Self-Guided Tours - Mourne Country (7 nights)


Attractions and sites of interest on or close to the routes

• Ardglass
  Picturesque Co Down fishing port.
  
  
• Bloody Bridge
  Site of a massacre in 1641. From here, the Brandy Pad, an old smuggling trail, leads into the heart of the Mournes.
  
  
• Carlingford Castle
  Built in the 11th century to control the entrance to Carlingford Lough.
  
  
• Castle Espie
  Ireland’s largest collection of wildfowl.
  
  
• Castleward
  Vast country estate with woodlands, lake and seashore. The 18th Century house has facades in two different styles - one Classic and one Gothic.
  
  
• Castlewellan Forest Park
  Beautiful park which includes Ireland’s national arboretum, courtyards, lake trails and visitor centre.
  
  
• Downpatrick
  County town of Down. St. Patrick’s supposed grave is under a granite slab in the graveyard of Down Cathedral. The St Patrick Centre explores the legacy of the saint.
  
  
• Dundrum Castle
  Substantial ruins of a magnificently sited 12th Century Norman Castle.
  
  
• Exploris
  Fine aquarium exhibiting the marine life of Strangford Lough and the Irish Sea.
  
  
• Gap of the North
  Crossing point between the hills linking Ulster to the south.
  
  
• Grey Abbey
  Ruins of 12th Century Cistercian abbey in fine parkland setting, 'physick' garden, visitor centre.
  
  
• Hillsborough
  Small town with fine Georgian architecture. Hillsborough Castle is the residence of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
  
  
• Inch Abbey
  Built by John de Courcy in 1180 for the Cistercians, the remains of the abbey are in a beautiful location.
  
  
• Kilclief Castle
  Built in 1413 by John Sely, Bishop of Down who lived here with his mistress.
  
  
• Legananny Dolmen
  Ulster’s best-known Stone-Age monument.
  
  
• Mount Stewart
  An 18th Century house with gardens ranking amongst the finest in Ireland.
  
  
• Murlough Nature Reserve
  Extensive region of sand dunes on Dundrum Bay.
  
  
• Narrow Water Castle
  Dramatically sited 16th Century tower house.
  
  
• Nendrum
  One of Ireland’s most interesting, best excavated, and beautifully sited early monasteries, founded by St Machaoi in the 5th Century.
  
  
• Newry Canal
  Earliest inland canal in the British Isles.
  
  
• Newry Cathedral
  Tudor-gothic cathedral with beautiful stained glass and mosaics.
  
  
• Rowallane
  21 acres of natural gardens in National Trust care.
  
  
• Rostrevor
  Pretty Victorian seaside resort. An obelisk on the outskirts commemorates one Major General Ross, a British commander in the American War of 1812 who burned the White House.
  
  
• Silent Valley
  Parkland and reservoirs in the centre of the Mournes.
  
  
• Slieve Gullion Forest Park
  The park covers the lower slopes of Slieve Gullion.
  
  
• Scarva Interpretative Centre
  Details the history and development of the Newry Canal.
  
  
• Spelga Pass
  High point on the only road through the Mournes, giving great views.
  
  
• Tollymore Forest Park
  Way marked trails of varying lengths through forest and foothills of the Mournes. Many stone follies and bridges.
  

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