Walking Holidays

The Mourne Mountains & Ring of Gullion, a walker’s wonderland

There are few places on the island better suited to the walker than the Mourne Mountains & Ring of Gullion. With almost one hundred different mountain peaks, a feast of forest trails and a seemingly endless choice of river, lake and seaside strolls, you’ll need a good strong pair of shoes to tackle everything this place has to offer.

Saintly Trails

Start your walking holiday by following in the footsteps of the island’s patron saint on the guided St Patrick’s Pilgrim Walk Downpatrick. You’ll discover the amazing story of Ireland’s patron saint as you take the Pilgrim’s Way around the medieval town of Downpatrick. With the help of two Adoration Sisters turned pilgrim guides, Martina Purdy and Elaine Kelly, your small group will explore the stunning countryside and visit important sites in the saint’s story.  The tour can be completed in a day or done as two half-day trips. Either way, it’s well worth it.

While he may not be a missionary, Peter Rafferty is a man on a mission to bring you the joys of the terrain he loves so well. He has dedicated himself to the Mountains of Mourne and on his Men of the Mournes tour he’ll take you through the sights, stories and sounds of the enchanting mountains. Let Peter regale you with tales of tobacco smugglers, old time bandits and cave digging builders who have all left their marks on these hills. This is a somewhat more gentle eight mile offering and a lovely way to see the very best of the area.

Of course, if you’re the type of walker that likes to set their own pace, then there is plenty on offer. Game of Thrones® fans might recognise Tollymore Forest where some of the opening scenes of the epic series were shot. It is not hard to see why the film-makers chose this spot. It boasts several walking trails and forest walks past waterfalls, over rivers and streams that seem set in another time. The sense of tranquility here is matched only by the stunning 18th century gardens that feature architectural curiosities like neo gothic gate arches and bridges as well as hidden grottos and caves.

People who take their trekking seriously won’t want to miss The Silent Valley. This very special and peaceful place is the location of a large reservoir, built in the early 20th century to gather water from the Mourne Mountains. It supplies most of County Down and a large part of Belfast but its secondary function as a paradise for walkers of all levels has been recognised by local authorities who have mapped out several lovely routes around the reservoir and built facilities such as a café and visitor centre. Not far from here you can tackle Slieve Binnian - one of the so-called ‘six-peaks’ of the Mournes. At over 2,400 feet you’ll need to be sure you can take it on. If you do, the rewards are huge with great views over the whole area. On clear days you can see as far as the Isle of Man and the Wicklow Mountains in the south. You’ll also catch site of the staggering Mourne Wall. This famous landmark running right through the Mournes, was originally built in an effort to keep cattle and sheep out of the water catchment area of the Silent Valley reservoir. Completed in 1922, it took over eighteen years to build. It stretches across twenty-two miles and connects the summits of no less than fifteen mountains in the Mournes.

Serious walkers will view the two-mile Annalong Coastal Walk as nothing more than a stroll but what a lovely stroll it is. If your day time trek hasn’t drained all the sap from your legs, then why not use this elegant route as your pre or post dinner ramble. There are fascinating views of the Mourne Mountains and as the path reaches the bays of Arthur’s Port and Springwell Port, you’ll spot curlews and oystercatchers foraging on the shore. You can loop back around to Annalong village for a bowl of chowder or a big serving of crisp and fresh battered haddock and chips at the Harbour Inn.

Walk in the footsteps of giants & legends around the Ring of Gullion

For a change of scene, and indeed scenery, you might consider moving further west to walk through the ancient mountain scapes of the Ring of Gullion. This area has been settled by humans for over six-thousand years and as you explore its bare summits and delve through its forests you are sure to come across megalithic tombs, ancient ruins and millennia-old monuments.

Rising to almost 1,900 feet, Slieve Gullion is the centrepiece of this volcanic landscape and is a Special Area of Conservation. At different times of the year the mountain seems to sparkle with the purples of the heather, the yellow of dwarf gorse or the orange of the bracken. It is a place of such bewitching beauty that even the bauld Fionn Mac Cumhaill fell foul of its mystique - or at least that of local beauty Midhluachair who charmed the normally unflappable hero at the Lough of the Cailleach Bhéara and turned his hair white. To this day, the superstition survives that if you bathe in the lough your hair will suffer the same fate.

But with great suffering comes the chance to seek solace and there is no better place to rest your legs, get used to your new hair and sink a couple of pints than Murphy’s Bar in the nearby village of Meigh. This place is the perfect post-trek pub. They offer good quality food in tranquil surroundings and their really lovely beer garden is the perfect place to recount tales of your recent walking trails.

There is always of course the self-catering option and there is plenty on offer in these parts for those walkers that want to fend for themselves. Each residence at Clonlum Cottages sleeps between four to six guests and is equipped with smart TVs that include Netflix and Now TV should you need to keep track of Game of Thrones® for example.

But the real advantage of this place is the space both indoors and out and its proximity to the walks and trails around the area. On warm summer evenings you can take full advantage of the barbecue and firepit area to enjoy dinner at the foot of Slieve Gullion.

Couples in search of some seclusion will love the Green Holiday Cottages; a group of four beautifully kept cottages in a secluded riverside setting near Kilkeel. Sitting at the foot of the Mournes, you are close to Kilbroney Forest Park and the majestic gardens of Castlewellan. In the mornings, you’ll wake up to the sounds of the countryside and as you sip on your morning tea you can plan which tracks and trails to tackle that day.

No easy task given the amount available in the Mourne Mountains & Ring of Gullion.