The Newry & Mourne area has an estimated population of 87,058. Newry city has a population of 19,760 and is an important service centre providing administrative, commercial and recreational services for the extensive rural hinterland. The town has recently been expanding its role as an important retail centre. Located within the district are the magnificent Mourne and Slieve Gullion mountain ranges which provide a wide range of recreational and leisure opportunities to residents and visitors. In South Armagh a vibrant culture, striking unspoilt landscape and range of activities are widely available, whilst South Down to the east of Newry provides a range of dramatic scenery, with outdoor opportunities, stretching from Carlingford Lough to Annalong. Few areas of similar extent can show such a variety of topography, landforms, coastal forms and human history or such bold contrast of mountain, lowland and sea.
The city of Newry has a rich heritage and many fine buildings and public places. The twin waterways, the Canal and the Clanyre River, flow through the town along parallel channels. Recent years have seen significant investments in the retail and leisure sector, providing excellent opportunities for shopping, sports, relaxation and entertainment.
Ring of Gullion
The striking landscapes of the Ring of Gullion are a result of the unique geology of the area - a ring of igneous rocks has resulted in a distinctive range of peaks enclosing a cultural landscape of small farmsteads rich in legend with a multitude of historic monuments. Trees and small woodlands are significant landscape features. There are diverse wildlife habitats including fragments of the once extensive lowland bogland. Many of these boglands have been drained and cut over for turf. The craggy outcrops are covered with heather moorland. The range of upland and marginal habitats such as dry and wet heath lands hedgerow and rough grass creates a rich mosaic of wildlife habitat.
Crossmaglen Drumlin Landscape
This undulating Drumlin Landscape extends in a belt from south of Slieve Brack to Crossmaglen towards Monaghan. The predominant land use is farming, resulting in a mosaic of hedgerows and small pockets of woodland. The Interdrumlin wetlands, bogs and some loughs are typical of the area. The countryside is interspersed by isolated settlements and dwellings. There is a scatter of archaeological remains.
Carrog Wetlands - East of Newry
Relatively undiscovered, 'softer' Drumlin landscape. The area comprises a series of river valleys, toughs and wetlands dominated by the shale ridges of Slieve Carnane and the Carrogs Mountain.
Ghann - Kilbroney Valleys
The Ghann - Kilbroney Valleys are two valleys cutting into upland terrain and opening out into a narrow coastal plain adjoining Carlingford Lough. There are large tracts of coniferous forestry on the east facing slopes of Kilbroney Valley and Lower Ghann River, with pockets of deciduous trees along the valley bottom. Kilbroney Park provides attractive parkland. There is expanding urbanisation along the coastal plain with the growth of Newry, Rostrevor and Warrenpoint resulting in ribbon development stretching up the valley.
High Mournes
The rugged, mostly rounded Mourne mountain peaks and dramatic granite outcrops surrounding open exposed hill and grazing land which supports mainly semi-natural vegetation of wet and dry heaths and heather, including ericaceous heaths of international significance and grass communities mostly unenclosed land with few trees and walls, except the historically significant and scenic Mourne Wall.
Kilkeel Coastal Plain
This broad coastal plain is composed of a patchwork of improved farmland with moderate to large size fields. The granite walls are distinctive in the area. Several rivers and streams dissect the plain, contributing to the landscape character of the area and ecological diversity.
There is a mix of architectural styles with many new dwellings in a range of modern styles and scale leaving a scatter of traditional buildings, many falling into dereliction.
South East Mourne Foothills
Undulating towards Carlingford Lough, the foothills of the Mournes lie between the high Mournes and Kilkeel Coastal Plain. The area is characterised by traditional farmsteads, a mix of unimproved and improved grassland, scrub and boulder fields, green lanes and stone walls. This tapestry of farmsteads, field boundaries, farmland habitats, forestry and bog vegetation contribute to the overall scenic appeal and ecological diversity. River and stream corridors dissect foothills.