INTERNATIONAL WALKING FESTIVAL
The Saint Patrick Centre invites you to join us for our international walking festival from the 12th-17th June 2023.
Throughout the week The Saint Patrick Centre and local walking groups in County Down will be hosting a variety of walks in and around Saint Patrick’s Country.
Each walk must be booked in advance with the Saint Patrick Centre as numbers are limited per walk. Should the walk you wish to do not be available, we will try to offer other choices.
Monday 12 June
Saint Patrick and the Pagan Hills
Join Guide Duane Fitzsimons and walk through the by-ways of Saint Patrick’s Country exploring a landscape of ancient monuments and saintly connections; including one of the area’s oldest churches.
Time: 9am
Length: 10km
Grade: Easy/Moderate
Cost: £50 (pre-booking required)
Tobar Mhuire Estate and Woods
Join Killyleagh Walking Group for a morning walk through the beautiful and historic Tobar Mhuire woods.
Time: 1030am
Grade: Easy/moderate
Cost: Free (pre-booking required)
Explore the Quoile
Join guide Mairead Sweeney who will lead this evening walk exploring the history of the Quoile river and pondage, from its site of the earliest settlements in Downpatrick, through its heyday as a bustling port and centre of industry to its role today as a wildlife sanctuary.
Time: 7pm
Grade: Easy/moderate
Cost: Free (pre-booking required)
Tuesday 13 June
Downpatrick and the 1798 Rebellion
Join Newry, Mourne and Down’s Heritage Officer, Linda McKenna who will lead this walk exploring the role of the County town in the history of the Society of United Irishmen and the 1798 rebellion.
Time: 1030am
Grade: Easy/moderate
Cost: Free (pre-booking required)
Crossgar Walk
Join Crossgar Ladies Walking Group in this walk around Crossgar
Time: 7pm
Grade: Easy/moderate
Cost: Free (pre-booking required)
Wednesday 14 June
Saint Patrick’s Way, Camino and Canoe Adventure
Enjoy a fully guided camino walk with the added bonus of canoeing the Quoile Pondage to Inch Abbey, taking in the stunning views of wildlife and ancient monuments. In addition, you will also visit Patrick’s first Church in Ireland at Saul, the Saint Patrick Centre and Saint Patricks Grave at Down Cathedral.
Time: 9am
Length: 10km
Grade: Easy/moderate
Cost: £50 (pre-booking required)
Thursday 15 June
Explore Downpatrick’s Archaeology and Early Settlements.
Join Dr Colm Donnelly of Queen’s University Belfast who will lead this walk exploring some of the most important archaeological and historical sites in Downpatrick.
Time: 6.30pm
Grade: Easy/moderate
Cost: Free (pre-booking required)
Friday 16 June
Saint Patrick Coastal Camino
Travel by coach to Ballyhornan Beach for a spectacular coastal walk along sandy trails and cliff tops en-route to Saint Patrick’s Well by the Sea. Walk to the historic Ardtole church before discovering the charming medieval port of Ardglass and lunch at the oldest golf club in the world.
Time: 9am
Length: 10km
Grade: Moderate
Cost: £50 (pre-booking required)
Meelmore Ramble (Over 50’s walk)
Join Kilbroney Ramblers in this walk around Meelmore Lodge. Kilbroney Ramblers is aimed primarily at the 50+ age group and we have multiple levels of walks available. This helps ensure that everybody enjoys the walking and banter that goes along with it. So whatever you prefer, whether it’s a leisurely walk or a more strenuous one, the club offers these options to you.
The club places particular emphasis on safety and emphasises the need for appropriate footwear to join the club’s walks. Each walk is led by a qualified leader and often supported by other more experienced club members.
Choose from two graded walks: T Grade: for those who want a low level easy walk (2 hours). C Grade: For those who are ready to take to the hills but not too strenuous (3 hours). Please note dogs are not permitted on these walks.
Time: 10am
Length: 5/10km
Grade: Easy and Moderate
Cost: Free (pre-booking required)
Incorrigibles and Unfortunates: Gaols in Downpatrick
Join Linda McKenna who will lead this walk exploring Downpatrick’s four gaol sites and the stories of the prisoners incarcerated there during the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The walk will finish at the Gallows Hill, the traditional execution site in Downpatrick where many ‘incorrigibles and unfortunates’ ended their days.
Time: 7pm
Length: 5km
Grade: Easy/moderate (but please note there is a climb to the Gallows Hill)
Cost: Free (pre-booking required)
Saturday 17 June
Valhalla-Walk of the Vikings (Children Welcome)
Unleash your inner Viking and march to the Viking Long Boat and then return triumphant to the Medieval Settlement in Ballydugan. Dress up and follow in the footsteps of Viking raiders who made their home in Ballydugan.
Time: 2-5pm
Length: 5km
Grade: Easy
Cost: £5 (pre-booking required)