Riverside Park

About

Riverside Park is a significant feature in the heart of Ballymoney Town and comprises some 40 acres/16 hectares of open parkland. The Ballymoney River flows along the length of Riverside Park and is a key feature which makes the Park a haven for wildlife.

Enjoy a variety of pleasant urban riverside walks, the town's 'Highway to Health' trail, the Jubilee play park, and picnic areas. A shared cycle path also runs through the park, part of the NCN Route 96 from Lough Neagh via Ballymoney to Coleraine.

The natural grasslands meadows are part of the successful "Don't Mow Let it Grow" Biodiversity Scheme, creating healthy habitats for pollinators, featured in a new all-Ireland celebration of biodiversity projects.

Through sensitive engineering a new river channel was created to support its native fish population. Specialist biodiversity planting was used to restore the old pond area into a wetland floodplain to tolerate flooding and bring colour, using plants such as purple loosestrife, flag iris, meadow sweet and ragged robin.

A ‘living barrier’ was planted along the river banks to naturalise it using plants like, marsh marigold and devils bit-scabious, creating a home for insect life such as dragonflies and damselflies.
The woodland areas were enhanced with plants including, wild garlic, bluebells, snowdrops, miniature daffodils, honeysuckle and red campion, providing a much needed nectar source to our native bumblebees and butterflies, look out for the white-tailed and common carder bumblebees and speckled wood and ringlet butterflies.

In 2015 Riverside Park was designated a Local Nature Reserve (LNR) endorsed by the Council for Nature Conservation and the Countryside.

Why not visit this wonderful park and experience the wetland and river biodiversity first hand?