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Located in the Whyte Estate in Northern Ireland, the Loughbrickland Historic Trail is a self-guided trail up to 4.5 miles taking the walker through the built and natural heritage of the historic village of Loughbrickland. Through woods and open countryside, the trail traces previous occupants of the estate from the time over 1,000 years ago when the impressive Coolnacran Ringfort and the smaller Johnston’s Fort were in use – to World War II when troops were stationed in the estate.

HLF funded an extension to the existing trail creating a countryside walk through the private estate and access to Johnston's Fort. Much of the conservation work was undertaken by community service teams under the guidance of the Probation Board. Volunteers from local community groups were also involved and produced information boards and a revised guide for the trail.  The country walk is now very popular and well used by locals and visitors alike.

The one-year project had three main aims:

• Extend Loughbrickland Historic Trail around perimeter of the Whyte Estate, create access to Johnston's Fort and establish a native hedgerow along part of the trail.
• Facilitate community participation and involvement.
• Promotion and interpretation of the trail.

• The extension of the Loughbrickland Historical Trail has created a country trail of some 2.5 miles that gives new public access to Johnston’s Fort.
• The newly opened Boundary Trail follows an old tree lined path in the Estate that was created for riding horses. Over the years, the ride fell into disuse and sections of it were impassable. The path was fenced off, cleared of debris, its drainage improved, 320m of native hedgerow was planted and new access to Johnston’s Fort created. The newly planted hedgerow acts as a wildlife corridor that is used by a wide range of animals and invertebrates.

• Every week community service work teams (comprising one to five people) under the guidance of the Probation Board (PBNI) undertook much of the hedge and tree planting and some of the woodland management and maintenance. Many rarely had the opportunity to take part in heritage projects, so this initiative was a chance for them to widen their experience and to learn new conservation skills. 
• Three interpretative boards, a series of waymarkers and a revised Trail guide were produced providing background information on the built and natural heritage. Eight volunteers from the Loughbrickland Historical Group and Loughbrickland and District Community Association provided the photography and text for the interpretative materials.
• Three guided walks and a series of events have been organised along the trail including tree planting, an autumn ramble and biodiversity themed walk.
• Part of the original trail set up in 2000 went through the Whyte Estate and it was the first time the grounds had been opened regularly to the public. This new project extended the original three year permissive path agreement to a new term of 20 years for the entire trail.

• Working on scheduled ancient monuments can make projects more complicated and difficult due to the need to work within the constraints of Scheduled Monument Consent.
• PBNI made a great contribution, reducing costs by providing free labour but this in turn required more input in terms of direction and ordering materials etc than if all the works had been put out to contract. 
• When working with a community group it is best to agree and allocate specific tasks and a timetable at the beginning of the project to prevent the voluntary element of the project ‘drifting’.

• The extension to the Loughbrickland Historic Trail has opened up natural and built heritage for all to enjoy for the future.
• Opportunities for walks in the Banbridge district are limited, so this trail is regularly used both by local people and by others from further afield.
• The partnership approach adopted by this project proved to be beneficial for all concerned. The Whyte estate is being managed on an ongoing basis, the public can access private land and offenders have learnt practical skills.
• The walk received Countryside Access and Activities Accreditation as a ‘Quality Short Walk’ and is publicised on the WalkNI website and the Banbridge website.

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