Castlewellan Forest Park: the lake and Slievenaslat

From the car park beside the lake, take the Lakeside walk round Castlewellan Lake, with the castle and Slievenaslat in view across the water, then climb the Slievenaslat walk through the conifers to the 272 m top and come down to the car park.

It is 7.4 km round with 165 m of ascent; allow about 2¼ hours. The grade is Easy: wide forest tracks for four fifths of the way, with paths and a little road on the rest, and a steady climb on Slievenaslat. The council gives the Lakeside walk as 2.4 miles and Slievenaslat as 2.2 to 2.7 miles.

It is a working forest, so trails can be diverted or closed for forest operations; swimming in the lake is not permitted except at council-approved events, and dogs are not allowed in the play park or the Peace Maze.

The council charges for vehicles at Castlewellan, one of its four main parks, at the manned car park office (9am to 5pm daily); it does not charge people on foot or on a bicycle. Opening hours run from 9am to 6pm in March and October through to 9pm from May to August and 5pm from November to February; the park is shut on Christmas Day.

Route drawn by Global Adventurer along OpenStreetMap paths (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), with figures worked out from it. Check the forecast and the ground on the day: paths change.