A BEAUTIFUL RANGE of coastal granite mountains fringed by fragments of temperate rainforest, Northern Ireland’s Mourne Mountains are well-known across the island of Ireland but are arguably under-appreciated by hikers and outdoor enthusiasts on the other side of the Irish Sea. But the profile of these hills is set to be boosted by their designation as part of a UNESCO Global Geopark, in recognition of the landscape’s outstanding geological heritage – a natural inheritance that has become intertwined with the region’s history and culture in fascinating ways. Fantasy fans will also be in their element here: the Mournes were used as a suitably epic filming location in Game of Thrones, and are also said to have inspired CS Lewis’s visions of Narnia.
“The dark Mournes sweep down to the sea,” as the song goes,
