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Forest news and events

Find out about forest closures and other news about public forests and country parks in Northern Ireland.

Forest Service camping/touring booking system

The Forest Service camping/touring online booking system opened on Wednesday 21 December for the 2023 season.

  • Camping and touring sites in forests

Ballyboley timber harvesting

Timber harvesting work started in Ballyboley Forest in late August 2022. The work includes harvesting, extraction and haulage, and is expected to continue until March 2023. Forest Service ask all users to follow the safety signage on site.

Newry, Mourne and Down District Council - Castlewellan Forest Park

Newry, Mourne and Down District Council has assumed development and management responsibility for recreation in Castlewellan Forest Park. This includes the management of camping and caravanning at the park. 

Enquiries should be made to Newry, Mourne and Down District Council by:

  • phone: 0330 137 4046

Camping and caravan bookings can be made online via the Visit Mourne tourism website

    Paper bank notes

    All £5.00 and £10.00 paper notes were taken out of circulation on the 30 September 2019 because they were each replaced with polymer notes. For this reason, Forest Service is unable to accept paper notes after this date. 

    Note that banks in Northern Ireland will still accept all Northern Ireland paper notes from their own customers, which can either be deposited into their account or exchanged for polymer notes.  

    Forest recreation charges

    On event days, some charges apply to particular forests. There are also charges for the use of extra facilities in some forests - these apply to vehicles, people and to some activities and organised events.

    You can get details of concessions for charities and community groups, caravanning and camping at this link:

    • Forest recreation charges

    Report wildlife sightings online

    In Northern Ireland, the Centre for Environmental Data and Recording (CEDaR) collates wildlife records for both native and non-native species.

    You can record your sightings on its website either as a single record event or you can register with them and send details through a free online account.

    •  Record wildlife sightings online

    Over 100 forests to explore

    Northern Ireland has over 100 public forests you can visit.  They’re great places for walking, exercising dogs, running, orienteering. In some you can organise events, go camping, caravanning, picnicking or horse riding. Find out more:

    • Forests

    More useful links

    • Coronavirus (COVID-19)
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    Forests

    • Activities in forests
    • Forest news and events
    • Forest recreation charges
    • Forests with facilities for people with disabilities
    • Private woodlands, plant health, grants and funding
    • Public forests in Northern Ireland
    • Squirrel pox
    • Tree disease

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