Barnett Demesne
Description
Barnett Demesne opened to the public in 1951. Today, the park, in south Belfast, retains much of the character of the original estate.
Park features include an arboretum, daffodil garden, ecotrail, orienteering routes and a children's playground near Shaw's Bridge. Refreshments are available in the Barnett Restaurant in nearby Malone House.
The former estate grounds, which comprise marshland, meadows and woodland, once belonged to William Wallace Legge, who inherited the land in 1821. Thanks to Legge's talent for landscaping and strict rules regarding planting, most of the park's elegant character has remained unchanged.
Barnett Demesne is also home to tree and plant collections with semi-natural features such as woodland and wildflower meadows, many wild animals, including rabbits, badgers and grey and red squirrels, and birds such as jays, rooks and a range of songbirds. More than 70 species of wildflower grow in the meadows during the summer months.
Top Reasons To Visit
- Award-winning park
- Mountain bike trails and jump park at Barnett Demesne
- Impressive public art sculptures
- Mouth-watering menus in the Barnett Restaurant
- Malone House
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Mountain Bike Trails
For those looking for a little bit more adventure, try the bike trails and jump parks at Barnett Demesne. The trails consist of a shared use 3.4km green trail and a 3.9km blue trail with three red loop options (1.5km).
With Ireland’s first official purpose-built jumps park boasting no less than six lines of mouth-watering table-tops, doubles and hip jumps, these trails tick all the right boxes for those searching for that all important adrenaline fix. The trails start at the Mary Peters Track in South Belfast.
Read more at mountainbikeni.com >>