Overview
Pomeroy Forest wraps 18 large timber sculptures – a castle, a unicorn, the Children of Lir – around a set of waymarked woodland loops on the demesne of a long-gone Georgian house. It sits a mile outside Pomeroy, said to be the highest village in Ireland, on the southern edge of the Sperrins in County Tyrone: a mixed native and broadleaf woodland of around 175 hectares. Entry and parking are free, and the whole place was built to be walked slowly rather than conquered – this is a family woodland with a play park and a café, not a hillwalking base.
The forest and its timber-clad visitor centre came out of “Connecting Pomeroy”, a £5 million EU PEACE IV project, and there is history under the trees: the demesne was laid out for Robert Lowry between 1789 and 1792, and a fine stand of Scots pine still marks the old planting. Follow the colour-coded discs on the wooden posts to pick your route.
The trails
Three loops start beside the Pomeroy Forest Park building; do them singly or string them together.
If you’ve time for only one, make it the Red route. The Renardine Fairytale Trail (2.2 km) is the reason most people come – eighteen sculptures drawn from Irish myth and fairy tale, including a small Castle of Pomeroy, a Last Unicorn and the Children of Lir, with a gentle midway climb to a cleared viewpoint over the farmland. QR codes on the boards tell the story behind each piece.
The Blue route (Renardine Nursery Trail, 1 km) is flat, smooth and built for toddlers and buggies, passing six tactile sculptures and looping back by the inclusive play park. The Yellow route (Grace Drennan Eco Trail, 2.4 km) trades sculpture for ecology on a coarser gravel path behind the visitor centre, with wider views across the Sperrin foothills – the pick for runners and anyone after a quieter walk.
Visitor centre and café
The visitor centre is a shared community building as much as a tourist stop: a large multi-use hall with retractable seating for around 150, two smaller rooms, a coffee dock, toilets, changing facilities and a kitchen. Woodies Café opened here in 2026 and now serves hot drinks and sweet treats year-round, sit-in or takeaway – a change from earlier seasons, when the coffee only ran in high summer.
The forest also keeps a calendar of events, from a magic show and Eithne the Adventurer storytelling to Santa’s Magical Forest in December.
Practical tips
- Parking: Free parking in the courtyard and in front of the forest building, with a higher car park as well; you’re asked not to park on the grass. It’s busiest at weekends.
- Footwear: Trainers are fine for the blue and red loops; the yellow trail’s gravel turns muddy after rain, so bring proper shoes if you’re linking all three.
- Getting there: The forest is about a mile from Pomeroy, entered through the old walled demesne gate and signposted from the village. There’s no regular bus, so drive or cycle.
- When to go: Open year-round; spring brings leaf and birdsong, and winter weekdays are close to empty.
Nearby in the Sperrins
- Bessy Bell – a short Sperrin summit walk with wide views over Tyrone.
- Davagh Forest – a larger forest park to the south with waymarked trails and mountain biking.
- Sperrin Mountains & AONB – the wider upland the forest sits in, from valley strolls to hill climbs.
Come with a packed lunch for the courtyard tables, follow the discs at your own pace, and let the kids find the giants before you head off.