Tipi holidays in County Tyrone
County Tyrone is great for exploring mountains, lakes, and ancient stone circles.
- County Tyrone
Popular camping styles for County Tyrone
Tipi holidays in County Tyrone guide
Overview
Although Northern Ireland’s largest county isn’t the most obvious for tourism (competing with the coastline), there are lots of activities and history for adventure lovers. Walk, cycle, or drive in the Sperrin Mountains, go mountain biking or stargazing in Davagh Forest, or drop into the Ulster American Folk Park for a glimpse of 18th-century life and Irish emigration. Or go back further into history at the Beaghmore Stone Circles. There are plenty of camping options too, and those in areas away from towns and cities are great for stargazing on clear nights.
Where to go
Sperrin Mountains
This is the ideal place for a walking or cycling break, or for scenic drives. The Sperrins are the largest mountain range in Northern Ireland and a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. For forest walks, visit Gortin Glen Forest Park, home to an 8-kilometre-long forest drive. Camping on clear nights will give great starry night views too—check out Davagh Forest for stargazing and peaceful nights under the stars.
Lough Neagh
This is a peaceful spot where you can explore on land or on water—with magnificent opportunities for birdwatching and fishing, plus whooper swans in winter. Take a boat cruise or sea safari on the lough to visit heritage sites, hear local legends, and see the sun setting over the Sperrins. Then visit the Seamus Heaney Homeplace at Bellaghy to learn about the poet’s early life and how the landscape influenced this winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature. Camping and boat trips abound thanks to area caravan parks.
Ulster American Folk Park
Here you can see examples of the area’s traditional life and customs of the 18th and 19th centuries, with recreated streets and farmhouses, a replica thatched cottage, and live demonstrations of crafts and skills like turf cutting, patchwork quilting, and wool spinning. You can even board a replica of an emigrant ship and hear stories of emigration and the hardships involved.
Beaghmore Stone Circles
This fascinating site with seven stone circles was discovered during turf cutting in the 1930s and excavated in the 1940s. In the southeast corner of the Sperrin Mountains, north of Cookstown, most of the stone circles are in pairs, set near cairns dating from the early Bronze Age and ancient field walls.
