Wednesday 8th June saw the launch of Olympic pedigree mountain biking trails at Blessingbourne Estate in Fivemiletown.
With 6km of family-friendly trails and a purpose-built pump track appealing to those after an adrenaline rush, Blessingbourne Estate now stands out as the premier mountain biking destination in Northern Ireland.
his project has been managed by the Countryside Access and Activities Network (CAAN) and has been made possible with an overall investment of £257,971. The development of these trails aims to boost the tourism potential in Fivemiletown as well as create an ideal destination for local activity enthusiasts and active families in the area.
Clare Wright from CAAN explains “With luxury self-catering accommodation and conference facilities on offer, Blessingbourne Estate already does a great job of drawing tourism to this corner of the country. There is a stunning blend of farmland and woodland to explore, all centred around Lough Fadda, making the estate the ideal destination for Northern Ireland’s first cross-country mountain biking trails."
"The blue and red graded trails at Blessingbourne are designed in such a way that they appeal to both seasoned mountain bikers and those looking to have a go for the first time," adds Clare.
“The 6km circular blue trail snakes around the estate and is full of twists and turns that can be taken as slow or as fast as you like. For those who are feeling a bit more adventurous the 4 more advanced red loops off the main trail are packed full of technical features including jumps and banked corners which certainly get the adrenaline pumping. With log rides, table tops and a purpose built pump-track, mountain bikers can easily spend hours on the trails fine tuning their tricks and skills."
Trail designer Phil Saxena of Architrail, who is world renowned for his work previously designing mountain biking courses for the Beijing Olympics and the Downhill World Cup says,
"We wanted to design trails suitable for riders of all ages and abilities to try and encourage more families to get involved in mountain biking. However, we also wanted to appeal to the mountain biking community in Northern Ireland with plenty of challenging technical features and skills areas. We are delighted with how the trails have developed and excited to finally get to see them in use."
Over 50% of the funding for these trails has been put forward by the Northern Ireland Tourist Board whose investment is planned to boost visitor numbers to the Clogher Valley region and benefit the local economy. Speaking at the launch of the trails NITB Chairman Howard Hastings said "The launch of these new mountain bike trails represents an exciting opportunity to enhance the visitor experience here at Blessingbourne and to entice greater numbers of domestic and international tourists to come and experience what's on offer. Tourism providers such as Blessingbourne Estate are leading the way in successfully delivering innovative and diverse ways of attracting new visitors and are of vital importance in developing the tourism offering of the local area. I'm delighted the Northern Ireland Tourist Board has supported the development of these bike trails through £133,000 of Tourism Development Scheme funding."
Estate owner, Colleen Lowry says, "Blessingbourne Country Estate is delighted to be part of this fantastic project. We were all too willing to take part when CAAN approached us a number of years ago. We would like to thank them and Phil Saxena for their hard work and vision. It is fantastic that we can now offer our visitors a 6km mountain bike trail which will showcase the beauty of the estate. When they are in need of a much needed rest they can always relax on our lake or view our carriage museum and try out bikes from years gone by."
Alongside a significant investment from the estate owners, this unique project has been part-funded through the Northern Ireland Tourist Board's Tourism Development Scheme as well as through Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure’s Water Recreation Programme, Dungannon and South Tyrone District Council and Ulster Garden Villages. Once complete the trails will then be leased by Dungannon and South Tyrone District Council who will be responsible for the ongoing management and maintenance of the trails.
The trails at Blessingbourne are now open to the public, seven days a week, May to August between 10am and 10pm and September to April between 10am and 5pm. Car parking is available at the trailhead on the estate for £4 per car. Route descriptions, maps, directions and facility information is available on CycleNI.com.
For more information on accommodation and other activities at Blessingbourne Estate visit www.blessingbourne.com.
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Trail designer Phil Saxena of Architrail, who is world renowned for his work previously designing mountain biking courses for the Beijing Olympics and the Downhill World Cup says,
"We wanted to design trails suitable for riders of all ages and abilities to try and encourage more families to get involved in mountain biking. However, we also wanted to appeal to the mountain biking community in Northern Ireland with plenty of challenging technical features and skills areas. We are delighted with how the trails have developed and excited to finally get to see them in use."
Over 50% of the funding for these trails has been put forward by the Northern Ireland Tourist Board whose investment is planned to boost visitor numbers to the Clogher Valley region and benefit the local economy. Speaking at the launch of the trails NITB Chairman Howard Hastings said "The launch of these new mountain bike trails represents an exciting opportunity to enhance the visitor experience here at Blessingbourne and to entice greater numbers of domestic and international tourists to come and experience what's on offer. Tourism providers such as Blessingbourne Estate are leading the way in successfully delivering innovative and diverse ways of attracting new visitors and are of vital importance in developing the tourism offering of the local area. I'm delighted the Northern Ireland Tourist Board has supported the development of these bike trails through £133,000 of Tourism Development Scheme funding."
Estate owner, Colleen Lowry says, "Blessingbourne Country Estate is delighted to be part of this fantastic project. We were all too willing to take part when CAAN approached us a number of years ago. We would like to thank them and Phil Saxena for their hard work and vision. It is fantastic that we can now offer our visitors a 6km mountain bike trail which will showcase the beauty of the estate. When they are in need of a much needed rest they can always relax on our lake or view our carriage museum and try out bikes from years gone by."
Alongside a significant investment from the estate owners, this unique project has been part-funded through the Northern Ireland Tourist Board's Tourism Development Scheme as well as through Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure’s Water Recreation Programme, Dungannon and South Tyrone District Council and Ulster Garden Villages. Once complete the trails will then be leased by Dungannon and South Tyrone District Council who will be responsible for the ongoing management and maintenance of the trails.
The trails at Blessingbourne are now open to the public, seven days a week, May to August between 10am and 10pm and September to April between 10am and 5pm. Car parking is available at the trailhead on the estate for £4 per car. Route descriptions, maps, directions and facility information is available on CycleNI.com.
For more information on accommodation and other activities at Blessingbourne Estate visit www.blessingbourne.com.
