Craigalappan Wood lies a few hundred metres from Straid Road, half way between the towns of Bushmills and Ballycastle. The wood takes its name from the townland in which it sits. It occupies part of a long abandoned farm down a quiet concrete lane, screened from the road by a coniferous plantation. To enter, go through the original farm access and proceed a few metres to the parking area behind the ride stop on your left.

Looking around, some of the first things you will notice are the old stone walls, verdant green with moss, that formed the boundaries of tiny fields surrounding the old farmstead. In the Spring these are carpeted with wood sorrel, primroses, wood anemones and other woodland flowers. Seedlings of species such as ash, rowan, alder, hawthorn and blackthorn have found refuge amongst the stones and as a result the fields where for generations food would have been grown are now instead growing trees. This was the best and most intensely cultivated land.

One of the small fields, to the left of the entrance and measuring less than 20x20m, now provides a welcome spot for peaceful contemplation, with a rustic bench positioned to take advantage of the pretty pastoral views towards the north Antrim coast. The field would make an ideal camping spot.

A long-disused lane by the ride stop marking the entrance to the wood leads you on to an area of land that was cultivated much less. The geology of the wider area in this part of North Antrim is dominated by the basalt that defines the remarkable formations of the world famous Giant's Causeway. Around Craigalappan the basalt never lies far from the ground surface. This has impacted on the soil formation and therefore the vegetation. The combination of poorly drained peat in the hollows between the drier basalt outcrops which have only a thin covering of soil has meant the area has never been farmed intensively.

The section of lane leading out into the open heath has been recently cleared, linking it to the more established woodland around the old farmstead. The unusual vegetation here has led to the area being designated as an Area of Special Scientific Interest, or ASSI. A prolonged period of low intensity grazing has resulted in a great variety of native grasses, rushes, heathers and wild flowers including a profusion of orchids and knapweed. The area is studded with large clumps of gorse with their sweet smelling yellow flowers, and blackthorn with its profusion of white blossoms in early Spring, which form a haven for song birds, providing food and shelter. Occasional lichen covered rocks make great impromptu seats.

The views from this elevated area are wide ranging and on a clear day the Sperrin Mountains can be see off to the south-west, the ridge of Binevenagh to the north-west, and Knocklayd and the Antrim Hills to the east and south-east. It is a quiet, private spot of the sort that is difficult to find in the local area with its widely dispersed rural settlement.

The purchasers of the woodland will be asked to enter into a covenant