# Things to do Walks and Hikes

Source: https://nisocial.com/listing-category/walks-and-hikes/
Part of: https://nisocial.com/
Places listed: 5

Everything from an hour on a waymarked forest trail to a full day on the Mournes. Each entry says what the ground is actually like underfoot and how exposed you will be.

## Places

### Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge

A rope bridge to a small island off the Antrim coast, thirty metres above the sea. You must book a time slot, it closes without warning in high wind, and the crossing itself takes about thirty seconds.

Full entry: https://nisocial.com/listing/carrick-a-rede/
Cost: There is an admission charge, with National Trust members free. Check the Trust's page for current pricing rather than a figure from a blog, and note the car park is part of the same arrangement. | How long: Allow an hour and a half. About twenty minutes each way on the cliff path, a short wait at the bridge in season, and as long as you want on the island. | Parking: One car park at the site, on the Whitepark Road, and it is tied to your booking. It fills on summer afternoons. There is no realistic overflow, and the Whitepark Road is not a road to be abandoning cars on.

### Divis and the Black Mountain

The closest proper hill walk to Belfast city centre - about twenty minutes from the middle of town to a ridge with views over the whole city, the Mournes, and on a clear day Scotland. Most visitors go to Cave Hill instead and never find it.

Full entry: https://nisocial.com/listing/divis-and-the-black-mountain/
Cost: Free to walk. The land is owned by the National Trust and the trails are open access. | How long: The Ridge Trail is about 5km and takes most people two hours. The shorter Summit Trail can be done in an hour. | Parking: Park at the National Trust car park on the Divis Road, beside the Long Barn. It is the obvious starting point and the trails are signed from it. Check the National Trust page for current opening and parking arrangements before you set off, as the gate hours change seasonally.

### Mussenden Temple and Downhill Demesne

A small domed library on the edge of a 120-foot cliff above Downhill Strand, built in 1785 by a bishop for his cousin. The photograph everyone takes is from one spot; the demesne behind it is large, largely empty, and the better part of the visit.

Full entry: https://nisocial.com/listing/mussenden-temple/
Cost: National Trust property, so there is an admission charge and members go free. Check the Trust's page for current pricing before you travel rather than trusting a figure from a blog. | How long: An hour if you only want the temple. Two to three hours to walk the demesne properly, including the mansion ruins, the walled garden and the Bishop's Gate approach. | Parking: Two entrances, and which one you pick changes the visit. Lion's Gate car park puts you closest to the temple and the ruins. Bishop's Gate at the Castlerock end starts you in the glen and the walled garden and gives you a far better first sight of the place - it is the approach the Earl Bishop designed for arriving guests.

### The Giant's Causeway

Forty thousand basalt columns where the Antrim plateau meets the sea, and Northern Ireland's only UNESCO World Heritage Site. The thing almost nobody tells you: walking down to the stones is free. What the National Trust charges for is the visitor centre and its car park.

Full entry: https://nisocial.com/listing/giants-causeway/
Cost: The stones themselves are free. The causeway sits on a public right of way and you can walk down to it without paying anyone. The National Trust charges for its visitor centre experience, and its car park is tied to that ticket - which is the part people mistake for an entry fee. Trust members go in free. | How long: Two hours is comfortable for the walk down, time on the stones and the walk back. Half a day if you take the clifftop route as well. | Parking: The National Trust car park is the obvious one and is bundled with the visitor centre ticket. If you only want the stones, park in Bushmills or at one of the small pay-and-display options nearby and walk in. Do not park on the Causeway Road verges - it is a busy coach route and you will be moved on.

### The Mourne Mountains

The highest ground in Northern Ireland, and the only part of it that feels like real mountains. Free to walk, genuinely serious in bad weather, and almost everyone climbs the wrong summit.

Full entry: https://nisocial.com/listing/mourne-mountains/
Cost: Free. The hills are open access and there is no charge to walk any of them. The exception is Silent Valley, which is a managed reservoir park with a car park charge. | How long: Slieve Donard from Newcastle is four to five hours return. Slieve Binnian is four to six. Silent Valley, at the other end of the scale, is a comfortable afternoon. | Parking: Donard Park in Newcastle is the default start and is full by nine on a summer weekend - after that people park badly on the approach roads and get ticketed. Bloody Bridge, on the A2 a few miles south, is a quieter start for Donard and Chimney Rock. Carrick Little serves Binnian and the southern hills. Silent Valley has its own pay car park.