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Belvoir Park Forest

2.17 miles (3.5 km)

Open Streetmap This large park in Belfast has some nice woodland trails and views of the River Lagan which runs right through the forest. It is unusual to find a working forest within a city so the area is well worth a visit. The woods have a number of waymarked trails to try with lots of woodland wildlife to look out for. There are also interesting historic sites including the 12th century Norman motte and Ice House.
You can start your walk from the forest car park, off Belvoir Drive. From here you can directly pick up the trails through the woodland, meadows and along the river.
To extend your walk simply follow the Ulster Way and the Lagan Towpath along the Lagan to the nearby Lagan Valley Regional Park. The Lagan Towpath will take you through the Lagan Valley to Lisburn.
You're also very close to the splendid Lady Dixon Park which includes more nice footpaths taking you to the arboretum, the Azalea Walk, fountains, a walled garden and a delightful a Japanese-style garden with pretty water features.

Postcode

BT8 7QT - Please note: Postcode may be approximate for some rural locations

Belvoir Park Forest Open Street Map Open Streetmap - Mobile GPS Map with Location tracking

Further Information and Other Local Ideas

For more walking ideas in the area see the Northern Ireland Walks page.

Cycle Routes and Walking Routes Nearby

Photos

Belvoir forest, Belfast (2) - geograph.org.uk - 1515547

Belvoir forest path.

Belvoir forest, Belfast (1) - geograph.org.uk - 1515048

Belvoir forest, Belfast. Belvoir forest is some 185 acres of woodland, in south/south east Belfast, between the Lagan and Newtownbreda. It opened in 1961. The plans for a motorway through it seem to have been abandoned. In this view the path is quite high above the Lagan (well hidden in the valley to the right), close to the entrance from the towpath near the Red Bridge.

The Lagan in flood at Moreland's Meadow (1) - geograph.org.uk - 2166098

The Lagan in flood at Moreland's Meadow on the northern side of the forest.

Tree, Belvoir - geograph.org.uk - 667205

Tree, Belvoir

The entrance to Belvoir Forest, Belfast (August 2014) - geograph.org.uk - 4109812

The entrance to Belvoir Forest

Path, Belvoir Forest, Belfast (October 2014) - geograph.org.uk - 4209772

Autumn leaves on one of the trails.

Lagan navigation restoration (4) - geograph.org.uk - 1533927

Lagan navigation restoration. A footbridge, leading from the towpath (foreground), across the disused lock, to Belvoir forest.

Lagan navigation restoration (3) - geograph.org.uk - 1533907

The same lock but looking towards Edenderry and Lisburn. This one gives an idea of the overgrown nature of the disused canal. The towpath is on the right.

Video

GPS Files

GPX File

Belvoir Park Forest.gpx (On Desktop:Right Click>Save As. On Ipad/Iphone:Click and hold>Download Linked File)

Memory Map Route

Belvoir Park Forest.mmo (On Desktop:Right Click>Save As. On Ipad/Iphone:Click and hold >Download Linked File)