Murlough National Nature Reserve

A beautiful frosty morning at Murlough National Nature Reserve
Shingle beach at Murlough
Murlough sand dunes
Exmoor pony looking of the dunes at Murlough NNR
Woodland at Murlough National Nature Reserve
One of the boardwalks at Murlough

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A beautiful frosty morning at Murlough National Nature Reserve
Shingle beach at Murlough
Murlough sand dunes
Exmoor pony looking of the dunes at Murlough NNR
Woodland at Murlough National Nature Reserve
One of the boardwalks at Murlough

An extraordinarily beautiful dune landscape

Overview
Opening times
How to get here
Facilities and access

Murlough National Nature Reserve, National Trust, conservation

An exclusive invitation

Find out a little more about us on Thursday 29 September 6.30pm

Murlough National Nature Reserve

Things to see and do

Make the most of winter

The wild character of Murlough in winter takes on another form, shape and challenge.

Beach art at Murlough National Nature Reserve

Activities for kids

With so much wildlife to spot and endless fun to be had on the beach, your family will love a day out at Murlough National Nature Reserve.

Miles and miles of beautiful beaches

Discover Murlough's miles of beaches, with yellow and grey dunes, sand flats plus much more. It's a great day out.

Murlough Beach and dunes with Mournes in the distance

Murlough through the seasons

Visit us throughout the year to see how this stunning site evolves as the seasons change.

View to the Mourne Mountains from Murlough National Nature Reserve, County Down, Northern Ireland

The north point nature trail

Discover the beauty of our Nature Reserve and learn about the history, biology and conservation work that takes place here.

Ponies on Murlough National Nature Reserve, County Down, Northern Ireland

The south end nature trail

Enjoy a walk through the varying habitats of the Nature Reserve, via the beach, and see what wildlife you can spot.

Murlough National Nature Reserve

What's on

Come along and improve your natural history field skills, learn about the daily work carried out on the Reserve or simply investigate Murlough's natural beauty.

Murlough National Nature Reserve

History

Human occupation and influence at Murlough

Discover how humans have influenced the landscape of our 6,000 year old dune system.

Murlough National Nature Reserve

Wildlife

Wonderful wildlife

We're home to more that 600 species of butterfly and moths, rare birds and mammals and an array of stunning flora.

Murlough National Nature Reserve

Get involved

Volunteering at Murlough National Nature Reserve

Would you like to become part of the team at Murlough National Nature Reserve? There are lots of volunteering options available.

Volunteer at Murlough National Nature Reserve

General

There is a network of paths through the dunes, woodland and heath. Look out for information panels at the entrances to the reserve and along the main boardwalk to find out more about the wildlife and history of Murlough.

The car park is open all year round with admission charged when facilities such as the Beach Café are open.

Opening hours of facilities are limited during low season and daily high season (further info in handbook).

Guided nature walks and volunteer events are held throughout the year, school groups are welcome and must be booked in advance.

Self guided nature trail is available; please follow the yellow topped posts, a leaflet is available explaining what can be seen at each point.

Family

Our main car park has a number of BBQ friendly picnic tables and a safe area for a football kick around. Feel free to spread a blanket on the beach too, but please take your litter home.

Toilets including one accessible toilet are located in our main car park, please check facilities opening times.

Family fun events held over the summer.

Children's nature trail quiz and activity packs.

Accessibility

Access is available all year, but some seasonal restrictions apply, look out for information signs.

There are some disabled parking spaces in the main visitor car park adjacent to the start of the boardwalk which leads to the beach. The boardwalk is wheelchair friendly but the walk itself (for those without a wheelchair) is a good 15 minute walk to the beach. There is no parking or car access to the beach except in an emergency or by National Trust staff. There are visitor facilities in the car park, picnic tables, toilets, cafe.

Surfaces and gradients are naturally varied; the car park is level with a grass surface, the boardwalk is not classed an all ability trail as there are a few steeper sections across the dunes, before you reach the beach.

Dogs are welcome to most parts of the reserve, there are restrictions in some areas in spring and summer when ground-nesting birds are breeding or cattle are grazing. Please abide by local signs and help us to keep the area special by clearing up dog mess.

Horse riding is by permit only; please follow the routes marked by blue topped posts.

Wednesday 28 September

Thursday 29 September

Friday 30 September

Saturday 1 October

Sunday 2 October

Monday 3 October

Tuesday 4 October

	Gift Aid	Standard
Amount paid by visitor	£11.00	£10.00
Tax refund from Government*	£2.75	£0.00
Total received by the National Trust	£13.75	£10.00

Murlough National Nature Reserve

More about this place

An exclusive invitation

Things to see and do

Make the most of winter

Activities for kids

Miles and miles of beautiful beaches

Murlough through the seasons

The north point nature trail

The south end nature trail

What's on

History

Human occupation and influence at Murlough

Wildlife

Wonderful wildlife

Get involved

Volunteering at Murlough National Nature Reserve

The Mournes

Rowallane Garden

Castle Ward

Strangford Lough

Derrymore House

Minnowburn

Murlough National Nature Reserve

Things to see and do

History

Wildlife

Get involved

Facilities and access

General

Family

Accessibility

Overview

An extraordinarily beautiful dune landscape

How to get here

Prices

Admission free

What is Gift Aid?

Opening times

Please note...

Wednesday 28 September

Thursday 29 September

Friday 30 September

Saturday 1 October

Sunday 2 October

Monday 3 October

Tuesday 4 October