The Poets Trails. and other walks.

Transcription

1 The Poets Trals and other walks A selecton of routes through exceptonal countrysde rch n folklore, archaeology, geology and wldlfe

2 B134 A29 A25 SILVERBRIDGE B30 BELLEEK Standng Stone Slevenacappel MULLAGHBANE Courtney Mountan The Long Stone Cashel Sleve Gullon CAMLOUGH Cam Lough St Blne s Well DRUMINTEE Camlough Mountan Kllevy Church Adventure Playground Chambered Grave MEIGH B113 A1 NEWRY Greenon Lough Derrylechagh Lough Vctora Lock Mltown Lough Sleveacarnane WARRENPOINT Welcome to walks n the Rng of Gullon The Rng of Gullon les wthn a regon long assocated wth an ancent fronter that began wth the earlest records of man s habtaton n Ireland. It was along these roads and felds, and over these hlls and mountans, that Cúchulann and the Red Branch Knghts, the O Nells and O Hanlons roamed, battled and ded. The area, whch has always represented a fronter from the ancent Iron Age defences of the Dorsey, through the Anglo- Norman Pale, and latterly the modern border, s alve wth hstory, scenc beauty and culture. CREGGAN Sleve Breac FORKHILL JONESBOROUGH Klnasaggart Inscrbed Stone Black Mountan Ths area reflects the mx of cultures from Neolthc to the present, whle the rollng countrysde lends tself to the enjoyment of peaceful walks, excellent fshng and a frendly welcome at every stop. Key to Map Creggan Route Forkhll Route Ballykeel Route Sleve Gullon Route Camlough Route Annahaa Route Rng of Gullon Way Marked Way Glassdrumman Lake Art Mac Cumhagh s Headstone

3 POETS TRAIL CREGGAN ROUTE POETS TRAIL CREGGAN ROUTE Dd You Know? Creggan graveyard s a truly ecumencal place as members of both Catholc and Protestant denomnatons stll bury n ts fragrant clay. It contans the remans of poets; scrbes; clergymen; raparees; mlta; magstrates; revolutonares; landlords and tenants; labourers; housekeepers; wves and husbands; beggars and bankers. Glassdrumman Lake Ths route s a seres of mnor roads and country paths wndng through South Armagh nto North Louth and back agan. You can follow the folklore and lfe and tmes of the Poets and Scholars of the area. n the road. After a further 1km turn rght onto the Lurgan Road and contnue for roughly 1.5km, past Hearty s Folk Cottage on the left and take the frst turn on the left at Murrays Road. Start at Creggan Churchyard (Informaton Board 1) and turn rght headng south along the Glassdrummond Road for roughly 4km passng Glassdrumond Church and onto Glassdrummond Lake where the O Nells sted ther Castle (Informaton Board 2). Take the frst rght past the lake onto the Leeter Road, and contnue for roughly 1km. Followng the Poets Tral sgns take the left turnng to Mounthll, and contnue for roughly 2.5km untl you see Roche Castle Straght ahead (Informaton Board 3). Turn left at the cross-roads and contnue for roughly 1km before turnng left towards Ballsmll. Contnue for roughly 1km before veerng rght through Ballsmll Vllage past the amenty ste (Informaton Board 4). Contnue for roughly 1.5km and take the frst left onto the Cortreasla Road, after roughly 1km (Informaton Board 5) walk through the tght bend Contnue for roughly 1.5km takng the frst turn to the rght, Cregganbane Road, then contnue for roughly 0.5km and at the juncton turn left always followng the waymarkers. At the bottom of the road turn rght back to Creggan Parsh Church. CREGGAN 1 1 Creggan Church & Graveyard B30 GLASSDRUMMAN 5 2 A29 BALLSMILL 4 Sleve Breac R177 Creggan Glen 1 Interpretaton Panels Areas of Specal Scentfc Interest Red Squrrels 3 Roche Castle

4 POETS TRAIL FORKILL ROUTE POETS TRAIL FORKILL ROUTE Ths route s seres of mnor roads and country paths wndng around Crosleve startng n the hstorcal vllage of Forkll. Mullaghbane Mountan Qully Market Stone Drumntee St Patrcks Park Start at the Welcome Inn on Man Street, renowned for ts tradtonal musc sessons (Informaton Board 1).Head south and contnue for roughly 0.5km and take the frst turn left down a country track, part of the Rng of Gullon Waymarked Way. Sleve Gullon Forest Sleve Breac Forkll Folly 3 FORKILL 1 DRUMINTEE Contnue for roughly 1.5km along ths track, whch was the old funeral road to Urney Graveyard (Informaton Board 2). St Brgds Vllas Fort Rath Foxfeld After vstng the grave of Peadar Ó Dornín follow the track south for roughly another 0.5km. At the end of the lane turn rght and contnue for roughly 1km straght through the crossroads. Rath 2 Rath Rath Contnue for roughly 1.5km to the next juncton and turn left onto the Carrve Road and after roughly 300m turn rght. Contnue for roughly 3km along Glendesha whch provdes magnfcent vews of Sleve Gullon. The restng place of Peadar Ó Dornín At the end of ths road turn rght and contnue for roughly 0.5km to Forkll Church of Ireland whch s now a resdental property (Informaton Board 3). Contnue along ths road nto Forkll Vllage. Forkhll Folly Urnaí Graveyard Dd You Know? It was the folk belef that there was a specal ndulgence earned by beng bured at Urnaí. Those bured here are thought to have a more drect lne to heaven

5 POETS TRAIL BALLYKEEL ROUTE POETS TRAIL BALLYKEEL ROUTE Ballykeel Dolmen Slevenacappel Flaxmll Portal Tomb B SILVERBRIDGE 4 1 MULLAGHBANE B134 Ths s a crcular route followng mnor roads leavng from the T Chulann Centre. Ths walk takes n the last workng flax mll of the area, Ballykeel Portal Tomb and Cloverhll Golf Course. Begn at the T Chulann Cultural Actvty Centre n Mullaghbane (Informaton Board 1). Turn rght down the Bog Road away from Mullaghbane. Contnue for roughly 1km before turnng left onto the Longfeld Road. After roughly 150m take the frst left onto the Mll Road. After 1.5km (Informaton Board 2), contnue on for roughly 1km. You can take a rght detour to see Ballykeel Dolmen. Red Squrrel at Sleve Gullon Dd You Know? Townlands - Tullymacreve means Rce s feld or grassy hllock. The name Ó Maolchraobhe s anglsed as Rce, Mulcrevy and Mulgrew. Cashel means the stone rng fort. There was formerly an old graveyard known locally as the relg n Tullymacreve and a carn n Cashel. Contnue for roughly 0.5km across the man road and take the second left followng the Poets Tral s sgns. Cross the man road agan and turn left along the Tullymacreve Road to Informaton Board 3 at Ballnasack. Turn rght onto the Ballnasack Road. Keep left after roughly 0.5km and contnue along ths road for roughly 1.5km. Turn left onto the Cashel Road and take the frst left nto Mullaghbane Area of Specal Scentfc Interest. The rocks found at Mullaghbane show the geologcal processes that were present here 60 mllon years ago. Contnue along ths small road for roughly 1km before turnng left followng the Poets Tral sgn. After roughly 200m turn rght onto the Lough Road for great vews of Mullaghbane Mountan. Contnue along the Lough Road for roughly 1.5km past Cloverhll Golf Course and the Enchanted Spa and Retreat. Turn left (Informaton Board 4) onto the Glendesha Road. After 500m turn left and left agan towards Mullaghbane wth vews of Sleve Gullon on your rght. Cross the stone brdge on the rght after roughly 0.5km and turn rght back towards T Chulann on the Bog Road where you should recognse your surroundngs from the start of your journey

6 SLIEVE GULLION CIRCULAR ROUTE SLIEVE GULLION CIRCULAR ROUTE Dd You Know? Seamus Mór Mac Murphy and hs frend Peadar Ó Dornín organsed a rally on the summt of Sleve Gullon n the summer of 1744 to gather support for the Kng over the water. Seamus Mór and many South Armagh MacMurphys went to Scotland to fght for Bonne Prnce Charle n the rebellon whch ended n defeat for the Jacobtes at Culloden n Camlough Lake Ballard Longstone Sarah Daly s Brdge Camlough Lake Swmmng/Canoeng/Fshng Klleavy Church Church Road Longfeld R d Lake and Mllstone St Monnna s Well Bell s Castle Chapel Road Clonlum Carn Kng s Rng Sleve Gullon passage tomb Sleve Gullon Adventure Park 1800s Courtyard & Walled Garden Drumntee Road The walk starts and fnshes at the Sleve Gullon Forest Adventure Park. Follow an uphll path from the top left of the car park. The path contnues uphll through decduous woodland for about 1km untl arrvng at a log bench opposte a way marker post. Turn rght on to the forest drve and contnue uphll through a stand of beech trees for 800m. Turn rght onto a short secton of forest track to the forest drve. Turn left on the forest drve and contnue for about 2km untl the upper car park on the left. Ths secton of the tral has magnfcent vews of the Rng of Gullon peaks of, Slevebreac, Sleve na Bola, Sleve Mór and the Dhachalmór. Turn rght ffty metres beyond the car park up an ntally steep mountan path. Contnue through a kssng gate untl a stone shelter s reached. The vews n ths secton expand to nclude the peaks of Slevenacapple and the Fews to the North west. Passng to the rght of the stone shelter the path becomes steeper, traversng rocky ground. After 500m the path arrves at the summt of Sleve Gullon and the Neolthc Passage Grave, whch you can enter from just below the summt. Panoramc vews from the summt take n the Mourne Mountans, Carlngford Lough, The Cooley Pennsula, the Armagh Drumlns and beyond. The path contnues North-West along the summt plateau arrvng at Callagh Berra s Lough after 800m. Contnue past the lough to the North Carn whch s also a Bronze Age bural chamber. Contnue on the path and descend for about 2km down the North sde of the mountan untl reachng the Ballard Road. Turn rght along the country lane and follow t as t undulates through the countrysde. Keep rght after 2km where the road forks and contnue to Klleavy Old Churches datng from the 5th Century. St Monnna s bured n the churchyard. Contnue along the country lane, past Clonlum Portal Tomb on the left and Klleavy Castle on the rght for a further 2km before turnng rght at a cross roads. Contnue through gateposts on to the ext from the car park

7 CAMLOUGH MOUNTAIN ROUTE CAMLOUGH MOUNTAIN ROUTE Camlough Lake Dd You Know? It s all n the name, Camlough Mountan s real name s Sleve Grkn, ts translaton s a lttle more complex but most take t to mean mountan of the cocks comb as the crag resembles a comb. The vllage name Camlough doesn t come from any townland, t s taken from the nearby lake. The vllage les n the townlands of Cross and Carrckcroppan. The walk starts and fnshes n the Vllage of Camlough. present n ths area and as t cooled t became dolerte. You can see the darker coloured dolerte ntrudng nto the much older lghter coloured grandorte. Camlough Mountan Follow the Quarter Road to the rght of Doyle s Pub. Contnue along ths road for about 50m then turn left onto the Church Road. Contnue along ths narrow country road for about 2.5km untl you reach a road on your rght opposte large green gates. Turn uphll and contnue past the house on your rght. After about 200m keep rght and contnue along ths road for about 1km. After 200m keep to the rght onto the Mountan Road. Contnue on ths route for roughly 1.5km before turnng left down towards Camlough. At the juncton turn rght and after 300m the tral comes to an end where you should recognse your surroundngs from the start. Camlough Vllage s the perfect place to stop off and have lunch or dnner after a day s walkng. CAMLOUGH VILLAGE Carrckbrackan Wood Enter through the Forest Servce gate and keep almost mmedately to your left. Ths Forest Servce track contnues for roughly 3km through dense pne and heather along the summt and plunges back nto pne before extng nto open felds. At the juncton turn rght onto the Tamnaghbane Road. Contnue for about 2km before turnng rght agan onto the Keggall Road where you can have a pcnc overlookng Camlough lake at the amenty ste. The Keggall Road can be busy, please exercse cauton here. Cam Lough Camlough Quarry Camlough Mountan Camlough Wood Ballymacdermot Mountan Bernsh Vewpont After roughly 1km Camlough Quarry wll rse out of the mountan on the rght. The rocks of the Camlough area were born from fre. Over 400 mllon years ago molten rock cooled under ground to form granadorte. Then agan 58 mllon years ago molten rock was Aghmakane Wood Chambered Grave Camlough Wood

8 ANNHAIA - HAWTHORN HILL NATIONAL NATURE RESERVE ANNHAIA - HAWTHORN HILL NATIONAL NATURE RESERVE Klleavy Castle the Napoleonc wars and had great reverence for The Duke of Wellngton. Chambre s resdence was surrounded by extensve woods whch were reputedly planted n the formaton of Wellngton s army at the Battle of Waterloo. Hawthorn Hll s now a Forest Nature Reserve owned by the Forest Servce. Vew from Sleve Gullon Courtyard Dd You Know? The owner of Kllevy Castle n the 1830s, Powell Foxall, was nvolved n the Newry bank at what now s the Arts Centre on Bank Parade. There s stll a plaque on the buldng. The bank eventually faled. In 1830 he bult ths mpressve mock gothc castle to rval the new house of hs neghbour and cousn Hunt Chambre. Begn at the Sleve Gullon Courtyard and walk up towards the Adventure Park and take the frst track on the left and contnue straght uphll through decduous woodland for about 750m untl arrvng at a forest track wth a log bench on the rght hand sde of the path. From ths pont magnfcent vews can be had of the the Rng of Gullon near Forkll. Keepng to the rght, contnue on the path back nto the woodland. The path contnues for 850m, frst uphll, before descendng drectly to the Sleve Gullon Forest Adventure Park and start pont. Sleve Gullon Forest Drve Bells Castle Adventure Park Courtyard & Café Megh Ths crcular woodland walk takes n magnfcent vews of the Rng of Gullon peaks, and you can fnd red squrrels on ths sde of Sleve Gullon as well as smooth newts, jays, pne martns and many others! Seated Area B113 Forkhll The Courtyard was orgnally constructed as farm buldngs about 1820 by the Landlord Hunt Chambre. Chambre was fascnated wth Sleve Gullon Summt Vewpont

9 MORE INFORMATION For further nformaton on the Area of Outstandng Natural Beauty, places of nterest Archaeology, Bodversty, Bult Hertage, Cultural Hertage, Geology and lots more downloadable maps and brochures vst and to keep up to date wth announcements and projects lke Rng of Gullon on Facebook. WalkNI.com For further nformaton on these walks, other walks n the Rng of Gullon and all other walks across Northern Ireland, please vst Here you wll fnd short, medum and long dstance walks, as well as downloadable maps, suggested tnerares and everythng you need to know when plannng a walkng trp n Northern Ireland. Gap O the North Walkng Club also run guded walks, to get n contact emal them on nfo@gaponorth.co.uk. You can also fnd gudes on Other Actvtes & Places to See The Rng of Gullon s renowned for ts natural beauty, culture, tradton, folklore, hertage and ts outdoor recreaton. In addton to walkng, a wde varety of actvtes and attractons are on offer, ncludng cyclng, horse rdng, arts and crafts markets, castles, dolmens and runs to explore. To fnd out more vst Newry or Crossmaglen Tourst Informaton Centre (contact detals below). Tourst Informaton Newry Tourst Informaton Centre Bagenal's Castle, Castle Street, Newry, BT34 2DA E newrytc@newryandmourne.gov.uk T (028) Crossmaglen Tourst Offce O Fach House, O Fach Square, Crossmaglen, BT35 9HG & E nfo@newryandmourne.gov.uk T (028) Leave No Trace MORE INFORMATION In order to mnmse your socal and envronmental mpacts on the outdoors, please follow the prncples of Leave No Trace. Leave No Trace s an outdoor ethcs educatonal programme desgned to promote and nspre responsble outdoor recreaton through educaton, research and partnershps. For more nformaton please vst Go Prepared Weather condtons n the Sleve Gullon area can be changeable even durng summer months. Waterproof and wndproof clothng are essental and strong walkng boots are advsed. Emergency In the event of an emergency call the polce on 999, or Polce Servce NI (central swtchboard) +44 (0) ; or Dasy Hll Hosptal A&E, Newry +44 (0) Publc Transport Translnk operates a number of servces from Newry Bus centre; 40a, 41, 42, 43, and town servces to Camlough and Bessbrook; 338E and 41B. Tmetables are avalable from Bus Statons or Tourst Informaton Centres across Northern Ireland. The man Belfast to Dubln tran stops off n Newry and there s pedestran access nto Camlough, or Town Servce 341 wll brng you down to the bus staton. For more nformaton call (028) or vst Over 60 s travel free on presentaton of a vald SmartPass. Forest Parks Please be aware that Sleve Gullon and Camlough Forest Parks are workng envronments. Sectons of the tral may close from tme to tme to facltate forestry and other essental operatons. Please take care on forest tracks as some are used as brdle paths and all are used by forestry vehcles. 16 walkn.com walkn.com 17

10 Dsclamer Every care has been taken to ensure accuracy n the complaton of ths gude. The nformaton provded s, to the best of the promoter s knowledge, correct at the tme of gong to prnt. The promoters cannot accept responsblty for any errors or omssons but f any are brought to ther notce, future publcatons wll be amended accordngly. Land Access Some popular walkng routes n Northern Ireland are not formally desgnated publc rghts of way. Access s on a de-facto bass and depends on the goodwll and tolerance of local landowners. Walkers are advsed to respect that they may be walkng on prvate land and are encouraged to make themselves aware of and adhere to the prncples of 'Leave No Trace' For any questons on walkng n Northern Ireland contact Outdoor Recreaton NI The Stableyard, Malone Road, Barnett's Demesne, Belfast BT9 5PB Tel: +44 (0) Emal: nfo@walkn.com Ths gude s avalable n Englsh and Irsh. Rng of Gullon Red Squrrel Group: Watch out for squrrels around the Rng of Gullon and f you see any we would ask that you report your sghtng by clckng the Red Squrrel Logo on You can also fnd out more about the group and nformaton on how to become a member