Topic: Ulster Way back on track (Read 7826 times)

admin · « **on:** September 17, 2009 »

Set up by walkers in the mid-1970s, the Ulster Way covered more than 600 miles of Northern Ireland's most scenic spots.

It fell out of favour along the way, but now it has been given a 21st century revamp with a revised route and a new website where ramblers can map their journeys before venturing out.

It charts a path up the Mournes and Sperrins, through the Fermanagh Lakelands and the north coast's sea views as well as taking in many other sights along the way.

The route is not completely joined-up, but rather than making people walk along busy polluted roads, public transport can be taken to the next point of the journey.

The old Ulster Way suffered from once-quiet country roads becoming major routes, and safety became a problem over the years.

Environment Minister Edwin Poots said the revamped Ulster Way was a definite improvement.

"We have done away with sections like the Sydenham bypass which didn't have any quality for people out walking," he said.

"People will be able to walk on quality routes, two-thirds of which will be off-road while a third is on roads which go through areas of outstanding natural beauty."

Another difficulty faced by the old route was access to privately-owned roads.

There was confusion about where walkers were entitled to go and some landowners objected to the Ulster Way running through their property.

"In England and Scotland, there are many more large parks and estates which are easier to open up access to," said Mr Poots.

"However, we believe these are the foundations for creating an entire Ulster Way."

Walker Martin McGuigan, who helped create some of the routes, said: "The great thing about the Ulster Way is its trails which are safe and marked out so you can be sure where you're going."

And Mr Poots believes it's better to have an imperfect Ulster Way rather than nothing.

"While we could have waited for a few years, we felt it was better to move ahead now and open up many routes that people can enjoy," he said.

"It's an evolutionary process, not the completed product."

Source:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/8259420.stm

Wolf_Larson · « **Reply #1 on:** September 17, 2009 »

Happy days, good to see Ulster will get a mush needed make over.

ulsterwalker · « **Reply #2 on:** September 29, 2009 »

Quote

"We have done away with sections like the Sydenham bypass which didn't have any quality for people out walking," he said.

What pipe was he smoking on? The Ulster Way went through Redburn Park then onto Stormont then across the Gilnahirk hills to Black Hill and Cave Hill, no where near Sydenham ByPass

I agree with some of the re-routing but some of it is pure ass, and looks like noone has actually walked it, the majority of the old "link sections" had decent parts of them, the new ones seem to just be direct routes to the next "quality" stage. A lack of actual walking/planning in my eyes. Atleast they have actually done something with it, even if it aint the best outcome!

Wolf_Larson · « **Reply #3 on:** September 29, 2009 »

It charts a path up the Mournes and Sperrins, through the Fermanagh Lakelands and the north coast's sea views as well as taking in many other sights along the way.

This would be fun !!

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Ulster Way back on track

Wolf_Larson

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ulsterwalker

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Wolf_Larson

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