre which follows the Braid River is flat and well surfaced. From there, we walk c 2.5 miles along the Broughshane Road to Raceview Woollen Mill. After lunch we will do the Riverside Walk and Buttermilk Bridge Walk (1 mile) which follow the Braid River and are level and fairly well surfaced. Our walk will finish at Houston’s Mill in the centre of Broughshane near to our bus stop.

LUNCH:
We will take a break at Raceview Woollen Mill where we can have lunch in the Red Brick Café before starting the last part of our walk. There are toilets at Ballymena Railway Station, the Ecos Centre, Raceview Woollen Mill, Houston’s Mill and at various cafés in Broughshane.

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