CAAN hosts two day visit for the Irish Heritage Council to the Mournes and Strangford Lough

CAAN recently hosted a two day visit of the Board and Staff of the Irish Heritage Council to the Mournes and Strangford Lough areas.  The visit was to help increase the Council’s awareness of the significant connection between ‘outdoor recreation and heritage’. 

Following the Council’s Board meeting, which took place at the recently refurbished Tollymore Mountain Centre, the first afternoon was spent in the Mourne AONB looking at how the private, community and public sector are benefiting from actively engaging with the outdoor recreation community. The afternoon was facilitated by Martin Carey, Chief Executive of Mourne Heritage Trust and involved visits to Meelmore Lodge’s tea rooms, campsite and hostel, Cnocnafeola Hostel in Attical, Silent Valley and a homestead near Annalong.

In the evening the Heritage Council hosted a dinner in Tollymore Mountain Centre for organisations across Northern Ireland with a heritage remit.

The second day of the Council’s visit, facilitated by the National Trust and CAAN staff, gave the Council an opportunity to try out some outdoor activities. Led by Peak Discovery, Council members and staff canoed from Killyleagh to Salt Island where they heard about the success of both the Strangford Lough canoe trail and the refurbished bothy on the island, owned and managed by the National Trust. A visit to Castleward Demesne in the afternoon, to consider the challenges and complexities of developing trail networks in historic landscapes, completed the Council’s busy two day trip north.