Galboly ASSI
| Site Number | ASSI 333 |
|---|---|
| Area | 192.78 ha |
| Date Declared | 14/10/2010 |
| Date Confirmed | 12/05/2011 |
| County | Antrim |
| Councils(s) | Moyle District Council Larne District Council |
| Keywords | Geology Grassland Heathland Woodland |
Galboly situated overlooking Red Bay, is dominated by vertical basalt and limestone cliffs, which rise in places to over 200m above the grassland, heathland and woodland below. The combination of local climatic factors, soil type, topography and historical management have produced a wide variety of habitats across the site. These habitats, important in their own right, provide the ideal conditions for a large number of rare plants, mosses, lichens, fungi and invertebrates. Peregrines nest in a number of locations on the cliffs and are often seen soaring overhead.
The woodland within the townlands of Lower Galboly and Nappan grows on the steep scarp slopes which characterise much of the Antrim coast. Galboly has one of the largest semi-natural woodlands in County Antrim and although it is confined to a relatively narrow strip of land between Tower Road and the scarp-top cliffs, it is over 2km in length and 30 hectares in extent.
The woodland consists predominantly of a mature hazel canopy with widespread mature oak and ash, although these taller canopy trees are generally restricted to the lower slopes. The majority of the lower canopy is hazel with widespread and locally abundant hawthorn. Rowan and downy birch are also present. The northern end of the woodland is quite exposed to gales and sea-spray and the trees here are quite stunted, with a low hazel canopy.
The ground flora consists mostly of bluebell and a reasonable complement of other woodland herbs including primrose, common dog-violet, wild strawberry, hairy wood-rush, Sanicle, wood avens, wood anemone, yellow pimpernel, Woodruff, wood-sedge, wood Melick and pignut.
In places within the woodland, early-purple orchid is conspicuous with other notable plants such as toothwort and wood vetch.
Calcareous grassland occurs on both the lower basalt and chalk. The diversity of herbs, sedges and grasses is very high, with some of the most species-rich dry grass swards in Northern Ireland.
Site Related Documents
Site map (.PDF1.05 Mb)
, Copy of Citation and Views about Management Document (.PDF545Kb) and Colour Leaflet (.PDF 452Kb).
