Giant's Ring Trail - Belfast
A green oasis in the heart of the city of Belfast, Minnowburn is full of beautiful trails verging the Lagan or heading through woodland and farmland. It lies in the Lagan Valley Regional Park and is a great place to walk through fields alive with the sounds and smells of nature, or stroll along the banks of the Lagan and Minnowburn. You may spot spawning salmon or sea trout.
As you leave National Trust lands and enter Ballynahatty you pass through the famous Giants Ring, a Neolithic earthwork circle set in the middle of beautiful farmland.
A
Lisburn walk
posted on 10/02/23 by Walk NI. Last update : 23/02/23
Description
Start : Minnowburn National Trust. (BT8 8LE)
(S/E) From the car park, walk towards the Lagan River then turn left (South) to follow the Lagan riverbank path upstream. After about 656 feet (200 metres), take the first path you come to on the left-hand side (South).
(1) Follow this path, cross the Edenderry Road and continue on with the mature woodland on your left. You’ll enter young, broadleaved woodland. Carry on in the same direction until you reach the Ballynahatty Road.
Cross the road and take the path opposite. Follow the path which has fields on either side for about half a mile (1 kilometre), until you reach the Giant’s Ring.
(2) After exploring the Ring, make your way out through the gate at the opposite side from which you arrived. Pass through the car park and carry on down the avenue until you reach the road.
(3) Cross the road, taking care to watch out for traffic, and climb over the stile opposite. You’re now in the Sandpit Field, a marvellous natural amphitheatre that was carved by retreating glaciers during the last Ice Age.
Follow the track around the top of the big pit until you come to a stile beside a road. Climb over the stile and cross the road. Go through the pedestrian gate opposite, follow the path through a second gate and continue on the old tarmac path up Terrace Hill.
(4) Here you can take a detour left . This path used to be the main avenue to Terrace Hill house, in spring the bank on the left is filled with daffodils and bluebells. Carry on until you reach the garden. Once you’ve explored this magical place go back the way you came. Take the path on the left at waypoint (4).
Otherwise, take the path on the right, now, leading downhill through a young woodland. Follow the path until you reach the Minnowburn River; here you’ll walk along the banks of the river downstream until you reach Minnowburn Bridge and the car park beyond. (S/E)
Waypoints
- S/E : km 0 - alt. 16 m - Parking
- 1 : km 0.34 - alt. 17 m - Junction (path on the left)
- 2 : km 1.9 - alt. 44 m - Road
- 3 : km 2.36 - alt. 40 m - Sandpit Trail
- 4 : km 2.96 - alt. 24 m - Terrace Hill
- S/E : km 3.26 - alt. 16 m - Parking
Useful Information
Start & parking : Minnowburn National Trust is just off the Ring Road next to Shaw’s bridge. Follow the signs.
Terrain : Dirt, gravel and wooden boardwalk
Public Transport : Translink
Facilities : Toilet and refreshments nearby at Barnett’s Demesne or Forestside Shopping centre. Also free car parking, viewing point and canoe landing. Leaflets are available.
Dog Policy : Dogs are allowed but must be kept under control.
Note : This walk crosses agricultural land in parts. There are two fields in which you may encounter stock grazing. Always close gates behind you and please keep dogs under control.
Find more information and walk ideas at Walk NI here.
Always stay careful and alert while following a route. Visorando and the author of this walk cannot be held responsible in the event of an accident during this route.
During the walk or to do/see around
Giants Ring : The Giant's Ring is a henge monument at Ballynahatty, near Shaw's Bridge, Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was originally preserved by Viscount Dungannon. The inscribed stone tablet on the wall surrounding the site which details Viscount Dungannon's interest was carved by Belfast stonecarver Charles A Thompson about c.1919.
The site is a State Care Historic Monument and has ASAI (Area of Significant Archaeological Interest) status.
The site consists of a circular enclosure, 180 m (590 ft) in diameter and 2.8 hectares (6.9 acres) in area, surrounded by a circular earthwork bank 3.5 m (11 ft) high. At least three of the five irregularly spaced gaps in the bank are intentional and possibly original. East of the centre of the enclosure is a small passage tomb with a vestigial passage facing west. There were reports of other tombs outside the enclosure, but there is no trace of these.
Source and more information about The Giant's Ring here!
