Open beautiful Banagher to tourists, urges councillor

Now, local councillor Tony McCaul is calling for the area to be opened up to visitors and for better facilities to be installed so that tourists can see the natural beauty and wildlife of the area “all year round.”

After reading the Sentinel article on Banagher Glen, the Sinn Féin councillor for the Foreglen area contacted this newspaper to express his desire that improved facilities are installed.

He said: “The whole area around Banagher Glen is something very special. Basically, the council provides toilets and opens the gates for two months; in July and August. There are four seasons in the year and all four seasons can be very interesting. This is a real gem that a lot of people don’t know about and I would like to see the area promoted more for it’s tourism potential.

“The Limavady Borough needs to focus more on tourism in order to drive the economy in general, especially at a time like this when jobs are so hard to come by, so something like Banagher Glen with it’s natural beauty needs to be made more available for tourists.

“All year round there are things there for people to see with the wildlife, the trees and the historical and cultural significance of the place. It should be made more available for tourists to come and visit the area and take in the natural beauty of the place all year round.”

Among the many features councillor McCaul would like to draw tourists’ attention to are the ancient woodlands, rare birds, archaeology and the myths and legends associated with the area.

The woodlands at Banagher Glen are among the oldest in Ireland, largely free from invasive foreign species because of the areas relative remoteness.

Rare birds, such as the formidable peregrine falcon or the ‘depleted’ redstart can be seen from time to time, as can mammals such as badgers, foxes, feral goats and other species.

In terms of the archaeology of the Banagher area, Banagher Old Church was once a place of pilgrimage and is now protected by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency. Much legend surrounds the Church and the Glen, including the story of the Churches’ founder Saint Murrough O’Heaney and his battle of wits with the last serpent in Ireland.

The original Sentinel feature on Banagher Glen focussed on the cultural and ecological significance of the area, and can be accessed online in the Roe Valley section of londonderrysentinel.co.uk.