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This location is special to Daisylouwhoooo and Hawkster2020 as it is the place he took her to see the beauty of his city and where she fell in love with Ballymena. If she were a hawk, she would fly there day and night as the view is gorgeous both times. There is a nearby cemetery and church. While looking at the night sky, you can see the lights of Ballymena and the beauty of the town. We hope you enjoy this spot of ours but be careful because traffic can be busy during prime times of the day and a bit hazardous.
A little history about Ballymena : The town is built on land given to the Adair family by King Charles I in 1626, on the basis that the town holds two annual fairs and a free Saturday market in perpetuity. The Saturday market still runs.
The recorded history of this area dates from the 5th to the 7th centuries. Ringforts found in Ballykeel and a site known as Camphill Fort in Ballee. There are a number of souterrain sites within a 1¼ mile (2 km) radius of the centre of Ballymena. Two miles north of Ballymena in Kirkinriola, the ancient parish church and graveyard possess several indicators of Early Christian settlement including a souterrain. Also in 1868, a gravedigger found a large stone slab on which was carved a cross with the inscription ord do degen. This refers to Bishop Degen, who lived in Ireland during the 7th century. This stone is now in the porch of the Parish Church of St Patrick, in the Parish of Kilconriola, which is found in Castle Street, Ballymena.
In 831, The Norse invaded the Ballymena area. In the 12th century, the Normans conquered much of County Antrim and County Down and created the core of the Earldom of Ulster. During this campaign they built great mounds of earth topped by wooden towers, referred to as mottes, as defensive structures. Harryville's motte-and-bailey is one of the best examples of this type of fortification in Northern Ireland. Some sources, however, credit the Uí Fhloinn with building the mid-Antrim motte-and-baileys in imitation of the invaders; the Uí Fhloinn defeated and repelled the Earl of Ulster,John de Courcy, in 1177 and 1178.
In 1315, Edward Bruce invaded Ireland. On 10 September 1315, at the Battle of Tawnybrack (5 miles south of Ballymena at Kells), Edward conquered the army of Richard De Burgo, the Norman Earl of Ulster.
In 1576, Queen Elizabeth I granted the town of Ballymena, to Sir Thomas Smith.
On 10 May 1607, King James I granted the native Irish chief, Ruairi Og MacQuillan the Ballymena Estate. The estate passed through several owners, eventually passing into the possession of William Adair, a Scottish laird from Kinhilt in southwestern Scotland. The estate was temporarily renamed "Kinhilstown" after the Adair's lands in Scotland. The original castle of Ballymena was built in the early 17th century. In 1626 Charles I confirmed the grant of the Ballymena Estate to William Adair, giving him the right to hold a market at Ballymena on every Saturday.
In 1641, the local Ballymena garrison fought against the rebels but had to retreat to Carrickfergus. Ballymena's first market house (on the site of the present town hall) was built in 1684.
In 1690, the Duke of Wurttemberg, a Williamite general, used Galgorm Castle as his headquarters. Sir Robert Adair raised a Regiment of Foot for King William III and fought at the Battle of the Boyne.
The Gracehill Moravian settlement was founded in 1765. During the 1798 rebellion, Ballymena was occupied from 7 June to 9 June by a force of around 10,000 United Irishmen, who stormed the Market House (now the Town Hall) killing three of its defenders.
In 1848 the Belfast and Ballymena Railway was established. In 1865 Robert Alexander Shafto Adair (late Baron Waveney) started building Ballymena Castle, a magnificent family residence, in the Demesne. The castle was not completed until 1887.
In 1870 The People’s Park was established.
No need to go by the gates. there is parking for one car, maybe 2 if close on a bad corner so please be carefull..Cache is shoulder height and in a black/brown taped lock tab box.
This is my first so comments liked.>i do hope you spend the time to walk to the gates of the church , a few feet and look down on ballymena, and see the lights
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Uvag: Yrsg bs gur yrsg cvyyne bs gur tngr ba gur gbc