The people of Mourne, Gullion and Strangford aim to embed the ethos of sustainability throughout the community. The region is recognised as a UNESCO Global Geopark - a place of unique landscape and cultural heritage. Crucial to this recognition is sustainability in tourism around Mourne, Gulliion and Strangford and there are many great places who are only too willing to do their bit for the love of the area and its future generations.
Sustainable places to stay
Green Holiday Cottages are four beautifully kept cottages in a secluded riverside setting near Kilkeel. They offer the chance to escape and spend some time away with family or to take part in their Pilates and Wellness Retreat. Sitting at the foot of the Mournes, you are close to Kilbroney Forest Park and the majestic gardens of Castlewellan. The site offers some local forest tracks and trails while the Mountains of Mourne provide fantastic scenery and a wonderful challenge for the body and mind. For children there is an outdoor play area and they’ll surely have great fun watching you grapple with the outdoor pizza ovens.
Just a stone’s throw from here are the wonderful Hanna’s Close Irish Holiday Cottages, eight cottages that were once a community. There has been a settlement here in some shape or form since the early 1600s and though some changes have been made, they retain their essence and compliment the surrounding countryside. With the Mournes in view and the Kilkeel River running by, you’ll get nothing but peace and quiet staying here.
There’s a little piece of heaven a little further north at Killeavy Castle Estate. Offering peace and quiet along with great treatments and exceptional food in beautifully manicured surroundings this spot in the Ring of Gullion oozes relaxation and a sense of freshness. Many of the ingredients used in their kitchen are grown right here and while your meal is being prepared you can relax in their water therapy pools, their outdoor hot tub or take a gentle stroll around their gardens. Killeavy pride themselves on their sustainability policy. They have a zero plastic rule, electricity use is kept to a minimum and they have even arranged the rooms to make the best use of natural light.
Sustainable things to do
The Sound of Silence Retreat at Ann Ward’s Xhale in the Mournes is an immersive, mindfulness experience and retreat mixing meditation, nature and the occasional hot stone massage. It teaches visitors the arts and benefits of quietening your mind and is a great way of reconnecting with both yourself and nature.
Geographer and chartered environmentalist, Brigid Watson, takes great pride in bringing her tours closer to nature on her Sustainable Journeys Ireland tours around Strangford Lough. As she reads the landscape and offers an authentic sense of the Mourne Mountains and Ring of Gullion, she shares the fascinating stories of the people and place. You’ll be immersed in nature and have an opportunity to connect with the natural environment around you.
For those who like their sustainability at a slightly faster pace, the Life Adventure Centre in Castlewellan offers fully-guided Electric Mountain Biking experiences that take small groups along their dedicated track across the Mourne Mountains. The centre has a whole host of other activity offerings including archery, canoeing and the increasingly popular wet bouldering. Life Adventure Centre boasts the Gold standard in the global Green Tourism Awards - one of the best in class at keeping its forest park clean, green and above all fun.
As we all know the Mountains of Mourne sweep down to the sea and one way of enjoying it all is with Crawford’s Rock Seaweed Company. On the company’s popular Foraging Tours, you learn how to harvest seaweed and discover how it is used in so many different aspects of traditional life of Visit Mourne. After you take a seaweed bath, try their award-winning seaweed tea before cooking up a flavoursome fishy feast.
Walkers, birdwatchers and butterfly experts should make their way to the Murlough National Nature Reserve a fragile 6000-year-old sand dune system and the island’s first Nature Reserve. There is a carefully constructed network of paths and boardwalks through the dunes, woodland and heath from where you can enjoy a colorful array of butterflies and wildflowers as well as the ever-present Mournes. The walk brings you down to the beautiful Murlough Beach.
Sustainable things to eat and drink
Meat lovers will find what they are looking for at Castlescreen Farm near Downpatrick. This small farm with its ‘wee cows’ produces ‘big beef’ without any fertilisers or pesticides. The Irish Dexters animals feed solely on the clover rich grass that covers the farm and the results are quite outstanding. Visit their on-site shop and take away some slabs of beef to rustle up on your barbecue.
You’ll need a beer to go with that of course and given the Whitewater Brewery is just fifteen minutes away, you might as well stop by here and say hello. The Sloans are always happy to welcome visitors to their fifth-generation family farm and they’re always up for telling the story of their brewery on their excellent tours. Find out how they have been using water from local streams to produce their wonderful brews since 1996 and how they have gone from their grandfather’s shed to world-beaters.
Of course you’re going to need a little aperitif while standing at the grill and less than an hour away you’ll find the finest around. Located close to the shores of Carlingford Lough, Killowen Distillery makes its very own seasonal gin from the finest local botanicals foraged in their countryside. This exceptional tipple can be enjoyed on one of their distillery tours and they’ll only be too happy to let you take some home.
Gin is all the rage in this neck of the woods. At NearyNógs Chocolatier they even put it in their truffles. This family-run business uses ethically sourced cocoa beans for which it pays above market value to ensure those who grow them can make a decent living. They have an upbeat and experimental attitude to what they produce and the results are the likes of the wonderful Dúlamán Chocolate Bar which uses locally harvested gorse flower and Carlingford Irish seaweed mixed in with a high quality Dominican Chocolate. Check out the Master Craft Chocolate Experience to find out more.
As you can tell, our landscape is precious here in the Mourne Gullion Strangford UNESCO Global Geopark and that’s why our people do so much to take care of it, and take care of you too.
The Byre is a 2 bedroom cottage which can sleep up to 4 people. The Byre has a lowered cooking and food preparation area in the kitchen so it suitable for someone who has limited mobility and who may require the use of wheelchair.
This cottage is a traditional Mourne Cottage situated in its garden surrounded by stone walls. It is heated by oil and has anopen fire. It is situated down a quiet lane well away from the road.
Welcome to Killeavy Castle Estate, the perfect antidote to the modern fast paced world. Named winner of the Luxury Castle Hotel (Europe) Award at the prestigious World Luxury Awards 2021, it’s the ideal place to escape and unwind, and is located just 10 minutes outside Newry City.
Ann inherited her great love of the landscape from her mother, who was born on Slieve Gullion Mountain. She has practiced meditation for over 20 years & delivers immersive, mindfulness experiences, courses & retreats using meditation &the landscape.
Epic adventures are on offer all year round at Life Adventure Centre. Their extensive range of activities include mountain biking, stand-up paddleboarding, wet bouldering, rock climbing, sit on top kayaking, coasteering, electric biking and open canoeing - something for everyone!
Murlough National Nature Reserve is a fragile 6000 year old sand dune system owned by the National Trust and managed as Ireland’s first Nature Reserve since 1967. It is an excellent area for walking and bird watching.
Join us for a look around our brewery, see how we make some of our award winning brews, then head back to the Tap House where you can try some ales and hear some tales.
Northern Ireland's first bean to bar craft chocolate makers and the oldest in Ireland. NearyNógs chocolate is small batch crafted on the Mourne Coast. Our family friendly chocolate factory has breath taking views of the Irish Sea, Carlingford Lough & the Mourne Mountains. We take great pride in our chocolate making. Every process is meticulously controlled so that every cacao beans' origin, of fine flavour, shines through.
