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United Kingdom United Kingdom protected forest

Dark Hedges

Colin Park · CC BY-SA 2.0

11% trees around it and 431 species recorded.

53Forestyas Score

Protected

  • trees within 3 km11%
  • wild within 10 km94%
  • species recorded431
  • Altitude77 m

The forest around

11% trees.

Read like the rings of a cut trunk: from the centre out, the land within 1, 3, 6 and 10 km, coloured by what covers it.

Trees 12%Grassland 69%Cropland 16%Built-up 3%Trees 11%Grassland 82%Cropland 6%Built-up 1%Trees 11%Grassland 83%Cropland 5%Built-up 1%Trees 15%Grassland 80%Cropland 4%Built-up 1%11%trees · 3 km

Trees, ring by ring

  • 0–1 km12%
  • 1–3 km11%
  • 3–6 km11%
  • 6–10 km15%

What covers the land (1–3 km)

  • Trees11%
  • Grassland82%
  • Cropland6%
  • Built-up1%

ESA WorldCover 2021 (10 m, from Sentinel satellites), sampled every 120 m. A clearing, a road or a lake counts as what it is.

Who lives here

431 species recorded.

The plants, fungi, birds and mammals people have recorded here most often.

Chalk Stream Water-crowfoot
Chalk Stream Water-crowfootRanunculus penicillatus54 recordsIzabella Zamojska · CC BY-SA 2.5
Reed-grass, reed-canary grass
Reed-grass, reed-canary grassPhalaris arundinacea50 recordsFranz Xaver · CC BY-SA 3.0
Himalayan Balsam
Himalayan BalsamImpatiens glandulifera39 recordsGuptaele · CC BY-SA 4.0
Hemlock Water-dropwort
Hemlock Water-dropwortOenanthe crocata38 recordsWelshDave · CC BY-SA 4.0
Yellow marsh marigold
Yellow marsh marigoldCaltha palustris37 recordsW. Bulach · CC BY-SA 4.0
Gorse
GorseUlex europaeus31 recordsForest & Kim Starr · CC BY 3.0
Queen of the meadow
Queen of the meadowFilipendula ulmaria29 recordsUnknown author · Public domain
Soft Rush
Soft RushJuncus effusus28 recordsThe original uploader was Meggar at English Wikipedia . · CC BY-SA 3.0
Spreading Bent
Spreading BentAgrostis stolonifera28 recordsAlfred · CC BY-SA 3.0
Bush vetch
Bush vetchVicia sepium27 recordsJeffdelonge at French Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0
Stickywilly
StickywillyGalium aparine25 recordsAlvesgaspar · CC BY-SA 3.0
Sweet vernal grass
Sweet vernal grassAnthoxanthum odoratum24 recordsUnknown author · CC BY-SA 3.0

Open records within 5 km (GBIF, licensed for any use). Busy places are better recorded than remote ones.

In numbers

The forest, measured.

53out of 100

Our own rating, from open data only: tree cover (40 points), wildness (20), species recorded (30) and protection or heritage (10).

  • 11%Treesof the land within 3 km
  • 94%Wildno towns or farmland within 10 km
  • 431Speciesrecorded more than once within 5 km
  • 77 mAltitudeabove the sea

When to walk

Best for walking from July to August.

How good each month is for a walk: mild days and little rain make the bar taller.

  1. Jan7°4°108 mm
  2. Feb7°3°84 mm
  3. Mar8°4°82 mm
  4. Apr10°6°66 mm
  5. May13°8°80 mm
  6. Jun15°10°92 mm
  7. Jul17°12°104 mm
  8. Aug17°12°114 mm
  9. Sep15°11°90 mm
  10. Oct12°9°120 mm
  11. Nov9°6°117 mm
  12. Dec7°4°109 mm
  • Bar: walking comfort; the number on top is the average maximum.
  • Below: average minimum (NASA, 1991–2020).
  • Rain: monthly total.

The place

Dark Hedges.

Avenue of trees in County Antrim, Northern Ireland

Dark Hedges is a protected forest in United Kingdom.

Seen from space, 11% of the land within 3 km is trees, and 94% of the land within 10 km has no towns or farmland.

431 species have been recorded around it: 336 plants, 12 fungi, 72 birds and 11 mammals.

The most recorded plants are: Chalk Stream Water-crowfoot, Reed-grass, reed-canary grass and Himalayan Balsam.

The best time to walk is from July to August.

Dark Hedges near Armoy, Co Antrim (cropped)
Colin Park · CC BY-SA 2.0

Get there and walk

  • Charlie's Hideaway Camping & Caravanningcampsite · 1.7 km · 5 within 10 km
  • hilltop hideawayplace to stay · 5.2 km · 32 within 10 km
  • Ballymoneynearest town · 11 km in a straight line
  • City of Derry Airport (LDY)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 51 km in a straight lineCar hire at BFS airport (Belfast)Discover Cars · sponsored link

Plan the visit

A guided walk, a bed nearby, a car.

Car hire at BFS airport (Belfast)Discover CarsSee prices 

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

From above

The forest and its surroundings.

The satellite image of the 6 × 6 km around the place, with the trails, notable trees, picnic sites and huts that OpenStreetMap shows.

Dark Hedges seen from above (Sentinel-2)
Seen from above: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 6 × 6 km, north up. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Around, in OpenStreetMap

  • 3picnic sites within 4 km
  • 1shelters and huts within 6 km
  • 1viewpoints within 5 kmThe Dark Hedges
  • 1visitor centres within 6 kmCauseway Coast and Glens Heritage Trust
  • 11car parks within 3 km
  • 5campsites within 10 kmCharlie's Hideaway Camping & Caravanning, Glenmore Camping, Ballyness Caravan Park and 2 more
  • 32places to stay within 10 kmhilltop hideaway, The Whins B&B, Knocklayde View and 29 more
  • 2restaurants and cafés within 3 km
  • marked trails within 5 km
  • named and notable trees within 6 km

Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet.

In our other atlases

Around Dark Hedges.

The mountains, lakes, rivers, waterfalls and canyons around this forest, the viewpoints above it, the birds and the night sky, in the family's atlases.

Peakyas19 mountains within 25 km
Carn an Truagh8.8 kmKnocklayd514 m · 12 kmSlieve-na-Aura511 m · 12 kmTrostan551 m · 16 kmTievebulliagh402 m · 17 kmLisnacannon Hill21 kmKilpatrick134 m · 21 kmCollin Top24 km
Islandyasthe island
Ireland84,421 km²
Darkskyas1 dark-sky places within 30 km
Rathlin IslandBortle 2 · 21 km
Cavernyas1 caves within 20 km
Portbraddon Cave14 km

Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.

Photographs

The forest, as people saw it.

Dark hedges 2023-05-26 11
Z thomas · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dark hedges 2023-05-26 16
Z thomas · CC BY-SA 4.0
The Dark Hedges in August 2024
Thomas Fuhrmann · CC BY-SA 4.0

Other forests nearby.

Dark Hedges

United Kingdom

  • 53Forestyas Score
  • 11%Trees
  • 94%Wild
  • 431Species

Glenariff Forest Park

United Kingdom · 22 km

  • 61Forestyas Score
  • 30%Trees
  • 100%Wild
  • 657Species

See the guide

Queen Elizabeth Forest Park

United Kingdom · 165 km

  • 87Forestyas Score
  • 90%Trees
  • 100%Wild
  • 709Species

See the guide

Botanic Gardens

United Kingdom · 68 km

  • 51Forestyas Score
  • 25%Trees
  • 74%Wild
  • 590Species

See the guide

Where these figures come from

Name and typeWikidata (Q28842723) · CC0
Land coverESA WorldCover 10 m 2021 v200 · © ESA WorldCover project / Copernicus Sentinel data · CC BY 4.0
Species4,845 open records within 5 km (GBIF, CC0 and CC BY 4.0 only)
See these recordsgbif.org
Names and photosWikidata (CC0); GBIF Backbone Taxonomy · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
AltitudeCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
Temperature and rainNASA POWER (CERES SYN1deg, 2001–2020; MERRA-2)
What is around© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
Sister atlasesPeakyas, Islandyas, Darkskyas, Cavernyas

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

The family

Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers, canyons, caves, dark skies, viewpoints, birdwatching or forests?

Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, in seven languages.

beachesCoastyaFind your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit lakesLakeyasEvery lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Visit mountainsPeakyasEvery summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit waterfallsCascadyasEvery waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Visit islandsIslandyasEvery island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit riversRiveryasEvery river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit canyonsCanyonyasEvery canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Visit cavesCavernyasEvery cave with its real depth and length: the rock above, the temperature inside all year, and how to visit.Visit dark skiesDarkskyasWhere the night is still dark: the sky of every place, the Milky Way month by month, the Moon, eclipses and auroras.Visit
viewpointsViewyasEvery viewpoint with its real 360° panorama: the peaks you can name, how far you see and where the sun sets.Coming soonVisit
birdwatchingBirdyasEvery bird sanctuary and wetland with the species recorded month by month: who is resident, who comes for the summer, who only passes through.Visit
forestsForestyasEvery forest with its land-cover rings, what grows and lives in it, and the best months to walk it.You are here