Paddy Dillon


	25 WALKS IN & AROUND BELFAST By Paddy Dillon Published by The Stationery Office / Mercat Press / Blackwells ISBN 0-11-495761-4 Price £8.99 Just about everything was up in the air regarding this book! It was commissioned by HMSO while it was being re-organised to become The Stationery Office. There was talk about having five or six volumes, as part of the '25 Walks' series, covering almost all of Northern Ireland. A contract was issued for Antrim, then switched for Belfast, and the route research was conducted in the depths of winter over a period of about three weeks. Belfast has a surprisingly good level of countryside access. The city is full of parks and green spaces, with the Belfast Hills, Lagan Valley and Belfast Lough threaded by a network of easy and interesting paths. All the routes were accessible using public transport, which is highly efficient around Belfast. Shortly after publication, the '25 Walks' series was acquired by the Mercat Press, and by that time the Belfast guidebook had been followed by a guidebook covering Down District, though no more in the series were produced for Northern Ireland. WALK CONTENTS Belfast City Walk 1 - Belfast City Heritage Walk 2 - Botanic Gardens and Ormeau Park Walk 3 - Beersbridge Nature Walk Walk 4 - Cregagh Clen and Lisnabreeny Lagan Valley Walk 5 - Lagan Meadows Walk 6 - Belvoir Park Forest Walk 7 - Giant's Ring and Edenderry Walk 8 - Barnett Demesne Walk 9 - Lagan Canal Towpath Belfast Hills Walk 10 - Colin Glen Walk 11 - Divis and Black Mountain Walk 12 - Squires Hill Walk 13 - Cave Hill from Carr's Glen Walk 14 - Cave Hill from Belfast Castle Beyond Newtownabbey Walk 15 - Carnmoney Hill Walk 16 - Knockagh and Woodburn Forest Walk 17 - Whitehead and Black Head North Down Coastal Path Walk 18 - Bangor and Groomsport Walk 19 - Crawfordsburn Country Park Walk 20 - Holywood to Helen's Bay Walk 21 - Redburn Country Park Newtownards and Beyond Walk 22 - Whitespots and Helen's Tower Walk 23 - Scrabo Hill Walk 24 - Mount Stewart Walk 25 - Hillsborough BACK TO THE BOOK LIST