We have 480 volunteers who work on every element of what we are doing ‘Around every corner at Mount Stewart there’s something new’
popular Game of Thrones TV series isn’t underplayed by the trust, who’ve seen thousands of fans from home and abroad descending on filming locations like Castle Ward, Cushendun, Portstewart and Downhill.
“A fifth of our visitors recently to Castle Ward, for example, have been there as a result of Game of Thrones,” says Heather, who adds, however, that some more overzealous fans have gone a little bit too far.
“They’ve been turning up all dressed up and with real swords, presumably to have their photographs taken in situ. But our staff tell them they can’t have metal swords and point them to our shop to buy wooden ones, instead.
“The fans are coming from all over the world, including China. It’s quite incredible. But we have to remember that preservation and conservation are our core causes, not tourism, and sometimes we are caught in the middle.”
The ‘Thrones effect’ and the popularity of the Giant’s Causeway and the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge have led to the trust carrying out a study of the effect that 1.5 million annual visitors are having on the North Coast, with local people being urged to have a say on their frustrations and their views of a sustainable future for the area.
“We don’t have the answers just yet,” says Heather. “But it’s more likely than not that we will be doing something different in the future.”
At the third most popular trust site in Northern Ireland, Mount Stewart in Co Down, changes have already been implemented — and more are on the way.
Several years ago, the trust bought up 900 acres of land surrounding the recently restored Mount Stewart House and gardens, increasing the size of the attraction 10-fold.
New walks have been developed and a walled garden is to be reinstated and outbuildings refurbished, while the main car park has been closed for improvements.
Even on a blustery Wednesday afternoon this week, an alternative car park was busy, as was the popular cafe.
Wendy and Chris Edens (far right), from Kircubbin, were finishing off their latest four-mile hike around the grounds.
“We come here at least three times a week,” says Wendy. “The new longer trails are marvellous and mean loads of variety for us.”
Chris adds: “We only live 10 minutes away. We consider ourselves very lucky to have this gem so close to our home.”
Hannah McCloy, the visitor experience manager at Mount Stewart, says they’re on target to reach 235,000 visitors for the year at what staff call Narnia.
She adds: “Coming to Mount Stewart is like opening a door into somewhere really special. Around every corner, there’s something new and our visitors seem to love experiencing our magical breathing space.”
But what’s just as remarkable at Mount Stewart is the number of volunteers who can be called on to help the 40 permanent staff.
“We have 480 volunteers, who work on every element of what we are doing,” says Hannah. “We couldn’t operate Mount Stewart without them.”
Not all of the volunteers are there to show visitors around. John Orr, a retired university academic, is spearheading a huge history project involving the conservation of a large collection of glass plate photographic negatives taken in the 1890s by Theresa the Marchioness of Londonderry and her son, Reginald.
“We have found almost 900 negatives and a team of volunteers are trying to identify the huge range of topics and subjects,” says John, who is also trying to unravel the mystery of what happened to a recreational yacht owned by the Londonderry family in April 1895 with the loss of eight people.
Englishman David Tyson, who swapped the Lake District for the Fermanagh Lakelands, was for five years a trust volunteer, but saw his dream come true in 2015 when he secured employment as a ranger at Florence Court, a place he says he’d fallen in love with at first sight.
He adds: “I was delighted to get a full-time role as one of the foot soldiers who look after the 300 acres of farmland and gardens and I couldn’t be happier.
“The mansion is closed for the winter, but that’s our busiest time with our work outdoors.”
Heather says the trust will be monitoring what the restoration of the power-sharing government at Stormont can deliver for the charity and the environment.
She adds: “It’s going to be really interesting to see what they do. Officials from the Department of Agriculture, the Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) have already told us they recognise the need for more trees and have tasked the Forest Service to help us to identify more sites to plant them.
“Now that a minister has been appointed to DAERA (the DUP’s Edwin Poots), I would like to think that it is going to push things forward.
“In the New Decade, New Approach document, there’s a commitment for a Climate Act. I think that would be one of the key, tangible things we could pursue here, along with the other environment agencies. “And we will all also have to pay serious attention and have important discussions on agricultural issues and how farmers can use their land in the future as Brexit comes along.”