26 NORTHERN IRELAND


HE Mourne International Walking Festival celebrates 20 years next month. The Mourne International Walking Festival celebrates two decades of outdoor enjoyment and discovery next month when this award-winning three-day event returns on Friday, June 22.


This Festival celebrates the Mourne Mountains area, with its sweeping slopes, granite peaks and stunning coastline views, and has captivated thousands of walkers, hikers - and strollers - with its myriad of weaving trails and popular rest spots, since 1998.


This year's special event kicks off on Friday, June 22 and runs until Sunday 24th and will feature a range of routes suitable for those who are just starting out, those keen to put their best foot forward and those more experienced to walking a tougher terrain.Launched by Newry, Mourne and Down District Council, the annual festival welcomes hundreds of individual, group and family walkers of every age and all nine routes to choose from have been carefully planned to impress at both low and higher levels.


The Fitzwilliam Hotel, Belfast, has officially been awarded a five star rating by the AA, recognising its excellence in hospitality. The news of the five-star rating was announced as the hotel nears completion of a second £2million investment to upgrade rooms and increase capacity at its premises on Great Victoria Street - bringing the total invested in the premises since 2016 to £4mil- lion. Cian Landers, General Manager of the Fitzwilliam Hotel Belfast, pictured receiving the latest AA award, said: “The ac- creditation is testament to the efforts of the fantastic team we have here and the comments from the inspector show that the staff in all areas of the hotel made this possible.”


The Mourne Mountains has already been recognised as the 'Best Walking Destination' in Northern Ireland by WalkNI, which credits the area for its unrivalled network of paths and tracks which provides walkers with incredible opportunities to explore. The Mourne International Walking Festival has also won the WalkNI 'Favourite Walking Event' award for two consecutive years.


Roisin Mulgrew, Chair of Newry, Mourne and Down District Council, said: "An area of outstanding beauty and famed for its breath-taking landscape and views, the Mourne Mountains and region provides an unrivalled location for an international walking festival that just gets bigger ever year.


"A landscape steeped in history, heritage, myths and legends, the Mourne International Walking Festival welcomes visitors from across the UK,


June 2018 Travel News


20th Mourne walking festival T


Ireland and further afield who continue to come not only for an inspirational walking experience but also the warmth of the welcome and the hospitality on offer."


The walking festival features a variety of self- guided lowland walks including more strenuous mountain climbs ranging in distance from 10km to 40, so everyone is encouraged to gauge what would be most suitable for them.


For those taking part, there is also the chance to celebrate their achievements by attending the special 'Life and Sole Swing' festival evening event on Saturday 24th at McCann's in Newcastle. A tasty hot buffet meal will be provided and a ceilidh band will be on hand for those still keen to stay on their feet!


Celebrating the region's mythological past and encouraging visitors and locals alike to explore the


Liam Neeson in Seamus Heaney film


TOURISM Ireland and Mid Ulster Council hosted an event in The Bloomsbury Hotel in London to celebrate the work of Seamus Heaney and to promote the Seamus Heaney HomePlace visitor attraction in Bellaghy, to a ‘Culturally Curious’ audience in Britain. The invited audience included influential


representatives of the GB travel industry and media, as well as members of the Heaney family. They heard award-winning actors Adrian Dunbar and Bríd Brennan perform Heaney’s poetry; and Professors Roy Foster and Bernard O’Donoghue took part in an ‘In Conversation’ about Heaney and the influence of Bellaghy. A new Seamus Heaney HomePlace film was


also launched; narrated by Liam Neeson. The short


film showcases Seamus Heaney


HomePlace, Bellaghy and the beauty of the surrounding countryside and its inspiration for the Nobel Laureate’s work. Click here to view


the film, entitled Journey to Seamus Heaney HomePlace. Tourism Ireland also launched a new Seamus Heaney page on its website, as part of its wider campaign with Mid Ulster Council to promote Seamus Heaney HomePlace. Julie Wakley, Tourism Ireland’s Head of


Great Britain, said: “We were delighted to host this


special Seamus Heaney event, in


conjunction with Mid Ulster Council, celebrating the life and literature of one of Ireland's greatest writers and his links with Bellaghy and this beautiful area. The new film, Journey to Seamus Heaney HomePlace, and our new pages on Ireland.com, will help to showcase what makes this area so special.” Promoting Seamus Heaney HomePlace


around the world is just one element of Tourism Ireland’s busy programme of activity in 2018, to continue to grow overseas visitor numbers to Northern Ireland.


land forged by the hands of giants, the walking festival provides the perfect entrée to the region's upcoming summer festival series.


Organised by Newry, Mourne and Down District Council, this year's 'Giant Adventures' will feature several popular events, including Footsteps in the Forest, Wake the Giant, the Festival of Flight, the Strangford Lough Skiffie Festival and City of Merchants.


Newry, Mourne and Down District Chair, Roisin Mulgrew, added: "The Council is committed to developing the tourism potential and credentials of the whole region to further strengthen our position as a premier tourism destination and we look forward to welcoming everyone to this year's Mourne International Walking Festival - and to all the fun events planned this year."


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