Best Walks Near Belfast
Written by UK Hidden Gems Editorial
Updated 5 August 2026
The best walks near Belfast are Bog Meadows, Lisnabreeny Cregagh Glen, Strangford Lough, Ballyquintin Point, Tollymore Forest Park, The Mourne Wall, Blue Lough and Binnian Lough.
Belfast sits between the hills and the sea, and good walking spreads out in every direction from the city. Close to the centre, on the western edge, Bog Meadows keeps a pocket of wetland alive beside the motorway, while the Castlereagh Hills to the south-east hold the wooded climb of Cregagh Glen and Lisnabreeny.
Head further out into County Down and the coast opens up: Strangford Lough spreads its sheltered waters and islands behind the Ards peninsula, and Ballyquintin Point marks the peninsula's southern tip, where the land runs out at the mouth of the lough. South again lie the Mourne Mountains, a longer drive but worth every mile.
Tollymore Forest Park gathers at their foot near Newcastle, the granite Mourne Wall strides across the high summits, and deep in the range Blue Lough and Binnian Lough sit among the tors below Slieve Binnian. From easy city loops to wild mountain lakes, there is plenty to explore.
Here are eight walks to seek out near Belfast.
Bog Meadows
Photo: Paul McIlroy via Geograph.org.uk
Explore Bog Meadows An unexpected patch of wetland and wild grassland on Belfast's western edge, hemmed in by the motorway yet full of birdsong. This nature reserve of damp meadows, reedbeds, ponds and hedges is a remnant of the old River Blackstaff floodplain, laced with flat, easy paths and dotted with bird hides.
In summer reed buntings and sedge warblers sing from the reeds, kingfishers dart along the water, and butterflies work the flowery grass. A local wildlife trust cares for it, and the looping paths around the ponds and meadows stay level and simple to follow.
Only a short way from the city centre, it makes a genuine green escape with the traffic never quite out of earshot.
Lisnabreeny Cregagh Glen
Photo: Albert Bridge via Geograph.org.uk
Walk Cregagh Glen and Lisnabreeny This National Trust route climbs the south-east edge of Belfast, up in the Castlereagh Hills of County Down. It begins in a wooded glen with a stream and a waterfall, then rises onto open farmland to a hilltop crowned by an ancient ringfort set among mature trees.
The paths are unsurfaced, with wooden steps and a few steep pulls, and bluebells fill the glen in spring. From the top the view opens wide over the city and the lough.
Near the summit lies the site of a wartime American military cemetery, in use between 1943 and 1948 and now marked by a memorial. It is a satisfying climb only a short way from the centre.
Strangford Lough
Discover Strangford Lough About twenty-six kilometres south-east of Belfast, out on the County Down coast, Strangford Lough is well worth the drive. It is the largest sea lough of its kind in the British Isles, all but enclosed by the long arm of the Ards peninsula and linked to the open sea by a narrow channel known as the Narrows.
Sheltered waters and a scatter of small islands make it a haven for wildlife, with common seals on the rocks, winter flocks of pale-bellied brent geese on the mudflats, and rich life below the surface, protected as a marine reserve.
Ballyquintin Point
Photo: Eric Jones via Geograph.org.uk
Head to Ballyquintin Point At the southern tip of the Ards Peninsula, some forty kilometres from Belfast, Ballyquintin Point makes a longer trip out on the County Down coast. The land runs out here at the mouth of Strangford Lough in a low, grassy headland kept as a nature reserve.
An easy circular path of under a mile loops along the shore and back on quiet farm tracks, over grazed, windswept grassland bright with wildflowers in summer and loud with skylarks. From the point you look across the lough mouth to Killard Point, and on a clear day out to the Isle of Man.
Tollymore Forest Park
Photo: Eric Jones via Geograph.org.uk
Wander Tollymore Forest Park The Mournes lie a good drive south of Belfast, and Tollymore Forest Park gathers at their foot near Newcastle in County Down. This was the first forest park in Northern Ireland, opened in 1955.
Trails trace the Shimna river through the trees, crossing it on a string of old stone bridges, the oldest dating from the 1720s, and pass a scatter of eighteenth-century follies, a stone hermitage, grottoes and ornamental gateways left from the old estate. The mountains rise beyond, and there is a car park, a coffee van and a campsite on hand.
Its woods and river have featured as a filming location in Game of Thrones.
The Mourne Wall
Photo: Eric Jones via Geograph.org.uk
Follow the Mourne Wall Deeper into the Mournes, around forty-nine kilometres from Belfast, the Mourne Wall is one of the largest drystone works of its kind in these islands. It marches across the high summits of the Mourne Mountains in County Down, running about nineteen miles over fifteen peaks.
Built between 1904 and 1922, it was raised to enclose the mountain catchment that gathers water for the Silent Valley reservoir, which supplies Belfast. Walkers use it as a guide across the tops, and its full circuit makes a long, demanding day on the hills.
Blue Lough
Photo: Eric Jones via Geograph.org.uk
Climb to Blue Lough High in the Mourne Mountains of County Down, roughly fifty kilometres from Belfast, Blue Lough is a small lake cupped among granite slabs and tors below Slieve Binnian. It sits deep in the range, in the wild upper reaches of the Annalong valley, its water dark and clear against the pale rock and heather.
The setting is bare and rocky, with the granite slabs of Lamagan on one side and Binnian's tors above, the Mourne Wall striding over the tops nearby.
Binnian Lough
Photo: Eric Jones via Geograph.org.uk
Rest at Binnian Lough The lower of two little loughs in the high valley below Slieve Binnian, Binnian Lough sits among rough, boggy, granite ground on the walk in from Carrick Little, with Blue Lough a short way further up. This is deep in the Mournes of County Down, a similar fifty-kilometre trip from Belfast.
Above it Slieve Binnian rises steeply, its summit ridge topped by great tors that look like ruined towers from below. The lough is a quiet sheet of dark water reflecting the surrounding hills, a natural resting point on the way up the mountain or deeper into the range.
FAQs
Which walk near Belfast is best for a short, easy outing?
Bog Meadows, on the western edge of Belfast, is hard to beat for an easy stroll. Its flat, level paths loop around ponds and reedbeds only a short way from the city centre, and there are bird hides along the way.
How far are the Mourne Mountains from Belfast?
The Mournes sit around fifty kilometres south of Belfast in County Down, so walks like the Mourne Wall, Blue Lough and Binnian Lough are best planned as a full day out rather than a quick trip.
Can you see wildlife on these walks?
Yes. Strangford Lough draws common seals and wintering brent geese, Bog Meadows is alive with reed buntings and kingfishers, and skylarks sing over the grassland at Ballyquintin Point near the mouth of the lough.
Conclusion
From a wetland tucked against the motorway to lakes hidden high in the mountains, the walking around Belfast covers exceptional variety. Bog Meadows and Cregagh Glen give you green space and a hill view within minutes of the centre, while the County Down coast rewards a longer drive with the wide waters of Strangford Lough and the lonely headland at Ballyquintin Point.
Push south to the Mournes and the mountains take over, from the woods and stone bridges of Tollymore to the granite line of the Mourne Wall and the still, dark water of Blue Lough and Binnian Lough below Slieve Binnian. Pack decent boots, check the weather before the high routes, and give yourself time on the ones out toward the coast and the hills.
Near or far, easy or wild, these are the walks to seek out near Belfast.
