Colin Glen Forest Park is one of the ‘green lungs’ of Belfast and contains many excellent walks. It is easily accessible from the city centre and it hard to believe that you can leave the razzmatazz that is West Belfast and plunge into the arms of mother nature within a couple of moments.  Although you do have to run the gauntlet of the Gruffalo for the first few hundred metres, he’s not too intrusive.  On this occasion, we walked from the car park at the Colin Glen Centre to the waterfall called the Rumble Hole and then retraced our steps, a very pleasant 10 kilometres tramp.  For a detailed map and more photographs go to https://www.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/view.do?id=19888307

Start in the Colin Glen car park on the Stewartstown Road and follow the main path, always keeping to the right at the many intersections through stunning forest views until you reach the stone bridge at the Upper Glen Road.

Pass under the bridge, turn right and ascend the steps.  At the top, turn left and follow the trail, high above the river.  This is a very beautiful but much narrower path and should be negotiated with care.  Eventually, it drops down to a stream which can be easily crossed using the stepping stones.  Once across,  turn left and continue walking for, approximately, another ten minutes until you reach a metal post on the right which marks the track to an old flooded quarry.   This post is very easy to miss but the attached map should be useful.

At the quarry go left and keep straight ahead ignoring the first road on your right.  The Rumble Hole will soon swim into view.  As you approach the waterfall you will again become aware of the influence of the city.  Late domestic appliances, innards akimbo and, possibly, the flotsam and jetsam of lost alien spacecraft leer at you from the undergrowth.  But, give them no quarter, the Rumble Hole is well worth it!