Straidkilly Nature Reserve

Wildlife your kids can actually find

For a small wood, Straidkilly packs a lot in. Red squirrels are the headline act, dashing through the hazel canopy, and patient watchers may spot Irish hares, badgers, Irish stoats and pygmy shrews. Listen in summer for blackcap, willow warbler and chiffchaff, and look up for buzzards and sparrowhawks overhead. Silver-washed fritillary butterflies drift through the clearings, and from the high picnic area you can sometimes see harbour porpoise out in the Irish Sea. Bring binoculars and turn the walk into a spotting game.

Free Red squirrels Bluebell woodland Sea views to Scotland Picnic spot Dogs on leads

Good to know before you go:

As a wild woodland reserve, Straidkilly changes with the seasons rather than running scheduled events: bluebells and wild garlic in spring, breeding birds and butterflies in summer, and quieter squirrel-watching into autumn. Ulster Wildlife occasionally runs guided walks and volunteer days at its reserves, so it is worth checking their site before you go.

What to bring

🔭BinocularsHalf the fun is spotting the birds, seals or deer before they spot you.

👟Walking shoes or welliesPaths can be soft, grassy or muddy after rain — comfy waterproof feet win.

🧥A coatOut in the open the weather changes fast; dress for it and enjoy the fresh air.

💧Water and a snackReserves are quiet places — few have a café, so pack a little something.

Everything before you go

Cost

Free

Opening / season

Open to the public at all times, all year. Best wildlife viewing May to September.

Best for ages

Older, sure-footed children and babies in carriers; the terrain is too rough for buggies and very young toddlers.

What you'll see

Red squirrels, badgers, Irish hares, pine marten, woodland birds, butterflies, bluebells and wild garlic; sea views to Scotland.

Food

None on site. Cafés and shops in nearby Carnlough and Glenarm.

Toilets

None on site. Use facilities in Carnlough or Glenarm.

Parking

Roadside parking near the old quarry. Do not obstruct the gates.

Dogs

Allowed, but must be kept on a lead.

Accessibility

Limited. No formal paths, medium terrain with steep inclines, not buggy or wheelchair friendly.

How long to allow

1 to 2 hours for the 1.2-mile trail and a picnic.

Address

Straidkilly Road, Carnlough, BT44 0LQ

Questions

Before you go

Is it free?

Free

What will we see?

Red squirrels, badgers, Irish hares, pine marten, woodland birds, butterflies, bluebells and wild garlic; sea views to Scotland.

When is the best time to go?

Open to the public at all times, all year. Best wildlife viewing May to September.

Can I bring the dog?

Allowed, but must be kept on a lead.

Where do I park?

Roadside parking near the old quarry. Do not obstruct the gates.

Getting there

Straidkilly Nature Reserve is at Straidkilly Road, Carnlough, BT44 0LQ. Roadside parking near the old quarry. Do not obstruct the gates. Tap below for directions.

Directions on Google Maps Official website See it on our map

Nearby

Make more of the day

More days out around CarnloughSee what else is close by More nature & wildlife across NIReserves, loughs, woods and wetlands

The story

About the place

Straidkilly is a 9-hectare Ulster Wildlife nature reserve on the inland slope between Carnlough and Glenarm, above the Antrim Coast Road. It is a secluded hazel woodland mixed with ash, birch, hawthorn and rowan, broken up by species-rich grassland clearings, and is designated an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) for its habitats.

The wood is known locally as 'the slipping wood' because of the unstable, mobile ground beneath it, which is why the paths stay informal and the terrain shifts and steepens. That same geology helps give the reserve its tangled, untamed character.

It is cared for by Ulster Wildlife, the region's nature conservation charity. The reserve shelters rarities including parasitic toothwort, wood vetch and bird's-nest orchid, and remains a stronghold for red squirrels in the glens.