What parking charges apply when driving into Castlewellan Forest Park?
Castlewellan Forest Park is not the same as the free village car parks at Lower Square and Upper Square. Newry, Mourne and Down District Council applies vehicle entry charges at the forest park; recent published reporting describes £5 per family car per day.
Local car park, route and access details
The council’s forest park information points visitors to its separate vehicle parking and admission-charges schedule. Castlewellan Forest Park provides a lake, walking and mountain-bike trails and other visitor facilities; the vehicle charge applies for entering that managed destination, not to every parking bay in Castlewellan village. The park also publishes seasonal gate-opening hours: April and September 9am–8pm; May to August 9am–9pm; March and October 9am–6pm; November to February 9am–5pm.
What to check before travelling
Because the exact entrance tariff can change, check the current forest park admissions page or entrance sign before visiting rather than relying solely on the published £5 figure. For a village-only stop, Lower Square and Upper Square are separate free council sites with a 12-hour maximum stay. This article should be rechecked before indexing any precise admission price.
