About this trail
The Mourne Way links Newcastle on the Irish Sea with Rostrevor on Carlingford Lough, tracing the foothills around the western and northern edge of the Mourne Mountains. It is one of Northern Ireland's waymarked long-distance walking routes, crossing a largely granite landscape shaped by ice and by generations of work in the hills.
Along the way the route picks up older paths with real history. The Trassey Track was part of the old Brandy Pad, an 18th and 19th century smuggling route through the mountains, while the finish near Kilbroney connects to St Bronach's 6th-century convent at Rostrevor. The walk also passes the Fofanny and Spelga reservoirs, the Spelga dam being completed in 1957.
From urban parkland and deciduous woodland at Tollymore, through open mountain and bog, to the thickly planted pines of Rostrevor Forest, the route delivers wide views of coast, sea and the Kilbroney valley toward Carlingford Lough.