Galboly ASSI

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 is one of the largest semi-natural woodlands in County Antrim at 30 hectares in extent. It consists predominantly of a mature hazel canopy with widespread mature oak and ash. Rowan and downy birch are also present. In places within the woodland, early-purple orchid is conspicuous with other notable plants such as toothwort and wood vetch. 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.

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.