By Ryan Sands
A proposal to develop Northern Ireland’s first treetop walk in Castlewellan Forest Park has officially been made.
Plans for the £6.8m visitor attraction – Treetop Walk Mourne – were recently submitted to council planners by Treetop Adventures Ltd, the company tasked with progressing the project.
The development would feature a 40m landmark tower structure with a smaller connected tower, which would include slides and a landing block, as well as an arrival building, a raised walkway and an amphitheatre/temporary events space.
It would also necessitate the relocation of the existing children’s play area, whilst the park’s exit onto the Bann Road would be widened to accommodate two-way traffic.
Treetop Walk Mourne would only be the second such attraction in Ireland – adding to the one in County Wicklow’s Avondale Forest Park – and the first in Northern Ireland.
“Treetop Walk Mourne will include two unique towers; the larger tower will have 360-degree views of Castlewellan Forest Park, Dundrum Bay and the Mourne Mountains,” a planning statement reads. “The slide tower includes three slides of varying heights, which bring visitors back to ground level.”
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