This article is about the Class III road numbered C81 maintained by DfI Roads. For other roads numbered C81, see C81.
The C81 is a long road passing over the hills in north Antrim. The road starts on the A2 just north of Cushendall and heads westwards inland up Glenann. As the road climbs, it ascends the northern shoulder of the glen and crosses over the Glendun River in the adjacent glen where the route of the C106 is crossed. The road continues heading west across the wild moorland as it gradually descends towards the landward side of the hill range, negotiating some tight bends as it does so. Eventually the road does reach the lowlands and meets the C84 at a T junction just north of Magherahoney. After a brief multiplex with the C84, the C81 continues west out of the village, now on the south west side of the River Bush. Soon the road crosses the A44 at an almost perfectly aligned six-way crossroads at The Drones. Continuing west and eventually turning north west, the road crosses the B15 as well before terminating on the B147 in the village of Stranocum.