Alan Caulfield - Feb '08
My Father John (Jack)Caulfield lived in a cottage known as Cavehill Cottage - a thatched cottage which was accessed by walking up the Upper Cavehill Rd until the road petered out and became a limestone strewn pathway which led up the slope towards the quarry area. The cottage is still there to the left side of the path but know has its own driveway and been well looked after and renovated.

Just opposite the cottage on the other side of the pathway was the sparkling well mentioned in other tales. Everyone who walked the steep path on up the hill knew this well as a stop for refreshment. You walked down a steep little stairway made of rough stones to the edge of a small gravel filled basin which was fed from the cool stream coming off the Hill. It was for a long time the only fresh water supply for the cottage and I can remember as a child going to the well with white enamel buckets with wooden handles to fill up with water and carry back to my Gran.This was in the 1940 - 1950's. My Grandfather William Adair Caulfield was a postman and married to Nelly Caulfield (nee Ellen Wisener)) from Lisnagunague outside Bushmills.

I remember my father Jack telling me that my Grandfather was paid a small sum - I think £5 - to keep a large rock at the top of Cavehill (on the forehead) painted white as it was used as a beacon during the war for pilots landing at Nutts Corner airfield during blackouts when the lights of Belfast could not be seen.

I also remember a story of a neolithic grave being discovered on their land close to the Cottage - has anyone any memories of this time and place?

Weby Alan - Dec '07
It would really nice if we people were told were exactly the bomber crashed so we can lay down flowers for the men that lost there lives fighting for us and their country. One like this were forgotten about until the ring was found. It's really a film i'm looking farward to see and I hope a plaque was rested after the film was made. My heart goes out to those men and may they rest in peace.

I know there is a stone in Belview zoo beside the cafe, saying that a bomber had crashed near by. The Floral Hall is down the hill a good bit and its said it landed near it, again are we not allowed the truth ??..I go to Caramoney grave yard and visit my family, when I'm finished Ii move over to the older part on other side of the road and visit the mass grave which not many people in belfast know about. This is a mass grave of CHILDREN and ADULTS which were killed during the war. Me and a few friends had contacted City Hall in regard to this and asked why wasn't there a marking there and just a small grass patch.
At a later stage, the area was marked with a lovely hedge and a beautiful head stone - next time your passing pop in and see yourself, that is kind of thing im talking about for the guys in the bomber. Ok it's not their grave but it would be nice to know and lay a wreath down every 11,11,

God bless guys and rest with the angels.

Callum Wilson - Dec '07
If it had not been for Alfie Montgomery who had found the ring, this would have been another bit of history lost about the Cavehill.

Stephen Mcwatters - Apr '07
I spend a lot of time on the hill,and no it like the back of my hand.Its great to her so many people enjoy the cavehill,and the fond memories they have of it.

Mary Graham - Apr '07
I went home recently to Belfast and was saddened to see the amount of urban sprawl , leading up into the Cave hill.
I hope with all my heart they will not destroy the landscape.
They have already destroyed the glen.
I have fond memories, playing every day during the summer, I always remember the ruins of an old house and wondering who once lived there.
I grew up in the Ballysillan area and am now living in Canada.

Malcolm Heath - Dec '06
Hi, One of my buddies is the nephew of Flight Lt. Joseph V. Nobilione, who was the navigator on the B-17G, serial number 42-97862, that crashed into Cave Hill on June 1st, 1944.

The pilot was Lester B. Brooks. The crash was recorded under inquiry number 12-440601-500 USAF. Total 12 pages. Unfortunately, all the crew perished in the crash. Joe was from New York and my buddie, Frank, lives in Locust Valley, NY.

We would dearly love to know the location of the graves, particularly that of Joe. If anyone knows were these braves boys' remains are buired, we would be highly appreciated to hear from you.

We would also like to erect a small monument for them on the hill. My name is Malcolm Heath and my email address is heathmt @ msn .com

Paul Clarke - Aug '06
I have become very interested in the stories of the B17 which crashed into the Cave Hill during WW2. I want to research the story in detail and would be grateful for more information or guidanece which may help. I would be grateful if anyone with relevant information, especially those with personal reminiscences would contact me at pclarkeathome @ aol.com. Does anyone know of photograhs or newsreports of the crash? Thankyou.

Kay - June '06
In response to Colin McKernon's question about the german aircraft crashing during the war...

Your mother is not far wrong Colin. A military aricraft did crash on Cavehill during the Second World War, but it was American not German. I am not sure how the story goes, but I was told that the American plane was returning to base (after a mission or after practice I suppose) but a fog had covered Cavehill and the poor pilot flying too low, crashed right into the top of the Cavehill.

Hopefully someone can verify my version or give you a better answer. Hope I have been of some help to you.

Terry Jay Cooper- June '06
I just found this site, I have been living in England for almost 50 years now, but I still go back every couple of years, and I always try to get up to Cave Hill - fond memories of the whole area. I was born near Glengormley, way back in '29, and we moved to Belfast at the beginning of the war. I was also one of the boys who clambered up Cave Hill to gawk at the crashed American Bomber. Great site, I hope to visit it on a regular basis.

Robert - Feb '06
Stumbled upon this great site by chance I have a six year old boy who is very interested in the ww2 bomber that crashed on the hillside.If anyone could shed some light on the exact whereabouts of the crash it would be greatly appreciated.

Tommy - Jan '06
Sam, I was born and raised in the street below you, Stratford Gardens, and I also have great memories of the Carr's Glen and the Cavehill, and I remember your scout troop in the cottage on the side of the hill, we helped your troop one day to put out a large fire on the hill, just to the right of your cottage. Oh for those lazy hazy days of summer, long gone.

Sam Speers - Jan '06
I was born in 1942 in Velsheda Park Ardoyne. I remember going every Friday night to a boy scout meeting in Hesketh Park and afterwards rucksack on my back treking up the Cave Hill to some cottages the troop had rented. Sometimes alone and others accompanied. This was from 1953-57. I have incredible recollections of the glen, the lane, the camels humps, the quarry, the Horseshoe bend and the hazelwoods. I loved growing up in Belfast at that time playing churchie-one-over in the street before going to bed and making slides of ice down the street slope in winter. In the scouts, I was a very good rope spinner as well as yarn-spinner ha!ha!

John J - Jan '06
I assume that everyone knows why Napoleon's Nose is so called. From a certain angle, eg going up the lower part of Cavehill Road, the rocky promontory forms the nose, Cavehill the brow - and there is also a chin - of a reclining head. That's true - my father told me so and he always new everything! And, when I looked for myself, it was true.

Bob Smith - Jan '06
Yes, John J. I well remember the bellevue buses. They ran from the main entrance up the steep, winding road to the plateau on the top. I remember the passangers sat in rows facing forward and there was a narrow running board along the whole length of the bus. The conductor had to be as agile as one of the monkeys in the zoo above as he swung from row to row via the running board, collecting fares. As schoolboys in the 1940s, we used to hop on to the rear bumper in the hope of getting a free ride and the conductors would get rid of us by snatching our caps off our heads and chucking them away.

MartyMac, Belfast - Jan '06
I have been reading the theories as to where the name Throne originates and what connection it may have with the Cave Hill. I have got another theory for you. As you may know, part of the Cave Hill is known locally as Napoleon's Nose. The following excerpt from a local website explains it: "This brings me to the matter of Napoleon's Nose, a popular soubriquet for almost two hundred years. Before that it would have been simply "the nose". There are numerous hills or mountains in the Scottish Highlands named "An t-Sron" which is Gaelic for "the nose" and which is pronounced, approximately as "untrone". This accounts for the name of an area on the Antrim Road, under McArt's Fort, which is called "the Throne". "The nose" was a translation into English, and "The Throne" resulted from a change of meaning due to a similarity in sound." Elizabeth K.C. Madill: April 2000. Whatever the real reason may be, I fully understand people's fascination with the Cave Hill, while at school, I used to spend my summer holidays on it's slopes and know every part of it and whenever I have friends from other parts visiting, it's the first place I take them.

John J - Jan '06
Belfast Zoo and Floral Hall have been mentioned. I have been trying to remember about the open topped bus that used to run in the grounds and cannot remember exactly whether it ran only from the entrance up to the top or whether it ran from the terminus that was just past the Antrim Road / North Circular Road junction and St. Peter's C of I Church. We called them Toast Racks because of the slatted wooden seats. Does anyone remember (I'm talking about the 50's)?
I remember Floral Hall. A girl in my class had a birthday party in a room there - and she kissed me! At age 8 it made a lasting memory. It's really great to see that the area still stirs the memory.

Bob Smith - Jan '06
Lovely to read the memories of Cave Hill which towered above where I lived as a boy. I actually witnessed the American B17 Flying Fortress crash into the lower slopes during the war. Most of the hill was hidden under a thick blanket of fog and the bomber just flew straight into it. I remember myself and a few pals who were early on the scene, managed to salvage belts of maching gun ammunition only to have them confiscated by the police who toured the schools threatening a terrible fate if we didn't hand them over!

Karen Wesley - Dec '05
I was borrn in Belfast in 1944 and lived in Prestwick Park, off the Ballysillan Road. My earliest memories are those of Prestwick Park and Cavehill. I remember when I was about three my father used to take me for a walk. We would cross the Ballysillan Road at the top of Prestwick Park (after passing through a little wooded area) and walk up a lane that my father called Carr's Glen. It always seemed to be muddy and I remember there were black and white cows which sometimes we had to walk past in the lane. I remember being very frightened of the cows so probably had to be carried by my father. We moved to England in 1948 and often returned to Belfast for holidays. Both myself and my younger brother always remembered Cavehill and looked out for it. Two years ago we both paid a visit to Belfast together with our partners. We were not disappointed but my only regret was not having time to climb Cavehill........still next time.

Jim - Dec '05
Please do keep these wonderful comments coming in - they're all fascinating and I hope BBC do keep this section of the site open and available to all from near and far for many years to come. The Cave Hill is really a truly magical place and whether we're fortunate enough to see it every day or perhaps now only in our fondest memories of years long long since gone, the Cave Hill will always have a resonance in our memories and a significance for all of us who have "been there" - it's what makes us rooted in Belfast and it's part of who we all are.

Wolfie (Canada) - November '05
Belvue and Robin's Well (Divis Mtn.)

When I was about 15, I went with a few pals to Belvue and, to cut a long story short, while looking up to the 60 foot small cliff to my left , I saw someone fall to the trees and bushes below; just like a ragdoll. I shouted to my pals 'did youse see that?' Didn't really wait for my comment to sink in and I started running up into the forest in the direction of the fall. After looking around on the forest floor, I found a wee fellow of around 8-11 years old. He had a bad head injury and was unconscious. Somehow I instinctively knew not to move him and one of my pals, who had followed me up, ran and had an ambulance come. This happened in the late 50s (approx 1957-1958). I always wonder from time to time what happened to the wee fella.

Changing the subject slightly; when I used to roam Carr's Glen, we called the small hills leading to the Cave Hill area 'The camels humps' I remember 'tickling trout' in the Carr's Glen river. Roamed Divis Mountain for many a year as a kid. Loved the hatchet field, the bluebell field, St. Mary's cricket club and not to forget, the river changing colour every day, courtesy of Glenbank mill. Loved to walk to the outer limits of our universe; Robin's Well.

We always used to look down into the well's water to see the one resident trout. Didn't have the foggiest idea at that time that my granny had spent all her life as a young girl living in the house at the well. Her parents had come down from Co. Tyrone and her dad crossed the fields every day to work somewhere on the Crumlin Road.

Sheila McAdam - November '05
Delighted to hear so many people still walk over Cavehill. I was born in Mileriver Street and every Sunday morning my father took the four of us over the hill while mother made dinner. (After dinner we had another walk).

I visited Belfast Castle this summer and found the heritage centre to be a wealth of information about the area. In later years I married and went to live in the Cregagh area but my mother wasn't happy coming to visit as she didn't like to be out of sight of the Cave Hill. We lived in Castleton Gardens during the war so were there all through the blitz. My father wouldn't let us go to the ceilidh in the Ard Scoil on Easter Tuesday, otherwise we might have been in the Air Raid Shelter at top of Atlantic Ave which got a direct hit, killing all occupants, I believe 17.

I have great memories of walking up Cavehill Rd under the arches. Does anyone remember Norah's grave which we always visited. At Belfast Castle it tells the whole story of Norah and George. I now live in Canada.

Sean, Bellevue - November '05

My pleasure Rob, I'm sure you have read Alice Milligan's most beautiful of poems about our Cavehill.

Mountain Shapes

Look up from the streets of the city
look high beyond tower and mist
what hand of what Titan sculptor
smote the crags on the mountain vast

Made when the world was fashioned
meant with the world to last
that glorious face of the sleeper
that slumbers above Belfast

Rob Harbinson - November '05
Thanks Sean, you answered my unasked question. I was trying to remember the name of the park that we used to go to on the cave hill. Where the Floral Hall was, also the Zoo. "Hazelwood"!!!!

Rob Harbinson - November '05
Just found out about this site. Great to read it, 'specially as I have lived in USA since '68. Dave Sloan brought back a few memories just by mentioning Bellevue Zoo. Anyone else remember The Floral Hall?

Sean, Bellevue - November '05

The secret

Gazing through the hazelwoods below
I am dazaled by it's atmosphere of history
As generations of disciplies have trod the ground of palestine Tiss birth right to whom I am endebted For it has afforded me, my peace and glory But this selfish feeling of possession
Has not been mine alone.
For ctizens past and present
Who recalled in tale and song
Those delights on Easter Monday
And maybe if you dare to climb
Ben Madigan of old,
Remember
If you too are smitt
let not it be told.

Some of the emotions our Cavehill stirs in me.

Greg Thompson - October '05
My late Grandmother's first husband was from the Antrim Road area and one day, after visiting his mother, he went for a walk on Cave Hill. My Grandmother expecting their first child at the time. During his walk the ground gave way beneath him and he fell to his death.

This was just after World War Two. My Grandmother was made a widow at an early age. My late Grandfather's first wife died shortly after giving birth to one of her children and they went on to meet each other and fall in love.

I often visit Cave Hill now and wonder where it was that my Grandmother's first husband was killed.

Irvine Jones - Oct 05
Re -query by H Stewart June 2005, about Mammystown and Daddystown, Cavehill Belfast. Yes, these cottages were about 2/3 & 1/3 mile uphill from old stone, arched bridge carrying Ballysillan Road over Cavehill Road. A railway ran at one time, under bridge, down from the Quarry, down Cavehill Rd. to Limestone Rd. and docks. With a friend, I once stayed overnight in Mammystown , the higher-up of the two, maybe in early 40's. My friend's father was in North Belfast Harriers - - - who rented the cottage. The walls inside had clippings of Harrier events!

In 2000, or was it 1996, I went up Carr's Glen & over fields to Mammystown, but only found debris, weeds and old mossy stones ! Both Mammystown & Daddystown were on an old road running Northwesterly, away from , the Limestone Railway. This old road was overgrown, even in the 40's, but had hawthorn hedges on both sides, it came out on the Upper Hightown Road above the Horseshoe Bend.

Between the Blitz 1941, and 1952 my family home was in the Deerpark Rd/ Deerpark Drive area, before that, the Limestone Road area --- so the Cavehill was a wonderful wilderness area for kids and adults ! In a paperback book " North Belfast " is a photograph of Mammystown with reference to refugees, due to the Blitz - - - staying there in 1941.

I remember as a small boy, my dad taking me to " Trundle" colour-dyed Easter Eggs - - - somewhere uphill from the old bridge over Cavehill Road and Ballysillan Road ! Then, there were also cottages just lower from the bridge, and the Harriers had their club Hall there too. At the lower end of the Limestone Quarry was the clearest, purest bubbling spring water, you only had to kneel down ! Always a stopping place, going uphill or down !

See " Ordnance Survey Northern Ireland Greater Belfast, street map, scale 1: 12000. "

Charles Cooke - Oct '05
What a lovely site to find. I too lived as a boy below the cave hill. I was told that debris just above the nursery garden thats above St Gerards was the place the bomber plane came down I remember seeing the remains back in the fifties .

William - Sept '05
I was born in a house which backed on to Carr's Glen & my father came from the Limestone Rd . He seems to know about the railway & the old cottages with a small water wheel at the side . At 46 I only recall one cottage where a wee old woman lived until the mid 60's then it fell into disrepair.

They were about 500yrds up the "Glen" from the Ballysillan ( ps. the pathways were made by me originally on my m'bike ! Whoa ! What an achievement ! SAD LAD) anyway , to the person asking about the old quarry 8 gauge railway , it ran from the bottom of the Limestone up the Cavhill Rd into the Upper Cavehill Rd straight on up the "Hill" to the "Quarry" or the "Mounds" as we called it . The only indication now is a narrow path between 2 fields lined by trees.

It can also be easly reached from the path to Belfast Castle . To the left of it is a huge crater which was caused by a bomb dropped off course by a German plane during a raid ! Not the crash site of the plane which i believe was American and indeed crashed just north of the castle after getting lost from a base in England ! Lastly McCarts Fort - All Iknow is what I've seen myself of it - just north of the zoo there is a large " hill ?" at the top of which is a rusted monument with the name of the fort on it (don't remember what else but the view really is amazing as the mound of earth juts out from the side of the hill whereas the top of the hill doesn't really have a high point on it) As a child it was often referred to me as the " Seat of Kings " The story has it that the Kings of Antrim and Down planned their escape to France ( Flight of the Earls ) in a small wooden castle (McCarts Fort) just there . Having been there believe me you CAN see both Antrim & Down at the same time and to climb there would be the perfect place of safety . If anyone can tell me more i would be very interested as i don't believe anyone would carry half a ton of metal up there on the basis of a myth- try carrying a Labrador !

Ruairi Mac Leanachain - Sept '05
The Throne on the Cave Hill was known as the Giant's Chair. There is a debate whether it was the coronation throne of the O'Neills or not as there was another throne in the Castlereagh area which was said also to have been used by the O'Neills.

Ancient throning chairs were usually situated in high places with a hollow in which the foot of the would be chieftain was placed however on the Cave Hill Throne a stone had been added to it in the shape of a glove to allow the right hand to be placed in it.

The Cave Hill Throne was destroyed by loyalists in December 1896 after a reference was made to it in an article in the nationalist paper 'Shan Van Bocht'. Parts of it may be avilable to view at the Ulster Museum. Si Samuel Ferguson did indeed build his house 'The Throne' in reference to this feature.

A native of N.I. - August '05
"MCCCARTS FORT'- IS IT REAL? ?"
I remember as a child hearing stories of McCarts Fort. (Not sure if spelling is correct) As I'm returning to N.I. quite soon to visit I wondered if anyone could let me know if this is a real fort & if so its whereabouts as I've told my family that if possible we'll go to see it. Can anyone tell me if it does or ever did exist? Please post any answers on site. Many thanks. Kind regards.

Tommy - July '05
Hi,
Just found the website, I have been around the world in my young days, and every time I came up the Belfast lough and looked up to the Cavehill, I knew I was home, what a beautiful sight.

Neil - July '05
Sorry if this has been mentioned before but today me and my dad went up to Napoleon's nose and after eating our lunch we went to the hill behind McArts Fort there we found a depression in the ground with about five or six large boulders circling the dip. Does anyone know what this may be?

Jim - July '05
Further to my May '05 comment about the crashed WWII bomber - in case anyone is interested - I was walking on Cavehill recently with a party of other people and one of them remembered the crash occurring and visiting the site shortly afterwards (presumably as a young boy) where he found part of the fleece lining from an airman's jacket. He told me that the bomber crashed what sounded like a little bit above the Floral Hall and at a location that I understood from him to be about where the spider monkey enclosure would now be in the Belfast Zoo or slightly further over towards the foot of Napoleon's nose perhaps, maybe where the Polar Bear enclosure is. Does anyone have any more information?

H Stewart - June '05
Does anyone know about two terraces of cottages on the slopes of the Cavehill, one near the quarry, which were called Mammy's town and Daddy's town ?

[ed: see reply above by Irvine Jones in October 05]

Jim - May 05
Colin McKernon mentions a German Bomber crashing into the side of Cave Hill. I'm just a bit too young to remenber anything other than, as a wee boy in the 1950's, it being mentioned to me that the Germans had bombed Belfast. I believed that the large crater below the caves (the "Devil's Punchbowl"??) was caused by a German bomb and I found, and still to this day, find that strange large inverted cone of a depression in the ground fascinating - whatever the geological or mechanical orgins. But back to the crashed bomber - I was at a business meeting a few years ago and a well-known Belfast industrialist told me that he was standing at a bus stop on the Antrim Road, Belfast, going to school (BRA) one morning during WWII when he heard a plane flying very low overhead in apparently very poor and misty conditions. There was a loud explosion and it was clear that the aircraft had flown into the side of the Cave Hill. The gentleman in question told me that he forgot all about school and made his way directly to the scene where army/police were keeping spectators back from the scene. I believe that it might have been an American not a German bomber. As a postscript - was there to be made a Holywood movie called "the Ring" about someone who found a ring at this crash site and returned it to the family of one of the deceased American airmen. Anyone know anything about that or am I imagining this?

Kim Irwin - March '05
Does anybody know the story of the Cavehill diamond?

Florrie Binn - March '05
I think that the query below relates to an article written by Mr Cathal O' Byrne ( As I Roved Out ) regarding the ancient crowning throne of the Antrim / Down branch of the O' Neill Clan.

Indeed, logic dictates that if your lands covered the counties An trim and Down there would be no better place to oversee your Kingdom than on top of the Cave Hill.

The sad thing to report is that in about 1898 a number of youths - ones without historical sentiment - went to the site armed with picks and bars and prized the ancient monument from its foundations, only to let it succumb to gravity over the cliff edge. I believe that, if so inclined, a thorough search of the foot of the cliff might just turn up some debris of the ancient monument ...

Peter - February '05
Hi everybody, I have just come across this webpage and I'm glad to see so many people taking an interest in the Cavehill and its history. I was born and raised under its shadow but have only recently started to become curious about those who have gone before me and their impact on their environment.

I'm hoping someone can tell me something about the stones set in a depression on top of the rath which sits behind McArts fort as you look towards squires hill. I know there are rumours of more caves on the hill and was wondering if perhaps a well or something had been filled in?

All the best, Peter.

Philip Hull - February '05
My father has climbed to all the caves in the Cavehill.

Rosetta Laddie - December 04
My sister and I were evacuated during the war to Dromara, but we both cried all the time and so we were sent back home. I don't suppose we were there more than a couple of days. Still we survived, LOL

David Martin, New York State - November '04
Back in 1950, my brother, sister, mother, and I were visiting Belfast, mainly to see my grandfather. We took a couple tours of CaveHill. My brother and I had loads of fun trying to climb the rock face. I have been back to the Belfast area a few times, in the 70's, but, had forgot about Cave Hill. It was nice to see it again in your pictures. Still have family living in the Belfast area. I live in Niagara Falls, N.Y. I hope to get back to Ireland some day.

Brian O'Neill - October '04
Yes I do know where the stone is it was broke into a thousand pieces by a by the lord deputy of Ireland. This was back in 1609 I think, after the excile of" THE ONEILL" Hugh O'Neill Earl of Tyrone. The O'Neills never coronated any of their clan on cave hill. They were coronated outside Cookstown and of course at Navan Fort long before the English destroyed the clan system .

Jim Turkington - September '04
I live quite close to the Cavehill and over the years I have been intrigued about the old Cavehill railway ( or tramway ). I have been trying to find out for myself all about this marvelous feat of engineering, but the only info I came across is old photos on display in the Cavehill Inn" and the shape of the Antrim/Cavehill/Limestone junction is a feature of the railway course. There used to be a street at the bottom of the Limestone called Tramway St. I also have seen old maps of Belfast (circa 1889) showing the railway at the lower end of the Limestone.

Bob - July 2004
Is the Cavehill an old volcano?

M. Regan - May 2004
Yea, I know where it is [coronation stone]. It's located on the right hand side of Napoleon's nose, or to the left if you approach it along the back path. It is heavily eroded and covered in graffiti.

Stephen Hall - May 2004
The note about the inaugral thone of the O'NEILLS smashed in 1896.
Could it be that it is in fact still there. The rock that is from time painted a different set of colours. It is a white rock and I have known it from my childhood.
I did hear tell that the O'Neills guarded valuables in the caves that are apparently linked.
I have never heard of the throne before but if you walk up to that white rock now, or what ever colour it happens to be at the moment, it is rather throne like and you can survey the land below like a bit of royalty.
Who knows, there could be some link with the rath at MacArt's fort and the inaugral throne. The rath could have begun life as a ritual site due to its location. This is of course speculation but it is certainly the right sort of height and a very special place.
The Cavehill. Those of us who grew up there all feel we belong to the hill. It is special to us. Now that is an ancient emotion indeed and a fairly natural response to "The Sleeper".

Margaret McCroskery, Castlerobin Residents Group - May '04
Whitemountain Lisnagarvey (ring of the forts) once home to the kings of ulster the o'neills. now this place on the mullaghglass road will become a dumping ground for several councils to dump their rubbish. you can help by supporting the castlerobin residents take their story to the press. thanks to bbc radio ulster for their coverage. all environmental and wildlife issues are important to us. whitemountain/mullaghglass was the route over colin/divis /black mountain to cavehill to mc arts fort part of history. read this in any history on the mountain castlerobin.

Jake - May '04
Lovely hill, lovely memories, its the best thing just to look up at the hill, or to look down from it ,at the beautiful views of Belfast and the lough. Its home!!

William Gregg - April '04
During the late sixties and early seventies I lived in The Boys' Model area, in fact right at the foot of the Glen. Many times I walked with my dog for miles up through the Glen, towards the Quarry, and then up towards Napolean's Nose. I remember once, as my father and I came down through the back of Belfast Castle our dog went missing and at the same time we noticed an awful smell. We went merrily along but It turned out the next day in the "Tellie" that the body of a homeless man had been found. Last year I paid a flying visit to Belfast and I stayed in The Landsdowne on the Antrim Road, right at the foot of the Cavehill. The sight of the Cavehill, just coming out of the morning mist brought back memories from years ago.

Susan Close - April 04
Hi
What a wonderful topic - I live in the valley with the Cavehill and Carnmoney hill as my 'protectors' - The cavehill holds a huge place in my heart - Every morning I have a 30 minute dander with the Cavehill in full view...and everyday it looks different...very mystical when there's fog. I won't ever tire at the sight of it. It is home. I sound like an old timer...I am infact 26 lol.

I took my son there over easter....to the zoo...for tradition's sake. With our hard boiled eggs we spent all morning painting. It was bunged to the gills ....it brings the good ol' folk of N.Ireland together irrespective of religion which is always a good thing :o) We go hiking up there quite a bit over the better weather - it can be a bit dangerous as I fell down the devils slide and broke my a** hahaha...it was my own fault so don't let that put you off going. The views are breath taking....words don't describe. Makes you feel like you're king of the world. lol. The heritage it holds is extremely intriguing..... go for a visit....the mountain ~( as I call it....coz technically it should be a mountain not a hill ~) really is worth a day out.

If you'd like any questions answered or directions give me a shout - I'd be more than happy to help - take care...

P.S someone queried how to actually get up there...well if you come along the antrim road and take the turn up to the 'cavehill country park' (watch coz blink & you'll miss it) and walk up to Belfast castle ....go around the back and walk towards town...once you pass its car park you'll see a sign on the left....with a map & info - walk up there and you can follow the recommended route to save you getting lost. Hope that helps. Good luck.

Courtnie (March 2004)
Does anybody know how to get to Cavehill? I study in Ulster University at Jordanstown. I am eager to go there! Tons of people recommend me to go!

Editor
Belfast Castle on the Antrim Road, in North Belfast lies on the lower slopes of Cavehill. Belfast Castle is surrounded by Cave Hill Country Park. A walk through this park will bring you up onto Cavehill. I hope this is helpful and that you enjoy your visit. Let us know how you get on..

Green Eyes writes:

The inaugural throne of the O'Neills stood on Cavehill until 1896 when it was rolled over the summit by anti-Irish protesters and smashed to smithereens at the base. The residence named after it belonged to a Sir Samuel Ferguson and was subsequently a hospital/convalescent home. I got this info from an old book of anecdotes about Belfast 'As I Roved Out' by Cathal O'Byrne.

Colin Mc Kernon sent the following e-mail:

My mother in law remembers a german aircraft crashing into the Cave Hill overlooking Belfast in 1941. Do any others have a memory of this?

Bookworm
I do not remember hearing of a German plane crashing on the Cavehill but I clearly remember as a very young child how my family, along with many many others from north Belfast, spent nights sleeping on the slopes of the hill in the hope of escaping from whatever air raids might take place. Unfortunately my mother tired of this nightly trek with four children and on the night of the Easter Tuesday air raid we were at home on the Antrim Road which was quite badly bombed.

http://www.belfastcity.gov.uk/news/news.asp?id=1160

woohoooo guys every one tha loves the cave hill go to this link and lend your hands and hearts to what we love most,, cave hill is to get a face lift and they are seeking Volunteers to help even a few hours,every minute counts.. paths will be mended ect ,i did post long ago in regard to this and its like a dream come true that something is going to be done, details and email address is with http://www.cvni.org/ for those intrested.. it would be intresting to see how many actuly post here that will be there and meet on what we chat about,