Around The Place - Newcastle, Co Down, Northern Ireland (part 1)
Newcastle at the foot of the Mourne mountains. This is a very popular holiday resort and also the base for hill walkers venturing into the Mournes. (sorry about the brief stop in Tesco!)
Tollymore Forest, Newcastle, County Down, Northern Ireland - Forest Parks in Northern Ireland #GOT
Long time ago, the first state forest park was established in Northern Ireland, located at Bryansford, near the town of Newcastle in the Mourne and Slieve Croob Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty ( this forest park is what is now called Tollymore Forest.
Apart from being a location where some of the scenes in the famous Game of Thrones movie series were taken, this place is also considered beautiful for visiting in general and having a walk through because of the huge area it tends to cover - it covers an area of 630 hectares - and also for the views it tends to offer for those walking through the place - it has views of the surrounding mountains and the sea at the nearby Newcastle; all these things make the place a destination to be placed on the list of things that one should be visiting in Northern Ireland.
We at Connolly Cove prefer those green areas that bring us directly into nature and let us experience the beautiful scenes around us that might be including the trees, waterfalls, sea, etc. When it comes to Tollymore Forest then mentioning the Shimna River is a must, which flows through the park and is actually crossed by 16 bridges, in which the oldest dates back to 1726.
Usually, there is something interesting about the parks which one gets the chance to visit in Ireland or Northern Ireland, and in the case of the Tollmore Forest Park, we have to mention that there are four different trails which one could choose from and follow, every single one of these trails has a different color that is different in its length, giving visitors the chance to choose between the longest and the shortest according to how long they are willing to walk.
There are different activities that one could enjoy doing in Tollymore Forest in Newcastle in addition to walking, such as caravanning and camping, horse riding and orienteering, and there are also other visits that might be related to sporting events and educational visits - it will always depend on the time you are visiting the forest at, but eventually walking through this forest park is considered the best thing one could do.
In addition to the different trails which are differentiated by the colors, there are still other important spots to mention when it comes to Tollymore Forest and which include River Shimna, the Stone Bridges, the Cedar Avenue, the Hermitage, as well as the Clanbrassil Barn, and in case you needed anything during your visit, you could still ask the information kiosk at the entrance in the beginning of the journey about anything you are missing or anything you want.
There are different locations in Northern Ireland in which the scenes of Game of Thrones were being taken and Tollymore Castle is one of them, but there is also the Cushendun Caves ( there is also Portstewart Strand ( the Dark Hedges ( Toome Canal ( as well as other different locations and even restaurants in which the doors were being filmed as well.
We have been to different other places and destinations in county Down in addition to the Tollymore Forest Park and which every single one of them deserves to be visited but according to the interests of every person.
From the destinations which we have reached, there is Donaghadee which is 6 miles away from Bangor ( which is famous with the lighthouse on the pier that is looking into the sea, we have also visited Ballywater in county Down and enjoyed that vast beach it has ( Rostrevor was another location we have reached and which we also enjoyed being at ( we have visited Dandrum Castle ( every single destination of these is different and makes the whole trip a lot more interesting.
We are always into those castles and green areas because they bring two important things to our lives; the castles bring the history back to us and let us fall in love more with those buildings which are still standing until these days, while the forests and parks on the other hand tend to relax us and free our minds and bodies, which is another thing we appreciate.
For those who are fans of the Game of Thrones movies then Tollymore Forest Park would be a beautiful destination to head for while being in county Down, Northern Ireland, to check what they have seen on screen and at the same time enjoy the place by themselves, either through choosing one of the different trails and walking it or else through doing any of the other activities that might be found.
The best locations around Ireland / Northern Ireland and further afield. Tollymore Forest, Newcastle, County Down, Northern Ireland - Forest Parks in Northern Ireland #GOT