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All The Northern Ireland parkruns

 

There are currently 47 parkrun events in Northern Ireland of which I have completed 3. The first Northern Irish event was Waterworks which started on 6th November 2010 and the newest is Claudy Country Park which started on May 16th 2026. The name for having completed all parkrun events in Northern Ireland is “Northern Entireland”.

Two 5k parkrun events in Northern Ireland have been permanently cancelled: Knockbracken Reservoir and Stranmillis College.

Numbers exclude 2k Junior parkruns and any events that are not open to the general public such as prisons or armed forces facilities.

Northern Ireland parkruns by Historic County

The counties of Antrim and Down jointly have the highest number of parkrun events with 14 each. The full counts are:

  • 15 parkrun events in County Antrim

  • 14 parkrun events in County Down

  • 7 parkrun events in County Derry/Londonderry

  • 6 parkrun events in County Tyrone

  • 3 parkrun events in County Armagh

  • 2 parkrun events in County Fermanagh

All of the Northern Ireland parkrun events …

Below are each of the Northern Ireland 5k parkrun events in alphabetical order. A few things to note:

  • The interactive maps below take you to the approximate location for the course, typically the centre of the park. See the course instructions in the parkrun page for each event for specific directions to the start.

  • Course maps and elevation profiles show the route at the time that I ran it and may have changed since then. See the Course page in the event’s page on parkrun.org.uk for the current course outline. Note that course outlines are from Garmin data during a specific run and may vary from the officially measured distance.

  • Please contact me if you spot an event that doesn’t have a course map and elevation profile and you would like to donate one from your own run. I’m also interested in maps and elevation profiles for courses that have changed or where there’s a regular alternative route (e.g. Horsham). I’ll need a GPX file from your run plus the date. I’ll include a credit for you and will donate £1 to parkrun.

Antrim

  • I have not yet completed this event

  • Other routes touched (cycle): NCN 94

  • Historic County: Antrim

  • Inaugural: September 28th 2013

  • Course Map and Elevation Profile by: Tim McEvoy on May 9th 2026

  • Links: Event Home Page, Course Page

 

Armagh

  • I completed this event on: July 15th 2017 with a finish time of: 26:49

  • Other routes touched: None

  • Historic County: Armagh

  • Inaugural: October 12th 2013

  • Links: Event Home Page, Course Page

 

Bangor

  • I have not yet completed this event

  • Other routes touched: None

  • Historic County: Down

  • Inaugural: March 29th 2014

  • Course Map and Elevation Profile by: Joel Adcock on February 28th 2026

  • Links: Event Home Page, Course Page

 

Belfast Victoria

 

Belvoir Forest

 

Carrickfergus

  • I have not yet completed this event

  • Other routes touched: None

  • Historic County: Antrim

  • Inaugural: February 1st 2014

  • Course Map and Elevation Profile by: Joel Adcock on April 26th 2025

  • Links: Event Home Page, Course Page

 

Castlewellan

 

Christie

  • I have not yet completed this event

  • Other routes touched (cycle): NCN 96 Causeway Gateway

  • Historic County: Londonderry

  • Inaugural: May 17th 2025

  • Course Map and Elevation Profile by: Joel Adcock on May 17th 2025

  • Links: Event Home Page, Course Page

 

Citypark

 

Claudy Country Park

 

Colin Glen

 

Comber

  • I have not yet completed this event

  • Other routes touched: None

  • Historic County: Down

  • Inaugural: May 31st 2014

  • Course Map and Elevation Profile by: Joel Adcock on November 29th 2025

  • Links: Event Home Page, Course Page

 

Crawfordsburn Country

  • I have not yet completed this event

  • Other routes touched (walk): North Down Coastal Path

  • Other routes touched (cycle): NCN 93

  • Historic County: Down

  • Inaugural: February 29th 2020

  • Course Map and Elevation Profile by: Joel Adcock on March 21st 2026

  • Links: Event Home Page, Course Page

 

Derry City

 

Derrynoid Forest

 

Dungannon Park

 

Dunleath Playing Fields

 

Ecos

 

Enniskillen

 

Falls

 

Garvagh Forest

 

Hillsborough Forest

 

Holy Cross College

 

Knockbracken Reservoir

  • This parkrun event has been permanently cancelled. I did not complete this event before it was closed.

  • I did not complete this event before it was closed

  • Historic County: County Down

  • Inaugural: February 29th 2020. Final event: #189 on June 28th 2025

  • Reason for cancellation: Organisers couldn't reach a compromise with the landowner, Let's Go Hydro, regarding the use of their private grounds.

  • Replaced by: Belvoir Forest

  • Links: Event Home Page, Dancing at Lunacy Blog Post

 

Larne

 

Limavady

 

Limepark Playing Fields

 

Lough Head

 

Loughmacrory

 

Lurgan Park

  • I have not yet completed this event

  • Other routes touched: None

  • Historic County: Armagh

  • Inaugural: May 10th 2025

  • Course Map and Elevation Profile by: Joel Adcock on April 4th 2026

  • Links: Event Home Page, Course Page

 

Montalto Estate

 

MUSA Cookstown

 

Newry Greenway

 

Omagh

 

Orangefield

  • I have not yet completed this event

  • Other routes touched (walk): Connswater Community Greenway

  • Historic County: Down

  • Inaugural: August 4th 2018

  • Course Map and Elevation Profile by: Joel Adcock on January 10th 2026

  • Links: Event Home Page, Course Page

 

Ormeau

  • I completed this event on: April 30th 2016 with a finish time of: 25:39

  • Other routes touched (walk): None

  • Historic County: Down

  • Inaugural: June 22nd 2013

  • Links: Event Home Page, Course Page

 

Paisley Park

 

Pomeroy Forest

 

Portrush

 

Queen’s, Belfast

  • I completed this event on: May 7th 2016 with a finish time of: 25:37

  • Original name: Queen’s. Changed to distinguish the event from other locations referencing Queen's park, highlighting its specific location at Queen's University Sport in South Belfast.

  • Other routes touched: None

  • Historic County: Antrim

  • Inaugural: February 25th 2012

  • Links: Event Home Page, Course Page

 

Riverside, Ballymoney

  • I have not yet completed this event

  • Historic County: Antrim

  • Inaugural: April 25th 2026

  • Course Map and Elevation Profile by: Tim McEvoy on April 25th 2026

  • Links: Event Home Page, Course Page

 

Rostrevor

 

Sixmilewater

 

Stormont

  • I have not yet completed this event

  • Other routes touched: None

  • Historic County: Down

  • Inaugural: August 29th 2015

  • Course Map and Elevation Profile by: Joel Adcock on February 21st 2026

  • Links: Event Home Page, Course Page

 

Stranmillis College

  • This parkrun event has been permanently cancelled. I did not complete this event before it was closed.

  • Historic County: County Antrim

  • Inaugural: February 2nd 2019. Final event: #54 on March 14th 2020

  • Reason for cancellation: Due to increasing conflicts with the college's sporting activities, particularly football, meaning the event couldn't safely run when pitches were in use from late summer to mid-February, leading to a mutual decision to stop the weekly run

  • Links: Event Home Page, Dancing At Lunacy Blog Post

 

The Fisherman‘s Walk

 

Valley

 

Wallace

 

Waterworks

 

More parkrun posts

parkruns are free, weekly, community 5k events all around the world. I started in December 2012 and have been obsessive about it ever since. See my parkrun Collection page for details.

Featured and popular parkrun posts:

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Northern Ireland County Tops

The Historic County Tops of Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland Historic County Top Road Trip

The idea for our Grand Tour of Northern Ireland came from how to solve the challenge of doing all 6 N.I. County Tops whilst making the trip "wife-friendly". Timi (the wife) loves travel as much as I do, enjoys trekking (to a point) but is not fond of mud and cold. We've learnt that the best combination is to do the adventure thing in the day but stay at nice places at night. A much as I could sleep in a tree, that's never a good option for Timi.

The plan was to start in Belfast, do some sight-seeing then take an anti-clockwise tour of the six counties, ticking off the County Tops. The anti-clockwise option works well as Trostan is a relatively straightforward warm-up and the others build up to the highest peak, Slieve Donard, at the end. In order to get the right balance of adventure and rest, we did no more than 1 walk per day and built in a day off between Trostan and Sawel Mountain to see the Giant's Causeway and Carrick-a-rede.

Driving Distances:

  • Belfast to Trostan: 46 miles

  • Trostan to Sawel Mountain: 50 miles

  • Sawel Mountain to Cuilcagh: 70 miles

  • Cuilcagh to Slieve Gullion: 80 miles

  • Slieve Gullion to Slieve Donard: 36 miles

  • Slieve Donard to Belfast: 40 miles

  • Total Trip: 322 miles

Driving distances above show direct routes between main stops. The map below shows a longer road-trip including a visit to Giant's Causeway and Carrick-a-rede and an overnight stay in Donegal between Cuilcagh and Slieve Gullion.

Present-Day Northern Ireland Super-Councils High Points

In 2015, Northern Ireland underwent a significant restructuring of its local government system, reducing the number of councils from 26 to 11. These newly formed larger councils, often dubbed "super councils," were established with the aim of enhancing efficiency, innovation, and cost-effectiveness in local governance. The reform also transferred additional responsibilities to the councils, including planning, local economic development, off-street car parking, and community investment, which were previously handled by the central government. This decentralization of power was intended to empower local councils to play a more prominent role in shaping their communities and responding to local needs.

Here are the highest points of the Northern Ireland Super Councils. The source of this list is Peakbagger.com. Note that other sources, including Wikipedia, show different high points. Please contact me if you have any information relavant to updating this list and I will donate £1 per correction to one of my Causes.

  • Slieve Donard. Newry City, Mourne and Down District. 850 metres.

  • Sawel Mountain. Derry City and Strabane District. 678 metres.

  • Cuilcagh. Fermanagh and Omagh District. 666 metres.

  • Mullaghaneany. Causeway Coast and Glens District. 627 metres.

  • Oughtmore. Mid-Ulster District. 569 metres.

  • Slievenanee. Mid and East Antrim District. 543 metres.

  • Divis. Belfast City. 478 metres.

  • Divis - West Slope. Antrim and Newtownabbey District. 455 metres.

  • Carrigatuke. Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon District. 365 metres.

  • Collin. Lisburn City and Castlereagh District. 328 metres.

  • Cairngaver. North Down and Ards District. 214 metres.

The highest 3 mountains in the super-council list (Slieve Donard, Sawel Mountain and Cuilcagh) are also Historic County Tops. Trostan is the Historic County Top of County Antrim but is now in the Causeway Coast and Glens District of which Mullaghaneany is the highest point. Slieve Gullion is the Historic County Top of County Armagh but is now in the Newry City, Mourne and Down District of which Slieve Donard is the highest point.

More High Points

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Trostan: Antrim County Top

Emerald woods on the descent from Trostan

Significance: Highest peak in County Antrim (Historic County Top), Antrim Coast and Glens National Landscape High Point
Member of: Marilyn
Parent Peak: TBC.
Nearest Higher Neighbour: Oughtmore
Elevation: 550m
Date climbed: May 1st 2016
Coordinates: 55.0458° N, 6.1553° W

 

Route Start / End: Layby near Essathohan Bridge on Ballyeamon Road
Route Distance: 9.8 km (6 miles)
Route Elevation Change: +/- 724m
Subsidiary tops on route: None
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): Moyle Way
Other routes touched (cycle): None
OS Trig Pillar: TP7349 - Trostan
Map: OS Northern Ireland Activity Maps: Glens of Antrim
Guidebook: The UK's County Tops (Jonny Muir)
Links: Wikipedia (County Antrim), Wikipedia (Trostan), Peakbagger, Hillbagging

 

This trek was part of a tour of the Historic County Tops of Northern Ireland that Timea and I did in May 2016.

Our first walk was Trostan, about an hour North of Belfast in the centre of County Antrim. The weather was fairly good and the rain held off till the last 20 minutes. Even so, the ground was saturated and most of the route was through a peaty swamp. We followed the Moyle Way, initially along the right hand side of a stream to a waterfall and an old stone bridge. We turned left across the bridge, following a track for about 2 hundred metres, then turned right to follow another track up though the forest. This took us a little off course which we needed to correct once we got above the tree line. On the way back we discovered that the better route up would have been to have continued straight up past the stone bridge, following the course of the stream.

Once we were back on track after the forest, we relied on the GPS for navigation and the trek to the summit was mostly a matter of finding the driest and least bumpy route. The actual summit is enclosed by a fence with one dilapidated style that takes some skill to cross without impaling yourself. Once past the fence, we headed towards the 2 cairns and the summit Trig Point was very close-by and easy to see.

The descent was much more enjoyable as we took a more direct route down through the forest, following the stream. The colours of the moss covered trees were amazing, showing why they call this place the Emerald Isle. The path next to the stream was very boggy, but added to a fun walk down with many stops for photos.

From the lay-by where we parked we continued on towards Cushendun and picked up the Tor Point Scenic Drive. This is a off-shoot of the Causeway Scenic Route and takes in some dramatic cliff top lanes overlooking the North East Coast. The route passes through Ballycastle and a collection of National Trust properties, before reaching the Giants Causeway near Bushmills.

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