Drum Manor Forest Park — Attraction in Oaklands

So. We decided on a rainy day, to do the long course, about 3.8k round the park, but with a few differences. Their vaguely helpful map had 2, yes two black routes. They made it appear like they were displayed differently but my aged eyes definitely read them as the same colouring and marking system!! There were only 3 routes but only 2 colours, black and red. So we did the outer black but also deliberately picked up the red route at the end of our route. The outer black certainly was not a closed loop and didn't start or finish at the car park. So I chose to walk the red route, to the right (west) until we picked up our black route. Just out of the car park, there was a red arrow pointing to the left (east), but I wanted to go west to pick up the black route. Only when I reached the black route did I realise I hadn't selected the correct direction to handle the black waymarkers!!!! Bit I'm a skilled map worker and I had a mobile photo of their route which became a real challenge to follow - and as time went on, I eventually got the hang of not reading exactly what they showed. I was off route early on but eventually I kept myself convinced of the route. That was until I reached the join of the red route by the lakes, where their map had me arriving on one side of the small lake whereas I met a red route joining me from a direction which didn't exist in their map (from the map board, in the car park, that day! ). Anyway, once I picked up the red route all was fine and easy to follow without any further incident. I would say, some of the car parking money would be better spent on purchasing a few dozen marker posts and laying it out better so that the marker posts assist you to go in either direction. And three colours not two!!! And they all visibly start and finish right by the car park. Having given all that negativity, I would say it was a lovely route, generally wooded, and including 2 or 3 nice ponds or small lakes. The walk was not level but the surface was good, even when wet. It undulated but with a slope that I, on two walking poles with very poor legs, was able to manage with my arm strengths. There were a few nice grassy areas near the car park. There were also a couple of walled gardens which certainly didn't really do much for me but it may have been our dreadful summer spoiling the displays created by hard working gardeners. I enjoyed our just over an hour's walk,...

We arrived in the car park after a 52-mile drive only to find the toilets closed due to vandalism. After a 90-minute drive, it is not surprising that some members of my party would have liked to avail of the facilities.

I’m not sure which public body maintains the forest park, whether it is the Forest Service or the local council, but it would seem sensible to me to provide a temporary portable toilet such as a “Portaloo” until the vandalised facilities are repaired. The nearest functioning public toilet about 3 miles away is in a large supermarket on the outskirts of Cookstown.

Drum Manor is a relatively small forest park. Maintenance of the paths and trail signage is just about acceptable. The longest walk, the black trail is around 2.5 miles with some steep gradients. In my opinion, the paths are not suitable for wheelchairs, mobility scooters, strollers or persons with restricted mobility.

Some parts of the forest are nice, natural deciduous woodland, other parts are managed conifer plantations, which are not so nice.

The entrance fee is £4 per car, but the pay and display ticket machine was out of service, so we...

Our family camped at Drum Manor forest park two weeks ago. We booked with the office on the phone and was sent an email with instructions and gate code. We arrived and set up camp with electric hookup and nice soft green grass. the kids loved it and there were lots of families. Caravans, tents and camper vans. The area is surrounded by forest with great walks and an excellent play park walking distance from the camp, but but not too close.There is no security on site during the eve so it is important to ensure you lock the gate behind you to ensure no unwelcome guests arrive. The ranger arrived the next morning and was friendly and helpful. The only thing I would suggest is to clean the facilities. the showers, toilets and kitchen area has not been cleaned in a long time. I would go back there and hopefully someone cleans the facilities on a...