Lottery tour comes to park

Lurgan Park invited the local media to join volunteers from Craigavon Cycling and Walking Club who get local visually impaired people out and about on tandem bicycles and discover how Lottery funding makes a difference to the local community.

Lurgan Park is Northern Ireland's largest urban park, the second largest public park in Ireland, and is enjoyed by as many as 2,000 people every day.

The beautifully landscaped parkland contains a number of well maintained paths which provide excellent walking and running ground. Local volunteers from Craigavon Cycling and Walking Club use the park every week during the summer and take local visually impaired people around the park on tandem bicycles.

Volunteer Billy McKeown said: “The park’s grounds are not only beautiful but provide us with the ideal setting for getting these local people out and about in the fresh air.

"The tandem bikes give visually impaired people the chance take part in weekly exercise enjoying a hobby that others take for granted. There is also the social side of the group, every week gives these people the chance to catch up with friends.”

Joan Grenville from the National Lottery said: "Lottery players help make such a difference every time they buy a ticket as 25million a week is raised for projects like Lurgan Park.

"We want Lottery players in Lurgan to know where their money goes and the difference it is making to local people in their community.”

Lottery funding goes to projects across the arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment. To find out more visit: www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk.

Lurgan Park was awarded over 1.4million of Lottery funding through Heritage Lottery Fund and Arts Council of Northern Ireland.