Ambitious plans for path along coastline

Ambitious plans for path along coastline

11 November 2015

PLANS have been unveiled for an 81-mile long distance footpath along the Co Down coast from the mouth of Carlingford Lough to the Ards peninsula.

The footpath, which would run along the coastline from Greencastle in the south to Portavogie on the Ards peninsula, could take 10 years to complete and cost at least £1.7m. Almost 25 per cent of the route would be on beaches, it would pass through the fishing villages of Kilkeel, Ardglass and Portavogie and would include the Strangford ferry.

A feasibility study was presented to local councillors this week which concludes the creation of the path is possible but would almost certainly face land ownership and access issues. Nevertheless, the councillors agreed to proceed to the next stage of the project and have commissioned an economic assessment in advance of seeking funding.

The organisations behind the project are Newry, Mourne and Down Council, Ards and North Down Council, the Mourne Heritage Trust and Annalong Community Development Association.

The feasibility study was carried out by Outdoor Recreation NI, the body which played a huge part in the success of the cycling trails in Castlewellan and Kilbroney forest parks.

The study authors noted that almost 65,000 tourists visited Northern Ireland last year for walking or hiking activities, which they say is bigger than golf, cycling, fishing and mountain biking combined.

The concept of a long distance footpath along the south Down shoreline has been mooted for many years, particularly given the success of similar ventures in other parts of the UK. The Wales Coastal Path generates a direct economic benefit of £16m while the Fife Coastal Path in Scotland, generates around £24m.

Earlier this year Outdoor Recreation NI held a series of consultation meetings around the coastline to gauge opinion on the project. There was considerable support for the project but, significantly, a number of landowners declared their opposition to allowing such a footpath to cross their land.

It is therefore proposed to advance the project in three stages. 

Stage one would be the creation of a series of walking hubs based around towns or villages along the proposed route. The hubs, as well as offering walking paths, would encourage the development of other tourism experiences which would have an economic benefit to the area.

The five proposed hubs are Strangford and Portaferry, Ardglass and Killough, Dundrum, Annalong and Kilkeel. Walkers would be encouraged to explore different themes including food, maritime history, nature, built heritage and arts and crafts.

“Developing these experiences and other attractions along the path would allow the coastal path to fulfil its full potential as a tourism driver for the area,” says the feasibility study.

The second development phase would be the creation of linear stretches leading out from the hubs. These would be additional walking trails leading off the coastal footpath to areas of interest or scenic beauty; for example one linear path would lead walkers to Clough from Dundrum while another could link Portaferry with Cloughy.

The final, and most difficult, stage of the project will be linking the hubs and paths together to form one continuous coastal path. The study authors accept there could be significant difficulties getting all the landowners along the route to agree, even if the council is prepared to purchase the required land.

“Northern Ireland’s inadequate access and occupier’s liability legislation has unfortunately created a culture across the landowning community of an unwillingness to allow access for walking,” said the authors.

“Consequently, securing access for the path will need to be done on a case-by-case basis through sensitive negotiation. This issue is considered the greatest potential barrier as to whether the coastal path will become a reality in the future.”

Ardglass councillor, Dermot Curran, who is chairman of the council’s Enterprise, Regeneration and Tourism Committee, has supported the project, but only if it achieves agreement among local landowners.

“There are certainly areas where paths can be created fairly easily, and which would be stand alone walks, along the route but with other areas it may be difficult to get agreement with landowners,” he said. “I would hope we could come to agreement with them but that’s for another day.”