castlewellan forest park

If you are a dog walker, a cyclist, a rambler, a canoeist, a view viewer, a sit and looker, a photographer, a tree hugger, a camper or just want to get lost in the magnificent maze all for a nominal car park fee (season ticket available), Castlewellan is the Forest Park for you. A season ticket will get you into all NI Forest Parks for no extra charge. Once you have found it, entrance between the cycle and car accessories shop and The Hillyard House from the High Street , and driven through the Stone pillars and see the "Castle" in Castlewellan in front of you, you will be sold on this park! Don't take my word for it, drag yourself away from anything else and go and visit. If you don't agree with me, you are suffering from something!! :-)

We came here to possibly see otters at the lake, and found the castle and arboretum to be enchanting. You cannot visit the castle which is now a conference centre, but just having it in your view is a lovely experience. Particularly interesting arboretum with redwoods and sequoias. Kayaking and cycling centre on-site. Will return.

Visited today for a half term day out. Had a great day. Facilities were grand. Well worth a trip. No complaints.

Nice grounds, and fairly flat easy walk around the lake takes about 30-45 minutes or so at a slow pace - although there is longer routes.

We visited with our family from 5 to 80 and everyone was entertained whether by a short walk or the more adventurous of us on mountain bikes or canoe. The café is nice a little dated but cheap if you want something a bit better hold out for Hilyards by the entrance lodge

This rating relates solely to the Grange Cafe at Castlewellan Forest Park as it does not seem to be listed separately. If going to Castlewellan, I would strongly advise that you bring your own food and refreshments to the park with you. We visited the cafe at the weekend whilst mountainbiking at the excellent mountain bike trails here. The menu was extremely limited and all based around very greasy food like chicken burgers and chips etc. I asked whether they could make a couple of toasted sandwiches- there seemed to be some debate and they had to check with the "kitchen"- I was then advised that they could but "only ham and cheese". I was then asked did I want salad with it. When I enquired as to the types of salad- it amounted to some ungarnished lettuce leaves so I declined. After a considerable wait (despite the cafe not being busy)- two plates appeared with the most sorry looking toasted sandwiches that we had seen- looked like they had been made with 1980s style sandwich toaster and were pretty woeful. The ham also tasted and looked of very poor quality so I removed this and ate what remained. I also ordered two coffees which were finished by the time the food came out. On the basis that the coffee was filter and our food took so long, I asked whether they did refills/ top ups- was initially told yes if I brought our cups in, was then told the server would need to check with the "kitchen" and ultimately was told this was not possible. Given we were still hungry after our poor toasted sandwiches, I decided to buy some chocolate as the bun quality did not look great and did not want any further disappointment. It turned out that they only had Wispas which I was happy enough with- charged full price but noticed on packet that it was a multipack bar marked as "not for resale". Cafe is a total disgrace- no wonder it was empty on a Saturday afternoon! Will be back to the mountain bike trails but nowhere near the dump of a cafe! An opportunity lost- I am sure they could do very well in that location if the food and service was not woeful!

I had only recently heard about castlewellan forest park and what a hidden treasure it was! Easy to find and a beautiful location. We just visited for a day, walked around the lake and attempted the maze! The maze took longer than an hour, which I did not anticipate, however it was great fun. The grounds are beautiful and was a really great day. I would love to visit again and perhaps camp there. If you haven't already visited, I would really recommend it. As it cost absolutely nothing and was a brilliant day out!

We visit this attraction a number of times over the year ,we stay on the camp site although the camp site is good the toilets and showers leave a lot to be desired the are filthy ,the are in need of a revamp ,it the one thing that lets it down ,the booking system needs updated some people per book the site on 2nd January for the full year some of the time they don't turn up this leaving a site empty if you try to book you are told that the site is fully booked yet if you go down and walk around there are empty sites not good for business as the empty sites are not pre paid regards All year campers

Just home had great weekend beautiful for walks and cycling!! However I stayed in caravan area and very disappointed with facilities toilets are filthy showers I didn't even attempt for caravaning or camping them facilities really need updated and revamped!!! God help anyone camping that HAD to use them!!!!! Cafe lovely :-) enjoyed my fry each morning !

My husband and I took our 2year old cycling round the lake. Views beautiful and enjoyable time. The cycling trail was easy to follow and fun for us all

The person who complained about the coffee shop in Castlewellan Forest Park being closed was lucky. We asked for cappuccino but were told milky coffee was all they had! AWFUL!! The girl behind the till was so miserable. Why not keep your misery at home? Brownies were made in FORTWILLIAM IN SCOTLAND. IS THIS HOW WE SUPPORT LOCAL INDUSTRY. All I can say is be grateful it was shut.

There are loads of trails to walk around the forest. I walked about 7 miles with my brother in law. We walked the Lake circuit, which is about 2.75 miles and then some pretty steep trails in the actual forest. There are some excellent views of Newcastle bay and the mountains of Mourne from the higher parts of the forest. Excellent walking/cycling for all ages I would say.

Haven't been to Castlewellan since childhood. Quite a drive from home but a welcome treat when we arrived. Unspoilt parkland with fantastic picturesque walks in the forest and around the lake. The Peace Maze was also good fun for the kids, even though we ended up cheating after a few unsuccessful laps of the maze! Grounds very well maintained.Only criticism is the quite bland and uninspiring cafe which seemed to just have reheated sausage rolls and didn't appeal. Very good pet friendly cafe in the hotel at the park entrance however.

Love coming here, so much to do. Kids love the Maze. Beautiful Castle , Lake and gardens .Greats walks around lake, gardens and mountains. Great bike trails and pump course. Walks and bike tracks have different levels of ability. Small tea rooms could offer more variety. Loads of picnic areas. Plenty of toilets.

Realty enjoyed our holiday in Newcastle and our trips up to this Forrest park. The kids love the maze- although it can get frustrating as it is as tough one . The views are amazing from the end of the maze over the hills and out to sea. Lots of tracks around the lake to bike on. Good activity centre if you wanted to rent bikes or take to the water. The only downside of the park are the wasps. On our visit this week we got stung and we saw lots of other children get stung. A real pain !