Tollymore Forest Park is an expansive and beautiful park located near the town of Newcastle at the foot of the Mourne Mountains in Northern Ireland. It honestly feels like you’re walking through a fairytale!

Tollymore is a land of rivers, towering trees, and quaint bridges. Two rivers flow through the park, the Shimna and the Spinkwee. Sixteen bridges cross, the oldest dating back to 1726 The Ivy Bridge and Foley’s Bridge are the most spectacular. Caves and grottos line the riverbank, while the man-made stone hermitage oozes character. Established in 1955, this park boasts a wide array of attractions, as well as a rich history. With its waterways, dedicated walking trails and local fauna like wild fallow deer, red squirrels, great spotted woodpeckers, kingfishers, dippers, pine martens and otters.

🧺Tollymore Forest Park is one of my favourite picnic spots!

Trails to explore:

Mountain and Drinns Trail (13km)

This is the longest and most difficult trail in the forest, you can expect to take four hours to complete this trail.

The route includes gorgeous scenery, deciduous and coniferous forests, stone bridges, and phenomenal mountain views. The Drinns trail is an optional loop that adds 4.8 km onto the 8.8 km mountain trail. With the Drinns ,the path gains height offering breathtaking views!

River Trail (5km)

This is one of my favourite riverside trails taking in some of the best scenery in the forest This trail takes around 1.5 hours to complete. You’ll follow the banks of the Shimna River, before crossing over at Parnell’s Bridge.The route takes you to the ruins of the ancient White Fort, before leading you to the banks of the Spinkwee River on return. Enjoy the crashing waters of the cascade. You’ll also pass the incredible hermitage, before crossing the oldest bridge in the park.

Arboretum Trail (0.6km)

This is an easier trail that takes you through the Tollymore Arboretum. The trail winds in and out of an incredible array of exotic tree species from around the world. Including the Giant Redwood and a cork tree.

🎬Recently Tollymore Forest Park has grown in popularity due to it being the filming location for HBO’s Game of Thrones! In fact Tollymore Forest is featured in the first episode “Winter is coming”. It can be recognised as land south of The Wall with the Wildling Pit and the forest near Winterfell Castle! Popular scenes that have been filmed here are when the Knight Watch scouts see the White Walkers and when the Starks find the Direwolf pups.

Opening hours: 10 am until sunset.