Crawfordsburn Country Park Photos
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You know when you live in a town or a city and you get fed up of listening to traffic? You know when you just want a bit of peace and quite? You know when you want to dip your feet in the water or lay on cold grass without anyone doing your head in? Well, that is when you should head to Crawfordsburn Country park. Ever since I have lived back in Norn Iron I occasionally miss the beach and the beautiful sunny weather Spain had to offer. Unfortunately I cannot guarantee the weather at Crawfordsburn but I can promise a beautiful setting. There is The Woodland Center for a cup of tea and a light bite. The beach for a swim, paddle or to lay on the sand. The woodland track for a walk or a jog. The rock pools if you fancy hunting some crabs or if you want to catch a fish of a bigger variety there is the river that runs through the park. I've only really discovered this place in the last three years and I am now totally in love with it. You can walk all the way from here to Bangor if you wish as there is a proper coastal path with benches along the way if you need a break. One thing that always makes me smile to myself is that when you get to Crawfordsburn beach there is a very large apartment building overlooking the lough - My fiance once told me that Van Morrison lives in there. I can never bathe in the lough now - what if Van The Man saw me in my bathers - humiliating!
My most recent visit here, during the dull, overcast, July holiday, was for the waterfalls in the Glen as I knew that I could take best advantage of a dull, overcast holiday by photographing waterfalls. Being dull and overcast helps when you want a slow shutter speed without whiteout. I hadn't been here for many years and some sections of path on either side of the Glen are currently closed for repairs. A lot more thought could and should have been put into how these closures are communicated to the public. I refer to the map at the bottom of the Glen, which has obviously been custom-produced to illustrate the location of open and closed paths yet is not correctly orientated for the geographical viewpoint of the reader. Up means down and left means right. Walkers are thereby required to perform and memorise mental acrobatics in the responsibility for their own safety when it would have been a simple (and much too sensible) matter for the authorities to get the map orientation correct in the first place. Duuuhh! Having passed by this upside-down map, the walker is later faced with junctions where a metal barrier has been left in the middle with both paths open and no indication of which path is meant to be closed, probably because the barrier has been left unsecured. Once again - duuhh! Oh I forgot - you're supposed to remember that from the upside-down map a hundred or two hundred yards back. There's a fair chance that you will then see the back of a metal sign ahead, correctly presuming that it is there to warn walkers from the opposite direction that the path on which you are currently walking is, in fact, closed. When you arrive at the falls, having safely avoided causing a landslide on the opposite bank of the Glen, you are rewarded with the very different views of the lower and upper falls (photos to follow).
Crawfordsburn is one of my favourite places for a good old fashioned Sunday morning walk. You get the best of both worlds at this spot on the county down coast as there is some woodland a little river for the kids to play pooh sticks and of course there's also a lovely long sandy beach. Perfect for paddling, building sandcastles and walking the dog. You'll also find plenty of rock pools for poking about in but sadly not much of a chance of finding any fish or crabs. There's a large car park and toilets which is kind of important when you have children and sometimes in summer an ice cream van will take up residence in the car park. There's nothing like a good old Mr Whippy 99 after a walk along the shore. If you're feeling really energetic, you can walk for a couple of miles towards Bangor but if you're more of a stroller than a serious walker you can just take it easy. The path along the coast is mostly suitable for prams and bikes too, there are just a few places where it's very gravelly and uneven but you should be able to keep going.
I walk here at least once per month. I usually start from Helen's bay and walk along the coast listening to the waves crashing and feeling the often blustery wind on my face. It is an ideal place to take the dog, bike or family for long walks, barbeques, picnics, paddling in the water or just sitting relaxing on the sand. There are many paths through the trees and along the coast. There are different ways to get to Crawfordsburn from Bangor or Newtoards, but it is well signposted and there are car parks. There is a woodlands cafe and toilets in the main car park.
4 years ago
We recently joined the National Trust in order to get in to some of the country's best parks and gardens but after a walk at Crawfordsburn and down the North Down coast we began to question why, especially with scenery like this on our doorstep. Around 15 minutes from central Belfast and the same from Bangor Town Centre Crawfordsburn really is as convenient as they come! Dog walkers, day trippers and joggers come here in their droves and I don't blame them because there's something for everyone. There's lovely woodland walks through the park itself, a beautiful beach with a large grassy area for picnics and a walk along the coast with views over to Carrickfergus and beyond on a clear day. Yesterday was one of those majestic days at Crawfordsburn where the spring sunshine shimmered on Belfast lough reflecting a warm glow of happiness throughout the whole park! We decided on the coastal walk as we had Ted (our dog) with us. We walked all the way from the park itself to past Carnalea Golf Course, this walk winds all the way up the coast. There's plenty of benches to to stop at and plenty of places for you to get a photo of Belfast Lough in all it's glory (as you've probably seen from my uploads). The park itself has seen a good bit of investment recently with new picnic tables being installed and the welcome addition of a play area that doubles as a nature reserve. There's toilet facilities and plenty of parking (at least 3 car parks). Yesterday there was an ice cream van parked on the grassy area by the beach but he only comes out when the sun is shining. All in all this is a fantastic place for a walk on a sunny day, beware of summer bank holidays as it's known for drinking but otherwise it's a wholesome day out for everyone with loads to see and do! read more
I love coming here to walk the dog on Sunday afternoons, the views really are amazing. It's a good long walk and and the pathway is keep clean and little free. Best of all its free, it's not national trust or wild life trust so it's completely free to the public which is great. It is just as nice as national trust places. I've never ate it the cafe or used the toilet facilities so I cannot comment on them. read more
16 years ago
You know when you live in a town or a city and you get fed up of listening to traffic? You know when you just want a bit of peace and quite? You know when you want to dip your feet in the water or lay on cold grass without anyone doing your head in? Well, that is when you should head to Crawfordsburn Country park. Ever since I have lived back in Norn Iron I occasionally miss the beach and the beautiful sunny weather Spain had to offer. Unfortunately I cannot guarantee the weather at Crawfordsburn but I can promise a beautiful setting. There is The Woodland Center for a cup of tea and a light bite. The beach for a swim, paddle or to lay on the sand. The woodland track for a walk or a jog. The rock pools if you fancy hunting some crabs or if you want to catch a fish of a bigger variety there is the river that runs through the park. I've only really discovered this place in the last three years and I am now totally in love with it. You can walk all the way from here to Bangor if you wish as there is a proper coastal path with benches along the way if you need a break. One thing that always makes me smile to myself is that when you get to Crawfordsburn beach there is a very large apartment building overlooking the lough - My fiance once told me that Van Morrison lives in there. I can never bathe in the lough now - what if Van The Man saw me in my bathers - humiliating! read more
My most recent visit here, during the dull, overcast, July holiday, was for the waterfalls in the Glen as I knew that I could take best advantage of a dull, overcast holiday by photographing waterfalls. Being dull and overcast helps when you want a slow shutter speed without whiteout. I hadn't been here for many years and some sections of path on either side of the Glen are currently closed for repairs. A lot more thought could and should have been put into how these closures are communicated to the public. I refer to the map at the bottom of the Glen, which has obviously been custom-produced to illustrate the location of open and closed paths yet is not correctly orientated for the geographical viewpoint of the reader. Up means down and left means right. Walkers are thereby required to perform and memorise mental acrobatics in the responsibility for their own safety when it would have been a simple (and much too sensible) matter for the authorities to get the map orientation correct in the first place. Duuuhh! Having passed by this upside-down map, the walker is later faced with junctions where a metal barrier has been left in the middle with both paths open and no indication of which path is meant to be closed, probably because the barrier has been left unsecured. Once again - duuhh! Oh I forgot - you're supposed to remember that from the upside-down map a hundred or two hundred yards back. There's a fair chance that you will then see the back of a metal sign ahead, correctly presuming that it is there to warn walkers from the opposite direction that the path on which you are currently walking is, in fact, closed. When you arrive at the falls, having safely avoided causing a landslide on the opposite bank of the Glen, you are rewarded with the very different views of the lower and upper falls (photos to follow). read more
16 years ago
Crawfordsburn is one of my favourite places for a good old fashioned Sunday morning walk. You get the best of both worlds at this spot on the county down coast as there is some woodland a little river for the kids to play pooh sticks and of course there's also a lovely long sandy beach. Perfect for paddling, building sandcastles and walking the dog. You'll also find plenty of rock pools for poking about in but sadly not much of a chance of finding any fish or crabs. There's a large car park and toilets which is kind of important when you have children and sometimes in summer an ice cream van will take up residence in the car park. There's nothing like a good old Mr Whippy 99 after a walk along the shore. If you're feeling really energetic, you can walk for a couple of miles towards Bangor but if you're more of a stroller than a serious walker you can just take it easy. The path along the coast is mostly suitable for prams and bikes too, there are just a few places where it's very gravelly and uneven but you should be able to keep going. read more
10 years ago
I walk here at least once per month. I usually start from Helen's bay and walk along the coast listening to the waves crashing and feeling the often blustery wind on my face. It is an ideal place to take the dog, bike or family for long walks, barbeques, picnics, paddling in the water or just sitting relaxing on the sand. There are many paths through the trees and along the coast. There are different ways to get to Crawfordsburn from Bangor or Newtoards, but it is well signposted and there are car parks. There is a woodlands cafe and toilets in the main car park. read more
A real gem of a park, forest and beach and a cafe / environmental education centre. Great place to take kids to for a walk or kick about or take a dog for a walk, or just to get away from the daily grind. Free parking and great surroundings. Great place to go any time of the year. read more
16 years ago
10 years ago
Beautiful place to go for a walk. Beautiful surroundings and great for a refreshing walk. Lots of car parking spaces and lots of picnic tables to have a bbq or picnic. You can go for a walk in the woodland area or a walk by the sea all in the same place. The educational part in the visitors centre is very good showing the beautiful wildlife off , great for the kids. There are toilets inside the building and a cafe. Good sized cafe with a range of snacks and food too choose from including sandwiches, scones, chips, stew and sausage rolls etc. Cold drinks and ice cream available. Prices are a slight but steep to me, we went slightly before 3pm and the food in the hot plates looked like it had been sitting a while, I got roast potatoes they were very well cooked , lucky for me I like them like that, I think they could have put the price down on them maybe as they were a bit too burnt, although they did cook fresh chips for us which was good , almost £3 for a chip. The coffee was nice. Theres an ice cream stand outside of the cafe and an outside eating area. I think the centre normally have a bouncy castle outside every Sunday for the children, weather permitting of course. I like to go to crawfordsburn country park, lovely place to an unwind for a bit. There is an electric charge point here for electric cars. read more
More info about Crawfordsburn Country Park
Bridge Rd S
Helens Bay
Bangor BT19 1JT
United Kingdom
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028 9185 3621
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