adventure northern ireland do something exhilarating outdoorni.com northern ireland your adventure playground... accessible Fly from Great Britain to Northern Ireland in less than one hour. Drive from Dublin in less than two hours. compact Go from the Fermanagh Lakes in the west to the beautiful Mourne Mountains in the south east in less than two hours. stunning Stunning inland and coastal scenery in one small package. undiscovered Northern Ireland has been Europe’s best kept secret. Adventure seekers will often find themselves in beautiful, unspoilt scenery in complete tranquility. FRONT COVER: NEWCASTLE BEACH, COUNTY DOWN. BACK COVER: COASTEERING IN THE MOURNE MOUNTAINS, COUNTY DOWN. MURLOUGH BEACH, COUNTY DOWN. COUNTY BEACH, MURLOUGH 01 | outdoorni.com outdoorni.com | 02 contents northern ireland 05 Welcome to your adventure Get a flavour of the spectacular areas in which your adventure will take place. everything you ever wanted for an adventure... 07 Caving 08 Mountain boarding your choice... 09 Cycling Beginners can have a go whilst adrenaline junkies can 11 Horse riding challenge themselves and indulge their passions. 13 Climbing Multi-activity centres can even treat you to three or four activities in one day! 15 Paintball and Combat Games water... 16 Orienteering Northern Ireland has fabulous access to rivers and 17 Multi-activity lakes for paddlers, not to mention stunning coastal Feature: Join our family of 5 for a day of fun-filled MURLOUGH BEACH, COUNTY DOWN. COUNTY BEACH, MURLOUGH adventure in Castlewellan, County Down! waters just waiting to be surfed, kayaked and dived. 21 Diving mountain... 23 Surfing The Mournes, the Sperrins and our sea cliffs really are an adventure playground for climbers, walkers and 25 Canoeing mountainboarders. Feature: Follow our Canoeists along the Lough Erne and Blackwater Canoe Trails. air... 29 Waterskiing and Wakeboarding Where better to see the rolling fields and coastal splendour of Northern Ireland...than from the sky. 30 Sailing eco - friendly... 31 Coasteering 32 Airsports We preserve our beautiful land whilst having fun outdoors; look out for members of eco-friendly 33 Directory & Booking and sustainable tourism schemes in the directory. A handy list of all major activity providers in the country. 35 Planning your trip in Northern Ireland Whether you visit by land, sea or air find all the information you will need! CAAN is grateful to the following for providing photography for this publication: Action Outdoors; Andrew Rankin; Andy Hill of Troggs Surf Shop; Ark Outdoor Adventure; Bluelough Adventure Centre; Corralea Activity Centre; Fermanagh Lakeland Tourism; Freeflow tv; Lough Neagh Partnership; Michael Flanagan; RYA NI; Share Holiday Village; Tim Fogg; Tollymore Mountain Centre; White Planes Picture Company; Wild Geese Parachute Centre. 03 | outdoorni.com outdoorni.com | 04 1 Binevenagh: 2 The Sperrins: 3 Fermanagh: welcome to your adventure The sky’s the limit! Lose yourself! Float your boat! this is your northern ireland... This is your adventure playground! Northern Ireland is fortunate to have so many Take a day out and book yourself a seat in a The area around Northern Ireland’s second Welcome to Northern Ireland’s most magical Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty just waiting to be discovered. glider that will take you over Binevenagh’s highest mountain range is waiting to be area. Home to spectacular waterways, soaring cliff tops. You can take in the sites discovered by you. You’ll find fast-flowing castles and forest parks, County Fermanagh from the glider or, if you want, have a go at rivers, dense forests, shady glens and beautiful is your ultimate adventure site. Discover the flying yourself. lakes as well as quiet roads, laneways mysterious world that lies beneath by caving and trails. in the Cuilcagh Mountains (p7). Get on your Finbarr Cochrane, a gliding enthusiast, bike (p9) and explore or learn to wakeboard says, “it’s the ultimate flying experience”, Kayakers will love the white water paddling on Lough Erne (p29). The lake is also one of see p32. Binevenagh is also cherished by here. Cyclists, both on and off-road, can the best places to try canoeing. The Lough sky divers (p32). choose from a number of fantastic trails, Erne Canoe Trail (see p25) is the first of its and it also hosts some excellent orienteering kind in Northern Ireland and offers over courses as Colin Henderson tells us on p16. 8 50km of flat water paddling. 1 Ring of Gullion: The Mournes: Strangford Lough 4 Bike it! 5 Get rocking! 6 & Lecale: Dive in! 2 Slieve Gullion and its surrounding foothills Northern Ireland’s crowning glory is an Strangford Lough is the largest sea inlet in are easily the most scenic parts of Armagh. adventurer’s paradise. The Mourne Mountains the British Isles. Its calm waters, abundance The best way to see the mix of woodland are simply spectacular. Rising dramatically of small islands and rocky outcrops mean 7 and heath bog is on foot or by bike. from the sea, 12 summits of this range are all it’s one of the best places you can find for above 600 metres and include Slieve Donard, diving and sailing. Try hill walking or fell running here or Northern Ireland’s highest mountain. just pedal your way through the As Dave Vincent, an instructor, tells us on 6 beautiful countryside. Walk among them, try horse riding in their p22, there are 15 diveable wrecks in the shadow (p11), blast down them on a Lough and some stunning wildlife including You won’t be disappointed! mountain board (p8) or give coasteering a go dead man’s fingers and big sponges. See cycling on p9 for more information (p31). The Mournes is also home to a number ENNISKILLENENNISKILLEN of quality rock climbing sites, see p14 for more information. 3 Lough Neagh: Causeway Coast 5 7 Lap the Lough! 8 & Glens: Surf’s up! 4 The Lough Neagh region is perfect for The best way to see the magnificent coastline those seeking adventure and breathtaking in one of Europe’s most scenic areas is from exhilaration. The best way to explore the the water. Paddling in sea kayaks (p25) will area which has more roads and fewer cars is give you the best view of the rugged cliffs from the saddle of a bicycle. Spectacular and bring you into contact with beautiful views, scenery and attractions that will take marine life. Diving is big here too and some To give you a flavour of the spectacular areas in which your adventure will take place, we have your breath away! of the sites are outstanding (p21). provided a short description of what you can do in each area. We think you’ll agree that you won’t The region also boasts an abundance of It’s also Northern Ireland’s surfing hotspot find better. So now you have the picture, get stuck in - activities including paintballing (p15) and of and you can learn the sport at the same course watersports; canoeing (p25) and places where Andy Hill, veteran surfer, has Your Adventure has started! sailing (p30). caught “the best waves” of his life (p23). 05 | outdoorni.com outdoorni.com | 06 caving mountain boarding caving is the best way to discover this is one to northern ireland's inner beauty get your Give it a go and you'll find your way risks involved, so beginners need to use "Caving can be quite physical. It's a real pulses racing! through hidden passages to a remote an expert when giving it a go. sport, but it's also much more than this world of chambers adorned with natural because you learn about the science of features that, according to Pam Fogg, will That's where Marius Leonard, an activity water and rocks while spending time in an Mountain boarding or dirtboarding is a "take your breath away". Pam and her centre owner and cave leader comes in. amazing parallel world" Marius adds. super cool activity. Snowboarders husband Tim are Fermanagh cavers. "Caving is one of our most popular invented it to ensure they could still get "The caves here are simply spectacular. activities. There are some fantastic caves take the next step their kicks when the white stuff was in It's like entering a different world. You find to choose from and it's always an Just pick up the phone to organise a short supply, but it was so much of a beautiful examples of stalactites, exhilarating day out" he says. guided trip. Your caving centre will laugh, it became a sport in its own right. stalagmites and underground rivers and provide all the necessary equipment; streams, things you don't see everyday, in Beginners start by exploring horizontal wetsuit, oversuit, helmet, light and wellies. Northern Ireland has its very own mountain a setting that is simply beautiful" Pam says. caves and will have to twist and turn All you need are some warm clothes. boarding centre in the spectacular surroundings of through tunnels, slide on their bellies, the Mourne Mountains in County Down and it caters There are well over 50 kilometres of cave paddle through water and even swim a more info for everyone from novices to hardcore enthusiasts. passages in Northern Ireland and the little. More experienced cavers graduate www.caving.ie longest cave in Fermanagh is nearly 7 to discovering vertical drops and use "Mountain boarding combines the best aspects kilometres long! Tim says there are some ladders and ropes to get around safely. of snowboarding, skateboarding and surfing. It's a real blast and anyone can give it a go. Beginners start off taking it easy and learning the basics, but after an hour or two they can head to the main track and then go faster and faster as their confidence builds", says Gary so what's so Parr, Surfin’ Dirt's owner.