Killymoon Demesne & Cabin Wood (Cookstown)

A river, a hanging wood and a castle across the field

Cabin Wood is the piece of the old Killymoon estate that anyone can walk. It runs to 6.5 hectares — about sixteen acres — on the southern edge of Cookstown, bounded by the Ballinderry river on one side and the Killymoon river on the other, and a circular stone path takes you right round it in roughly half an hour.

It is a mix of ancient woodland and newer planting, which shows in the ground flora: bluebells and primrose through the old sections in spring, with wildflower displays that are worth timing a visit for. Deer use the wood, bats work the river corridors at dusk, and the bird list is a good one — barn owls, kestrels, stonechats, and grey wagtails on the water in spring. There is a marked spot where the estate sawmill once stood.

The views are what lift it. From the higher ground you look out across the demesne to Killymoon Castle, and the countryside runs away behind it. In autumn the whole wood turns and the river runs dark below.

Be clear about the castle before you set off. Killymoon is a private home, not a visitor attraction with a turnstile — you can look at it from the demesne and the roads, and you can arrange a tour. Those tours take in Lady Molesworth's morning room, the oval dining room and the cantilever staircase, with a tea room afterwards, and they are booked by request. Much of the rest of the old parkland is now Killymoon Golf Club. Go for the wood and the river; treat the castle as a bonus you can arrange.

Free wood, free parking Ancient woodland and bluebells Two rivers around the wood ~30 minute circular stone path Barn owls, kestrels, deer and bats Castle tours by arrangement only

Finding it, and the castle rule:

Cabin Wood is reached from the main Dungannon-entrance roundabout by taking the Stewartstown exit (B520) and turning almost immediately left onto a bumpy farm track. The wood is open access at all times with no entry fee. Killymoon Castle itself is a private residence — group and private tours only, by request on 028 8676 4173. Please do not treat the castle grounds as open ground.

What to wear & bring

🥾Boots after rainStone path on the circuit, but the side-paths down to the rivers are steep and get slick.

🧥A coatRiver valley woodland. A shower in here smells like the best thing all week.

🔭BinocularsBarn owls, kestrels, stonechats and grey wagtails on the water in spring. Deer if you are quiet.

🌸Spring timingBluebells and primrose through the older woodland. Late April into May is the week to aim for.

What's on at Killymoon

Cabin Wood has no programme — it is open access, all year, for nothing. The seasons do the scheduling: bluebells and primrose in spring, grey wagtails on the rivers, deep green in summer, and a full turn of colour in autumn.

Castle tours run by arrangement. Group tours can be booked by request and private tours are also available, taking in the principal Georgian rooms and the cantilever staircase, with a tea room on site and coach parking. Contact the castle on 028 8676 4173 or through killymooncastle.com to arrange one.

Everything before you go

Cost

Cabin Wood is free. Castle tours are arranged and paid separately

Opening

Cabin Wood is open access at all times. The castle is a private home — tours by request only

Best for ages

All ages for the wood; the castle tour suits older children and adults

Walk

Circular stone path, roughly 30 minutes, through 6.5 hectares of woodland bordered by the Ballinderry and Killymoon rivers

What's there

Ancient woodland and new planting, spring bluebells and primrose, two river corridors, views across the demesne to the castle, a marked former sawmill site, deer, bats, barn owls, kestrels, stonechats and grey wagtails

Parking

Free on-site parking at Cabin Wood. The castle has its own parking, including coach parking, for booked tours

Accessibility

The main circuit is buggy-friendly, but some sections slope steeply and the paths down to the rivers are steeper again

Dogs

Under control on the wood paths; clean up after them

How long to allow

30–60 minutes for the wood; longer with a castle tour

Food

No café at the wood. The castle has a tea room for booked tours; Cookstown is a few minutes away

The castle

Killymoon Castle, 11 Castle Road, Cookstown BT80 8JY. Built to a design by John Nash in 1803 after a fire destroyed the earlier house of 1671. Tours by request on 028 8676 4173

Getting there

Cabin Wood is on the southern edge of Cookstown — from the Dungannon-entrance roundabout take the Stewartstown exit (B520) and turn almost immediately left onto a farm track

Address

Cabin Wood, Cookstown, Co Tyrone BT80 8TJ

Questions

Before you go

Can I visit Killymoon Castle?

Not on a walk-in basis — it is a private home. Group tours and private tours are arranged by request on 028 8676 4173, and include a tea room. From Cabin Wood and the demesne you get the view rather than the door.

Is the walk free?

Yes. Cabin Wood is open access at all times with no entry fee, and the parking is free.

How long is the walk?

The circular stone path takes about 30 minutes. Allow an hour if you take the steeper paths down to the rivers.

Is it suitable for a buggy?

The main circuit is buggy-friendly, but there are sloping sections that get quite steep, and the river paths are steeper again. An all-terrain buggy copes best.

How do I find it?

From the main roundabout at the Dungannon entrance to Cookstown, take the exit for Stewartstown (B520) and turn almost immediately left onto a bumpy farm track. It does not look like much until you are in it.

What will we see?

Ancient woodland and new planting, two rivers, bluebells and primrose in spring, and views out across the demesne to the castle. Deer, bats, barn owls, kestrels, stonechats and spring grey wagtails all use the wood.

When are the bluebells out?

Late April into May in most years, through the older sections of the wood.

Are there toilets or a café?

Not at the wood. Cookstown is a few minutes away.

Getting there

Cabin Wood sits on the southern edge of Cookstown, County Tyrone (BT80 8TJ). From the main roundabout at the Dungannon entrance to the town, take the exit for Stewartstown on the B520 and turn almost immediately left onto a bumpy farm track — there is free parking at the wood. Killymoon Castle itself is 0.4 miles away at 11 Castle Road, BT80 8JY, and is visited by arranged tour only.

Official website Directions on Google Maps See it on our map

Phone: 028 8676 4173

Nearby

Make more of the day

Drum Manor Forest ParkWalled garden, lakes and forest trails Tullaghoge FortWhere the O'Neills were crowned, just outside town Wellbrook Beetling MillA working water-powered linen mill Lough FeaA level 4 km circuit round a mountain lough

The story

About the demesne

The Stewarts came to this stretch of the Ballinderry in the seventeenth century, and James Stewart built the first Killymoon house here in 1671. What stands today is a replacement: the earlier house burned, and in 1803 a new castle went up to a design by John Nash.

Nash is the reason the building is worth crossing a field to look at. He is the architect of Regent Street and the Royal Pavilion at Brighton, the man who gave London much of its stucco confidence — and Killymoon is one of his early ventures into the castellated style, all round towers, gothic windows and picturesque silhouette. He designed the entrance gates too. The story runs that Nash took his fee in some unusual form; like a lot of estate stories it is repeated more often than it is documented, so treat it as a good tale rather than a fact.

The demesne around the house was laid out to be looked at — parkland running down to the river, a hanging wood on the far bank, an estate bridge over the Ballinderry, a sawmill working the water. That planned landscape is still legible when you walk Cabin Wood, even though the estate has been broken up: the castle is a private home, much of the parkland is now Killymoon Golf Club, and the wood belongs to everybody.

That last part is the good news. Sixteen acres of an eighteenth-century demesne, two rivers, bluebells in spring and a Nash castle across the field — free, open at all times, ten minutes from the middle of Cookstown, and reached down a farm track most people drive past.