Crowds take advantage of latest easing of lockdown restrictions in Northern Ireland as car parks of forests and country parks re-opened

CROWDS of people have taken advantage of the latest easing of lockdown restrictions in Northern Ireland as car parks of forests and country parks were re-opened.

Crawfordsburn, Glenariff, Castlewellan and Tollymore were among the many venues, which are owned by the Department of Agriculture, that were able to re-open access for vehicles.

Rangers were out on patrol in the parks to ensure social distancing was enforced and a in bid to curb the number of visitors.

Parks owned by the department have been closed to the public since late March to help slow the spread of coronavirus.

Agriculture minister Edwin Poots announced earlier this month that country parks and forests will reopen on a phased basis with car park access allowed from today.

As the car park gates opened, large numbers of vehicles were reported to be descending on many of the forest and country parks.

However, cafes, public toilets, exercise equipment, play areas and visitors' centres at the parks remain closed

At the Divis and Black Mountain trails in Belfast officials were manning the entrance, reminding people of the social distancing guidelines and advising them of the limited facilities at the venue.

Dog owners were also told to keep their animals on leads at all times.

Officials also had to turn cars away after the car park to the popular beauty spot became packed to capacity, advising people to return later in the day.

John Joe O'Boyle from the Forest Service said: "We will have staff at each of our sites and those staff will be keeping a close watch on the sites and making sure there are not too many people in a particular area at the same time.

"In the event, and I hope that we don't get to that point, but in the event, for example, there are too many people at a peak time, we may just have to control the numbers getting into the park until the park frees up a little bit."

Meanwhile, the popular Silent Valley reservoir beauty spot in Co Down has not yet re-opened to the public.

NI Water said while many of many of its outdoor spaces had re-opened, Silent Valley was "a more complex NI Water site and requires some further preparation work to be completed to ensure it remains safe for all its visitors".

Stewart Walsh from NI Water said: "We want everyone to enjoy the beauty, nature and tranquillity of Silent Valley whilst staying safe, but Silent Valley remains closed as key preparation work continues to make sure this site is safe and secure for everyone to enjoy, while social distancing.

"When the site does reopen, there will be limited facilities available, in line with NI Executive guidelines. This includes toilet facilities, visitor’s centre and play park, so please keep this in mind if you are planning a future journey to Silent Valley."