A new website dedicated to providing people all over Northern Ireland with detailed information and interactive mapping on the country’s outdoor trails, community walking paths and outdoor venues has been launched.
Cool FM presenter and keen outdoor enthusiast Paulo Ross attended the launch and believes the website will be an incredible resource for anyone interested in the outdoors. “OutmoreNI is such a brilliant concept and definitely a site I’ll be using for my own hikes in the Mournes. I love how easy it is to navigate and I’ve no doubt it’s going to become incredibly popular here.”
The website will be the first of its kind in Northern Ireland, letting users quickly and easily search for a wide range of opportunities to get outdoors.
OutmoreNI.com acts as a ‘one stop shop’ for information on outdoor recreation in Northern Ireland for users of all abilities and backgrounds including complete beginners through to serious enthusiasts. Its goal is to help people discover what trails and outdoor facilities are on their doorstep or waiting for them in another part of Northern Ireland – including walking, cycling, canoeing and mountain biking trails as well as forests, parks, beaches and nature reserves.
The website contains almost 700 trails and over 200 outdoor places which have all been individually mapped to show the important information needed when planning an outdoor adventure. This includes trail distances, information on parking facilities, admission charges, guidelines on bringing dogs and much more.
The driving force behind the website is a not for profit organisation called Outdoor Recreation Northern Ireland (ORNI), whose remit is to develop, manage and promote outdoor recreation for Northern Ireland. They are also responsible for the creation and maintenance of several popular websites from which many of the trails are drawn from, including WalkNI, CycleNI and MountainBikeNI. Financial funding was secured from SportNI and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA), who are both thrilled to see a website like this developed in Northern Ireland. However, the website would not have been possible without the support from Ordnance Survey Northern Ireland (OSNI) who have provided the mapping platform which the website is based upon.
John News from Sport NI said, “We believe OutmoreNI will lead to a significant growth in people becoming more active. A lot of work has gone into making the site as accessible as possible for people. Whether you’re looking for an easy walk, a nearby park or your nearest canoe trails to get outdoors, OutmoreNI will make a real impact on the lives of people all over Northern Ireland.”
Helen Anderson, the Director of the Environment Division at NIEA was delighted with the finished project. She commented that “The website has great potential to show local communities and the wider public where to explore their local landscapes and natural environment. We hope the website will have a positive impact on the public’s health and well-being.”
The website is now live and can be found by visiting OutmoreNI.com.
Photographed from Left to Right – OutmoreNI is launched by Gareth Young from Ordnance Survey Northern Ireland (OSNI), Helen Anderson from Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA), John News from SportNI, Paulo Ross from Cool FM and Brian Murphy from Outdoor Recreation Northern Ireland (ORNI)