Forest news and events

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

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.  

Ballyboley Forest

Timber harvesting work will be ongoing for about three months, until the end of November 2019.  While this work is in progress, some of the public areas will be closed.  For example:

  • it has been necessary to stop public access on a forest road section of the Antrim Hills waymarked way (Ulster Way) during this work -  apologies for any inconvenience

Visitors are asked to follow all health and safety notices and signs.

Lough Navar Forest

Lough Navar Forest scenic drive will be closed from 16 October to 12 November 2019 due to construction work to replace a road bridge and to keep visitors safe.

Way-marked walking trails in Lough Navar Forest will stay open but some diversions may be necessary during this period. Follow all health and safety or information signage in the forest. Apologies for the inconvenience.

Camping and touring online booking

You can now book online if you'd like to camp or stay in a caravan, motorhome, campervan, folding caravan or trailer tent at the following forest parks in Northern Ireland:

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:

Ballyboley Forest, County Antrim

The 'Touring in the Trees' site has been closed due to issues with the water supply.  Other supply arrangements are being considered and a final decision will be taken when this information is available. Apologies for any inconvenience caused.

Forest recreation charges

On event days, some charges apply to particular forests. There are also charges for the use of additional facilities in some forests - these apply to vehicles, people and to some activities and organised events. The link below has details of concessions for charities and community groups, caravanning and camping.

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.

More in this section

Share this page


 

What do you want to do?
What is your question about?
Do you want a reply?
Your email address
To reply to you, we need your email address
Your feedback

We will not reply to your feedback.  Don't include any personal or financial information, for example National Insurance, credit card numbers, or phone numbers.

This feedback form is for issues with the nidirect website only.

You can use it to report a problem or suggest an improvement to a webpage.

If you have a question about a government service or policy, you should contact the relevant government organisation directly as we don’t have access to information about you held by government departments.

You must be aged 13 years or older - if you’re younger, ask someone with parental responsibility to send the feedback for you.

The nidirect privacy notice applies to any information you send on this feedback form.

Don't include any personal or financial information, for example National Insurance, credit card numbers, or phone numbers.

Plain text only, 750 characters maximum.
Plain text only, 750 characters maximum.

What to do next

Comments or queries about angling can be emailed to anglingcorrespondence@daera-ni.gov.uk 

What to do next

If you have a comment or query about benefits, you will need to contact the government department or agency which handles that benefit.  Contacts for common benefits are listed below.

Carer's Allowance

Call 0800 587 0912
Email dcs.incomingpostteamdhc2@nissa.gsi.gov.uk

Discretionary support / Short-term benefit advance

Call 0800 587 2750 
Email customerservice.unit@communities-ni.gov.uk

Disability Living Allowance

Call 0800 587 0912 
Email dcs.incomingpostteamdhc2@nissa.gsi.gov.uk

Employment and Support Allowance

Call 0800 587 1377

Jobseeker’s Allowance

Contact your local Jobs & Benefits office

Personal Independence Payment

Call 0800 587 0932

If your query is about another benefit, select ‘Other’ from the drop-down menu above.

What to do next

Comments or queries about the Blue Badge scheme can be emailed to bluebadges@infrastructure-ni.gov.uk or you can also call 0300 200 7818.

What to do next

For queries or advice about careers, contact the Careers Service.

What to do next

For queries or advice about Child Maintenance, contact the Child Maintenance Service.

What to do next

For queries or advice about claiming compensation due to a road problem, contact DFI Roads claim unit.

What to do next

For queries or advice about criminal record checks, email ani@accessni.gov.uk

What to do next

Application and payment queries can be emailed to ema_ni@slc.co.uk

What to do next

For queries or advice about employment rights, contact the Labour Relations Agency.

What to do next

For queries or advice about birth, death, marriage and civil partnership certificates and research, contact the General Register Office Northern Ireland (GRONI) by email gro_nisra@finance-ni.gov.uk

What to do next

For queries about:

If your query is about another topic, select ‘Other’ from the drop-down menu above.

What to do next

For queries or advice about passports, contact HM Passport Office.

What to do next

For queries or advice about Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs), including parking tickets and bus lane PCNs, email dcu@infrastructure-ni.gov.uk

What to do next

For queries or advice about pensions, contact the Northern Ireland Pension Centre.

What to do next

If you wish to report a problem with a road or street you can do so online in this section.

If you wish to check on a problem or fault you have already reported, contact DfI Roads.

What to do next

For queries or advice about historical, social or cultural records relating to Northern Ireland, use the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) enquiry service.

What to do next

For queries or advice about rates, email LPSCustomerTeam@lpsni.gov.uk

What to do next

For queries or advice about  60+ and Senior Citizen SmartPasses (which can be used to get concessionary travel on public transport), contact Smartpass - Translink.