Antrim Coast and Glens
area of County Antrim in Northern Ireland, UK
The Antrim Coast and Glens is an area of County Antrim in Northern Ireland, designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1988.
Description
The Antrim Coasts and Glens AONB extends to include Rathlin Island, the Glens of Antrim and the coastal area between Larne and Ballycastle, and is dominated by the Antrim Plateau which is 500 metres (1,600 ft) at its highest point. This plateau is incised by rapidly flowing rivers into a series of glens which run eastwards and north-eastwards into the sea. The coastline within the AONB includes the only inhabited offshore island in Ireland, dramatic headlands and bays, farmland and, in the uplands, open expanses of moorland. There is a long history of human activity in the areas and has many important archaeological sites, listed buildings, historic monuments and conservation areas. It has a rich culture with close links to Scotland, the Mull of Kintyre is only 20 kilometres (12 miles) from Torr Head. The AONB covers an area of 70,600 hectares (174,000 acres).
Geology
The oldest rocks in the AONB are the schists exposed in its northwest which are 300 million years old. Elsewhere these are overlain by a varied geology which includes both igneous and sedimentary rocks and the colours and features these rocks give to the landscape are reflected in many local place names such as red Bay, Blackcave and Whitebay. The most recent force to shape the landscape were the glaciations, the last of which ended around 17,000 years before the present.
“Antrim Coast and Glens” enters the record as area of County Antrim in Northern Ireland, UK. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Antrim, Coast and Glens can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Antrim Coast and Glens” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Antrim, Coast and Glens provides the most credible route into that argument.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 5, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4777332. Authority coordinates are 55.015, -6.104. 1 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1988.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Antrim Coast and Glens”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Antrim Coast and Glens primary sources, Antrim Coast and Glens archive and Antrim research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Antrim Coast and Glens”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Antrim Coast and Glens” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.