WalkNI are delighted to reveal the top walking trails to explore in Northern Ireland in 2022!
This year’s awards sponsored by Barista Bar saw over 1,300 walkers from across Northern cast their vote for their favourite walking trails in a range of categories from the best place to walk with your dog, trail for the perfect family day out through to the best location to grab a delicious Barista Bar coffee before or after your walk. The awards which run annually on WalkNI.com opened voting between February and March 2022.
Commenting on the Awards Jayne Woodrow who manages WalkNI.com said,
“The WalkNI Awards sponsored by Barista Bar celebrate the best walking opportunities in Northern Ireland. There has never been a better opportunity to ‘Get Out More’ and explore. According to the People in the Outdoors Monitor for Northern Ireland carried out by Outdoor Recreation NI, 7 in 10 people visit the outdoors for leisure each week, totaling 144 million visits each year. We are delighted to see winners across Northern Ireland claim titles in a wide range of categories suitable for a variety of walkers. As always the nominees battled it out with some category winners claiming the title with a lead of just 5 votes!”.
The winning walks:
- Best place to walk as a family – Castlewellan Forest Park
- Best new walking trail – Drumkeeragh Forest
- Best long distance walking trail – The Ulster Way
- Best walking trail in Fermanagh and Omagh – Gortin Glen Forest Park
- Best walking trail in Belfast – Cave Hill Country Park
- Best walking trail in Mid Ulster – Davagh Forest
- Best place to walk with your dog – Shaw’s Bridge (Lagan Towpath)
- Best summit/hilltop view – Cave Hill
- Best section of the International Appalachian Trail Ulster-Ireland – Giant’s Causeway to White Park Bay
- Best section of the Ulster Way – Causeway Coast Way
- Best Barista Bar serving hot drinks close to the trails – SPAR Brennans, Dundrum
Keavy O’Mahony-Truesdale, Barista Bar Brand Manager commented,
“I’d like to say a big congratulations to all the winners at the Walk NI Awards this year!
“Our Barista Bar partnership has allowed us to continue to make a positive impact on our outdoor spaces and celebrate their natural beauty and amazing scenery when we have needed them the most. It is our ambition to keep them clean and beautiful through our commitment to initiatives that encourage the use of reusable cups and promote sustainability.
“There are over 420 Barista Bar locations across Northern Ireland, making it even easier for walkers to pick up a hot drink to fuel their walk.”
You can find out more about each of the 2022 winning walks over on our blog. Don’t forget to tag us in your pictures next time you go to one of these trails using #WalkNI.
The WalkNI Award prize has yet to be claimed!!!!!!!
WalkNI has been trying to contact a number of people to tell them they have won the prize and to respond within 5 working days. The prize has yet to be claimed! Stay tuned for WalkNI as we make this prize available. A reminder that the prize is free coffee and a voucher for the Slieve Donard Hotel and Spa.
