Tollymore tea rooms takes vital step forward

Tollymore tea rooms takes vital step forward

21 November 2018

PLANS to further enhance Tollymore Forest Park’s reputation as one of the Province’s leading visitor attractions have taken a significant step forward.

Newry, Mourne and Down Council is working with the Forest Service to help breathe new life into one of the park’s most recognisable buildings — the former tea rooms close to the main car park area.

The forest park is owned and managed by the Forest Service and with the local authority putting 

tourism at the top of its agenda, both organisations are keen to see Tollymore flourish.

The tea rooms — located between the main and overflow car parks — is a two-storey building, with the cafe previously located on the upper floor, with a toilet, shop and storage facilities on the ground floor. 

The tea rooms have not been opened since 2002 with the first floor of the building connected to the overflow car park via an elevated walkway. The external fabric of the building also underwent major repair work in 2014 which included the refurbishment of the foot bridge.

Politicians have given an enthusiastic welcome to plans to revitalise the facilities, in particular, high quality cafe facilities which they believe will provide a major boost and help increase visitor numbers.

They are confident that the provision of a high quality cafe would greatly enhance the visitor experience Tollymore Forest Park offers and make the leading tourist attraction even more popular.

Tollymore and the district’s other forest parks are at the heart of Newry, Mourne and Down Council’s tourism strategy which aims to significantly increase the number of visitors to the area, with emphasis on increasing the number of people who stay overnight.

Mournes councillor Laura Devlin said council officials hope to seek expressions of interest from those in the business community keen to take over the cafe at Tollymore.

“This an issue which has been rumbling on for many years now,” she continued. 

“Tollymore attracts many visitors and locals every day and the demand for this particular park has heightened on the back of linkages with the popular Game of Thrones television series. However,  Tollymore still lacks major facilities as there is nowhere to sit down indoors to relax with a cup of coffee and a bite to eat.”

Cllr Devlin said the provision of a new cafe was an essential feature of any functioning recreational area.

She added: “If we are serious about tourism, we have to offer more to the visitor. I appreciate the complications associated with land ownership and leases etc in terms of redeveloping the cafe, but am delighted local authority officials and the Forestry Service are working together on this issue.

“The new cafe needs to be delivered sooner rather than later. We cannot enter another spring without such a facility in Tollymore and I hope to see action soon.”