Slieve Donard and Belfast weekend, 13-15th September 
Getting there: a quick hop across on a direct flight from Manchester Airport to Belfast (easyJet, FlyBe)
Walking: 6-7miles, difficulty 3, 4-5hours
Sleeping: youth hostel in Belfast
So, you have climbed the three Peaks of Britain, either individually or on one of our fabulous weekends, and you felt absolutely epic. But did you know there was a fourth one?!
Slieve Donard is an 850 m (2,789 ft) mountain in the Mourne Mountains in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is also the highest peak in Northern Ireland and in the wider province of Ulster, and its summit provides spectacular views of the coast and as far afield as Belfast, 30 miles north, and Dublin, 55 miles to the south. Mourne Mountains are a granite mountain range and an area of outstanding beauty; stretching from sea to sea they offer stunning views and amazing scenery. In popular culture, they allegedly inspired C.S. Lewis to write The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – now there’s a pub quiz question for you!
The plan:
Friday
Arrive in Belfast, where we’ll check-in the centrally located hostel and go out for a meal and a few drinks to get to know each other and wind down after a week at work.
Saturday
In the morning, we’ll grab breakfast at the hostel and hop on a local bus to Newcastle and the start of our walk. After climbing Slieve Donard we’ll stop for a pub dinner at the Niki’s Kitchen Café on Newcastle’s central promenade, because, well, that close to the sea coast, it would be rather rude not to. Afterwards, we’ll get back to Belfast, shower and rest, and then hit the party town proper! No visit to Belfast is complete without a trip around its famous and historic pubs. Belfast is one of the most visited cities in the UK, and the second most visited on the island of Ireland. In 2008, 7.1 million tourists visited the city so let’s go out and find out why!
Sunday 
After a lazy morning over a breakfast and coffee, we will set out to explore Belfast by daylight before catching our flight back to Manchester. We’ll take a stroll through the historic city centre and if time allows, hop on the Murals Tour to see and hear about the Northern Irish troubled history. Northern Ireland contains arguably the most famous political murals (almost 2,000 murals have been documented in since the 1970s) which tend to represent one side's political point of view, or commemorate an event or persons involved in the history of Northern Ireland, particularly during the Troubles.
Kit list: day back, walking boots (no trainers!), walking trousers (no jeans), warm clothes, hat, gloves, waterproofs, gaiters, tea flask/water bottle, change of clothes for the city.
