Lurgan Park is Northern Ireland’s largest and most beautiful urban park, the second largest town park in Ireland. It is enjoyed by as many as 2000 people every day. The beautifully landscaped parkland contains a number of well maintained paths which provide excellent walking and running ground.
The park itself contains the Coalbrookdale Fountain, this cast-iron fountain was originally erected in 1888 in Lurgan town centre to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Jubilee and is one of only 4 know to survive in the world and the last one with its original lamp posts.
In 2008 the park was awarded the Green Flag Award, the first park in Ireland to do so. Organised by the Civic Trust the Green Flag Award is a national award that recognises the importance of green spaces and parks to the local community, similar to that of Blue Flag for beaches. The Green Flag concentrates on areas such ensuring the park is welcoming, clean and safe, that facilities are provided for all ages, that staff are approachable, knowledgeable and friendly and then environmental and sustainability aspects such as recycling green waste and looking after the wildlife and natural habitats.
The park also houses the impressive Lurgan Lake; a 59-acre man-made lake which was dug during the Famine as a means of creating jobs for the local people. At the time the lake was one of the largest hand dug lakes in Ireland and was one of the chief improvements to Lord Brownlow’s demesne.
Eco Trail
Lurgan Park has an orienteering route that includes an eco trail which comes complete with an activity booklet and concentrates on the natural state of the park. It asks participants to think about what is around them while walking from point to point. The eco trail comes in CD Rom format and is ideal for school or community groups.
Bird Life
There are a wide variety of different bird species to see in the park such as Blackbird, Song Thrush, Robin, Chaffinch, House Sparrow, Blue Tit and Starling. Summer migrants such as Swallows, House Martins and Swifts are also common in the park and over the lake where they are found catching insects. Jays make frequent appearances in the parks woodland, whilst the park lake is home to Moorhens, Coots, Mute Swans, Great Crested Grebes, Tufted Ducks, Black Headed Gulls, Grey Herons and Mallards.
