Explore the Narnia of the North
A malign spirit world cloaks Tollymore, a forest sitting in the shadow of the Mourne Mountains.
Wander too deep and you might run into the mysterious Children of the Forest, a nonhuman race who have been living hereabouts for 12,000 years, while terrifying White Walkers could be lurking behind any tree. Of course, you’re only likely to see such creatures if you’re a Game Of Thrones fan – remote parts of the North were used as locations in the fantasy TV series and Tollymore was a prime site. But home-grown ethereal beings haunt this forest, too.
Ghosthunters should hang out at one of its oddest follies, the Hermitage – two unnerving stone chambers that overlook the Shimna River. Stone steps lead into a dark wood, and here you might spot the Blue Lady, a bereft widow who wails like a banshee.
The poet Edward Lear loved Tollymore’s curios. He found it ‘full of beautiful ruins and bridges and trees and hills and mills and lawns and laurels’, and was transfixed by its gothic tropes.
Until the 1930s, Tollymore was enjoyed by the Anglo-Irish landed gentry. But hard times arrived, and in 1941 Tollymore was bought by the Northern Ireland government and its oak used for shipbuilding – including the Grand Staircase on the Titanic.
The forest’s dramatic setting
began to attract the public. Some 400 years of hoeing, planting, weeding, pruning and collecting bequeathed to Tollymore some of the world’s finest botanical stars, including dawn redwoods, a cork oak and a dwarf Norway spruce.
Nearby, an arboretum leads to Azalea Walk on which a classical fountain has water spouting from a stone lion. This is Aslan, according to legend, as author CS Lewis, creator of the fantasy land of Narnia, was a regular visitor.
The easterly Drinn, the highest point in Tollymore, affords heartstopping views of the forest. The Shimna glitters in the distance, the pines sough in the breeze. The whole place looks as if it could have tumbled out of a fairy tale. Where to stay: The majestic Slieve Donard Hotel in Newcastle, 3km away, has great views of the Mourne Mountains doing their party piece of sweeping down to the sea. This spa hotel is on the edge of one of the world’s greatest golf courses, the Royal County Down. Inside, the hotel has managed the clever knack of being grand yet hugely comfortable. Doubles from €248 per night