Drive
into the centre of the Mourne Mountains and park at the Silent Valley
Reservoir. Walk up to the high lakes and Ben Crom
Silent Valley, Mourne Mountains
The Silent Valley is a mountain park surrounded by the Mourne peaks, Slieve
Binnian, Slievenaglough and Ben Crom. The reservoir was built to gather
water from the Mourne Mountains.
The Silent Valley and Ben Crom Reservoirs supply water for most of County
Down and a large part of Belfast.
The Mournes were chosen for their natural supply of pure water, which
was a result of high rainfall in the area. This area was also free from
pollution and industry
The area is capable of providing 30 million gallons of water per day.
The
two reservoirs are ringed by mountains and the reservoir grounds contain
parkland, lakes and ponds, which were the natural landscape of the valley
floor.
You can enjoy the mountain scenery, woodland walks, an exhibition centre and restaurant, and learn the story of the building of the dam in 1933. The information centre and restaurant are in two old colonial style houses, and the information centre tells of the construction of the dam and mountain park
You can enjoy the mountain scenery, woodland walks, an exhibition centre and restaurant, and learn the story of the building of the dam in 1933. The information centre and restaurant are in two old colonial style houses, and the information centre tells of the construction of the dam and mountain park
The Mourne Wall marks the extent of the water catchment area and was finished in 1922 having taken 18years to build. It stands up to 8ft high is on average 3ft wide and is 22 miles long connecting the summits of 12 mountains.
The grounds are open daily from 10am until 6.30pm (summer) and 10am until 4pm (winter)
