Gleno Waterfall (Glenoe Waterfall)

Larne, Northern Ireland, UK (Great Britain)

About Gleno Waterfall (Glenoe Waterfall)


Hiking Distance: about 300m round-trip
Suggested Time: 15 minutes

Date first visited: 2024-07-20
Date last visited: 2024-07-20

Waterfall Latitude: 54.79963
Waterfall Longitude: -5.83245

Waterfall Safety and Common Sense

Gleno Waterfall (or Glenoe Waterfall) was a rather convenient waterfall for us when we made the long drive from the far north of Northern Ireland down to Belfast.

It was convenient because it’s just a short, free jaunt from its car park to the waterfall itself, which sat near the community of Gleno.

Gleno_008_07202024 - Gleno Waterfall or Glenoe Waterfall
Gleno Waterfall or Glenoe Waterfall

The village name Gleno (a name the locals prefer) or Glenoe (the more official spelling) comes from the Irish name of Gleann Eo, which means “valley of the yew”.

Its proximity to places like Belfast and Carrickfergus Castle as well as other towns along the scenic Antrim Coast meant that this made for a convenient excuse to make a brief detour to get a waterfalling fix.

That said, it could also mean you might get characters sharing the waterfalling experience with you, which might make for a less peaceful experience than desired.

Case in point, there were quite a few young folks wading in the water, smoking weed, or overall just being young.

Gleno_042_07202024 - Julie and Tahia checking out the Gleno Waterfall under some moderate rain
Julie and Tahia checking out the Gleno Waterfall under some moderate rain

Speaking of the Gleno Waterfall, it’s said to be about 30ft tall or nearly 10m.

During our July 2024 visit, the short walk was convenient because we had been dealing with some fairly moderate to heavy rainfall.

In any case, our short jaunt was a mere 100-200m walk, and it only took us about 30 minutes away from the car, where most of that time was spent lingering at the Gleno Waterfall.

There was also a branch of the trail that went up steps to climb steeply up towards the top of the Glenoe Waterfall and beyond, which allowed us to linger even longer if we were so inclined.

Authorities

The Gleno Waterfall is between the towns of Larne and Carrickfergus in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. It is administered by the National Trust. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, you can try visiting the National Trust website.

Gleno_006_07202024 - On the short jaunt heading towards the base of the Gleno Waterfall
Gleno_013_07202024 - Portrait look upstream at the base of the Gleno Waterfall and rest bench as seen from the footbridge over the Glenoe Water
Gleno_017_07202024 - Direct look across the plunge pool of the Gleno Waterfall from the end of its short jaunt
Gleno_027_07202024 - Long-exposed portrait look across the plunge pool towards the Gleno Waterfall
Gleno_028_07202024 - Looking back towards the footbridge over the Glenoe Water as seen from the end of the short jaunt in front of the Gleno Waterfall
Gleno_030_07202024 - Broad contextual look in the rain at the Gleno Waterfall as seen from the bridge over the Glenoe Water
Gleno_035_07202024 - Focused on just the Gleno Waterfall in long exposure and the rest bench in front of it
Gleno_037_07202024 - Julie and Tahia with their umbrellas checking out the Gleno Waterfall in the rain
Gleno_057_07202024 - Julie and Tahia heading back to the car park after having had their fill of the Gleno Waterfall
Gleno_059_07202024 - Last look at the Gleno Waterfall with some dudes braving the cold water (and cold, wet weather) for a wade or a swim
Gleno_062_07202024 - Another look at the footbridge and Gleno Waterfall before leaving for good
Gleno_064_07202024 - Returning to the car park for the Gleno Waterfall


The Gleno Waterfall (or Glenoe Waterfall) resides in a rural community close to the town of Larne.

However, since we made our drives from Belfast and Portrush, I’ll describe the driving directions as if we were coming to the waterfall’s car park from both places.

Gleno_002_07202024 - The car park for the Gleno Waterfall
The car park for the Gleno Waterfall

While there are many ways of getting to the Gleno Waterfall, the routes that I’m describing represent the most direct approaches from the south and the north, respectively.

Drive from Belfast to Gleno Waterfall

From Belfast, we’d drive north on a combination of the M2 and the M5 (Coastal Causeway Route) for about 5 miles to a roundabout where the motorway ends.

Then, we’d take the exit onto the A2 towards Carrickfergus, which we’d then follow for a little over 7 miles.

Beyond the Carrickfergus Castle, we’d continue driving towards Beltoy Road (B149), where we’d then turn left.

Drive_to_Gleno_049_MingSung_07202024 - Approaching the sharp turnoff on the right leading down to the car park for the Gleno Waterfall
Approaching the sharp turnoff on the right leading down to the car park for the Gleno Waterfall

Then, we’d follow the B149 Road for almost 6 miles towards the community of Gleno, where we’d then turn left at the three-way intersection.

From there, we’d follow the local road towards Carneal Road before turning right to join up with the intersection with Waterfall Road, where we’d turn right again.

Finally, we’d follow the Waterfall Road (B99) for about 1/4-mile to an easy-to-miss signed turnoff, where we’d make a sharp right turn onto the access road leading down to the car park for the Gleno Waterfall.

Overall, this drive should take around 30-60 minutes depending on traffic.

Drive from Portrush to Gleno Waterfall

Drive_to_Gleno_025_MingSung_07202024 - Following the A26 as we left Portrush, headed to Ballymoney, and ultimately made our way to Ballymena on our way to the Gleno Waterfall
Following the A26 as we left Portrush, headed to Ballymoney, and ultimately made our way to Ballymena on our way to the Gleno Waterfall

From Portrush, we pretty much followed the A2 east for about 1.5 miles towards the turnoff to the Ballybogey Road (B62) on the right.

Then, we followed the B62 for over 9 miles to the roundabout intersecting with the A26 near Ballymoney.

Then, we continued down the A26 towards Ballymena, where the A26 became the M2 Motorway going around Ballymena, and we exited onto the A36 towards Larne (a stretch that went for 21 miles).

Next, we followed the A36 for over 16 miles to a roundabout with the A8 and Ballyrickard Road (by now there are signs for Glenoe).

Drive_to_Gleno_027_MingSung_07202024 - Driving on the rural A36 towards the Gleno community and the Gleno Waterfall after having left the M2 near Ballymena
Driving on the rural A36 towards the Gleno community and the Gleno Waterfall after having left the M2 near Ballymena

Then, we continued straight onto the Ballyrickard Road for another 3.5 miles before taking the turnoff onto the Waterfall Road (B99).

Finally, we followed Waterfall Road (B99) for just under 2 miles to its signed turnoff to the right (this is a sharp right turn), which led the final short stretch to the Gleno Waterfall car park.

Overall, this drive took us a little over an hour.

For context, Larne is about 10 miles (under 30 minutes drive) north of Carrickfergus, about 21 miles (about 30 minutes drive) east of Ballymena, about 23 miles (under an hour drive) north of Belfast, 47 miles (over an hour drive) south of Ballycastle, about 52 miles (over an hour drive) southeast of Portrush, about 73 miles (a little over 90 minutes drive east of Londonderry (or Derry), and 205km (over 2.5 hours drive) north of Dublin (Ireland).

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Downstream to upstream sweep from the footbridge before checking out the falls and then coming for an even closer look


Brief downstream to upstream sweep of the falls from beyond the bridge but not quite at the end of the closest view trail

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Tagged with: national trust, larne, carrickfergus, belfast, northern ireland, britain, united kingdom, ulster



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