{"id":15033,"date":"2022-03-29T12:17:06","date_gmt":"2022-03-29T10:17:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.countryfile.com\/?p=111414"},"modified":"2022-03-29T12:37:28","modified_gmt":"2022-03-29T10:37:28","slug":"walk-bloody-bridge-river-county-down","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/rss_feed\/walk-bloody-bridge-river-county-down\/","title":{"rendered":"Walk: Bloody Bridge River, County Down"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By countryfile\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 29 March 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

This 6.2-mile return walk begins at Bloody Bridge car park, 3 miles south of the attractive seaside town of Newcastle. The location was immortalised by Percy French, whose song The Mountains of Mourne refers to \u201cwhere the mountains of Mourne sweep down to the sea\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For those looking for a slightly shorter route, Crannage Quarry makes a good turn-around point (4 miles return), but if you have the energy it\u2019s worth continuing on to the col beneath Slieve Donnard for spectacular views of the Annalong Valley<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"""\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
The route starts and ends at Bloody Bridge car park on the County Down coast, three miles south of Newcastle on the Kilkeel road\/Credit: Babett Paul, Getty<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Bloody Bridge River walk<\/h2>\n

6.2 miles\/10km | 4 hours\u00a0|\u00a0<\/span><\/b>moderate-challenging<\/p>\n

1. Smugglers route<\/b><\/p>\n

Leave the car park \u2013 which has public toilets \u2013 from its southern exit and cross the road. Go through the pedestrian gate and narrow squeeze stile and follow the track down the hill, before starting to climb.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The track is the start of a route used in the 18th century by smugglers who brought brandy, wine, spices, tobacco and other contraband to the Mourne coast from the Isle of Man<\/a>. So skilled were the smugglers that, by 1835, half of the houses in nearby Hilltown were pubs.<\/p>\n

If you look back, you can see Bloody Bridge, originally a ford and the site of a notorious massacre during the 1641 rebellion by Catholic noblemen.<\/p>\n

A group of Protestants were being taken by their Catholic captors for exchange in Downpatrick. However, when their captors learned that the Downpatrick prisoners had been killed, the unfortunate Protestant men were \u201chacked, slashed and cut to pieces\u201d by the Irish commander George Russell. The bodies of nine Protestants and their minister were thrown over the bridge and their blood turned the river water red, giving it the name Bloody Bridge River. These days, a beautiful view of Dundrum Bay<\/a> and the surrounding County Down countryside is a welcome antidote to this gruesome tale.<\/p>\n

You may also like:<\/p>\n