Dark Hedges
Dark Hedges
Gracehill Golf Course is set in the grounds of a Georgian House on the Ballinlea Road near the junction with Bregagh Road, stretching up from what would have been the main gates is The Dark Hedges. A country lane where the silver-grey branches of mature beech trees entwine in their canopies to form a natural archway, memorable and inspiring to see. The Dark Hedges were planted in the 18th century as an avenue to a Georgian house. Later, when the narrow gauge railway was built between Ballycastle and Ballymoney, a station halt was installed at the top of the avenue. The location has been visited for decades by artists, film crews and visitors (some by train) and remained very idyllic with broad grass verges.
It was not until HBO (Time Warner) used the setting that issues began to arise, the NI Tourist Industry and Tourism Ireland both jumped on the imagery of this unmanaged rural location (2010) and carried out massive global promotion campaigns featuring it which are still ongoing (2019). No infrastructural investment was made at the location nor any management for the arriving footfall. These two failures led to serious environmental issues such as littering, grass verge erosion, traffic congestion and inadequate parking facilities. It is in reality a 'classic' study case for 'how not to develop and sustain' a rural tourism asset that is unmanaged.
Having said that it is still impressive to see but not a patch on its original condition pre-2010, the best time to see the avenue is at the crack of dawn in summer or 'out of season' that's if you want a quiet avenue, today it is extremely rare to find it empty of people unlike the photos used to promote it. If you explore the rural area around north Antrim you can 'discover' several similar tree-lined lanes and canopy tunnels, though not as grand or mature as this example. The easiest way to get here is from Armoy is to take the Carrowreagh Road to the Dry Arch then turn left for Gracehill. There you will find a hotel, golf course and restaurant who provide parking on site.
Please do not park on the roads around here as the verges are being destroyed at an alarming rate, use the off-road car park provided free by the Dark Hedges Estate, also note fixed penalty fines are now being issued to those who park on the avenue. The ‘Dark Hedges’ as its name may imply has a more spine chilling side to it in the form of the ‘Grey Lady’. A spectre which appears as dusk falls amongst the trees and silently glides along the avenue, vanishing as she passes the last beech tree. Some believe the spectre to be the ghost of a servant girl from a nearby house who mysteriously vanished over one hundred and fifty years ago. Others say she is a lost soul from an abandoned famine grave that lies in an adjacent field and that on the full moon these forgotten graves open and the souls of those buried within rise and join her as she makes her passage along the Dark Hedges.
This story was told in our family by an uncle who said that the spectre was that of a young girl called Mattie who was hired at a local hiring fair and worked in a nearby house as a maid. Mattie had a sweetheart called Daniel and the couple were besotted with each other and lived only for the times they shared. On summer evenings they would meet at the top of the hedges and spend their time walking and talking about their plans for the future. Then one evening Mattie, set off in her finest clothes her working place to meet Daniel and was never seen again, no trace of her or her belongings were ever found. Daniel lost and grief-stricken without her, returned to the Dark Hedges every evening and waited in the hope by some miracle he would see Mattie again. Summer’s came and went but Daniel never gave up his vigil, he came here and waited whenever he could.
His obsession led him to be called a crazy man who was viewed with suspicion and shunned. Then one summer evening at twilight, in the same month she had vanished he saw Mattie walking up the avenue towards him. As she approached she reached out her arms to greet and he in his joy reached out his, as they came to embrace she passed through him like a beam of sunlight on your face through the trees. A week later Daniel was found hanging in his room with a note to his mother telling her of this meeting with Mattie and that he had followed to beyond this life. Since that time many people have reported seeing a ghostly figure of a female silently gliding towards them as evening falls. Listen carefully when you walk along the hedges at twilight, you might hear the sound of wood being carved by the ghostly hands of these lovers. Now, if you hear this story anywhere else you know where it came from.......here :-)