A Ballintoy sheep farmer who erected barriers preventing walkers from accessing part of the Causeway Coast claims to have taken the measure for health and safety reasons. Unfortunately, although Seamus McShane said he took the decision to raise the barriers on his land between Ballintoy and Whitepark Bay because of such concerns, he is not prepared to elaborate.
The land has been owned by Mr McShane's family for more than 100 years and he took over its management in 1990. The route has been popular with individuals and groups of walkers for many years and forms part of the 52km Causeway Coast Way, which skirts the scenic coast from Portstewart Strand to Ballycastle.
Mr McShane commented, "The path is closed due to health and safety in general, but I'm not going to go into the details." When asked whether the land would be reopened at any point, the farmer was again inexplicit adding, "At this stage I can't give a definite answer one way or another."
The Countryside Access and Activities Network, which oversees the Waymarked Ways scheme, says that contrary to popular belief the route across Mr McShane's land is not a right of way. Nonetheless, it warned that the public liability insurance that applies to all land crossed by a Waymarked Way cannot apply while the fences remain in place.
The barriers were raised last year and have since been reinforced with barbed wire. However, it is understood that some walkers still make their way through by squeezing past the fences.
