My father, who died when we were little, maintained that for all of the stunning spots on this sparkling isle of ours, none could compare with the Mourne Mountains. Well, so my mother avowed. Yet, despite first hearing of the Mournes when I was just a boy, it took a further 30 years for me to travel the 90 minutes from Dublin to see them for myself.
There seemed no better way to test the old fella’s theory than to drag my three fellow Mamil (middle aged men in lycra) brothers along for a weekend of walking and electric mountain biking through the region, rehydrated by local craft beers along the way.
You only have to spend an afternoon in the Mountains of Mourne to realise how such a wistful ditty could be written about it (though we are later disappointed to discover that its composer, Roscommon man Percy French, wrote the song while viewing them from Skerries in north Co Dublin).
The mountains are said to have influenced Belfast native CS Lewis's Narnia, while Tollymore Forest Park is the quasi-Nordic setting of Dublin Murders, as well as several locations in Game of Thrones including the Haunted Forest north of the Wall, and the Wolfswood near Winterfell.
About 5km out of Newcastle, the spine of the forest is the boulder-strewn Shimna river, which carves out a gorge-like setting, replete with ornate stone bridges, riverside walks and romantic rock follies. Walking through it, we pass duos of horse riders, quartets of trail runners and congregations of “Thronies” dressed up in their cloaks and hoods.
The 463 hectares of Castlewellan Forest Park is headquarters for adventure activity provider LifeAdventureCo, the hosts of our "Trails and Ales" electric mountain biking tour. Across its native woodland and heathered hills, biking trails range from 1km to 27km in length. There's also a beautiful lake and arboretum, a 19th century Scottish baronial castle and a humongous Peace Maze; until 2007, its 3.5km of pathways made it the largest hedge maze in the world (an accolade since marginally pipped by some effort in Hawaii).
Over three hours, the Trails and Ales guided bike tour takes in 20km of trails around Castlewellan or Tollymore Forest Park, during which you'll pause to enjoy four tasters from the local Whitewater Brewery (£67 [€80] per person including use of a hybrid electric mountain bike, cycle helmet, waterproof clothing, trail snacks and sample ales, onegreatadventure.com).
It took us less than 20 minutes to become evangelical devotees of the mountain e-bike. They power you up the steepest of slopes, allowing you to keep at a decent 15-20km per hour while all the time pedalling, before turning around and tearing down the hill again towards the next pitstop.
Should you have a taste for more fresh off the mountain craft beer, and a designated driver, you can also book a group tour at the award-winning Whitewater Brewery nearby (£18 per person including tasting session, whitewaterbrewery.com). Here, potato farmer turned brewer Bernard Sloan hand crafts 6,500 litre brews and bottles 10 different beers on site; our favourite was Maggie's Leap IPA, followed closely by the Belfast Lager.
With the mountains running southwest-northeast from Carlingford Lough, the Mournes' southern half gives up fabulous views of the Cooley peninsula, though the mountains' more polite profile here isn't so memorable. But from Slieve Muck northeast to Newcastle, we're in a different kingdom. The gyrations of Slieve Binnian, Bearnagh, Commedagh and Donard (the highest in Ulster, at 850m), mask hidden loughs, before they – as the song goes – sweep down to the sea.
This northern stretch of the mountains is magical, with fields of impeccable pasture between stone walls, scatterings of Scots Pine and squat, white-washed plantation farmhouses. Above this is where the wild things are; nature lets rip across the uplands, as gnarly heather and bracken lift to a tuft of rocky tors, with imaginative names such as Hen, Cock and Pigeon Rock.
Is it any wonder our old lad fell so hard for these hills? "But for all these great powers he's wishful like me / To be back where the dark Mournes sweep down to the sea."
Jamie Ball was a guest of Tourism Northern Ireland. www.tourismni.com
Where to stay
With high impact views south to where Slieve Donard and the Mournes rise up, as if in protest, the Victorian, 180-room Slieve Donard Resort and Spa abuts a golden strand and the renowned Royal County Down Golf Links. Dine in the Percy French restaurant, on the grounds of the resort's six-acre gardens. Prices for an overnight stay for two, with spa access and breakfast, start from £170. hastingshotels.com/slieve-donard-resort-and-spa/
