OutmoreNI.com campaign to show people how to ‘Get Out More’ in NI

With summer quickly approaching there is no better time to start planning which outdoor spots to visit around Northern Ireland.

However, it is growing more common for people to navigate towards the same popular outdoor locations, causing them to become overcrowded and misused.

Keen to tackle these issues, OutmoreNI.com has launched a campaign called ‘Get Out More’ which includes its newly overhauled website showcasing the many outdoor trails and places across Northern Ireland, that people would not be aware of. From those on their doorsteps to those wonderful hidden gems further afield.

Research by Outdoor Recreation NI in 2020, the organisation behind the campaign, revealed nearly half (47%) of the population of Northern Ireland were spending more of their free time outdoors during the pandemic than they did in 2019 and 51% expect to continue to use the outdoors.

This increase in sustained outdoor usage by the Northern Irish public emboldened Outdoor Recreation NI’s desire to redevelop its OutmoreNI.com website and launch this new campaign.

Funding provided by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs and Sport NI has supported this new campaign and website.

Speaking on the investment and redevelopment of the new website, Ethan Loughrey, marketing officer at Outdoor Recreation NI, said: “Spending time outdoors is a great way to connect and appreciate the beauty of nature around us and it is vital for our physical and mental health. There is a plethora of things to do and places to see across Northern Ireland’s outdoors, which OutmoreNI.com has been eager to display in a more innovative and user-friendly format, enhancing the old site for 2022.

“For example, the site now showcases hundreds of outdoor trails, in an easy-to-follow format, such as walking, cycling, canoeing and mountain biking in many locations. There is also a vast amount of information and useful resources on the site on outdoor places to discover and explore such as beautiful beaches, forests, parks, and nature reserves.”

There are a range of categories to choose from depending on what activity or place is desired by the user which are clearly represented by colour coded icons. For example, an orange foot print icon symbolises walking trails and a green park bench symbolises parks on the website.

When a trail or place is selected, more information will be presented including distance, nearest town, trail directions, the facilities available, any points of interest including wildlife on site and how to actually get there. It also displays an image which encourages users to get a glimpse of the beautiful scenery the place or trail provides.

Since all of the restrictions have been lifted across Northern Ireland including travel, people finally have the freedom to spend more time outdoors.

However, people may struggle to decide on where to go and therefore OutmoreNI.com is an excellent website for families and friends to utilise to plan and organise their days out.

The website is easy to navigate and has a search bar which enables the public to organise their own adventure, catering to their own needs. Users may want to travel to Ballycastle for a day out and may need some ideas on different activities and places to get the most enjoyable experience out of their day.

Ethan, who lives in Omagh, continued: “The interactive map allows you to explore the area that you are travelling to and get to know the area and what is in it before you leave the house. By having filtered search results, this will allow you to find out more about the trail or place you want to visit.”

Supporting the launch of the new website and campaign is presenter and outdoor enthusiast, Paulo Ross, added: “Thanks to OutmoreNI.com people can make more informed decisions when preparing where to visit and explore the beautiful scenery across Northern Ireland right at their fingertips.

“People will be inspired to travel to new locations and create new routes for walking, cycling, mountain biking and canoeing and the beauty of it is that it caters for a range of abilities and backgrounds including complete beginners through to serious enthusiasts.

“Alternatively, if people just want to spend time outdoors and connect with nature whether that’s having a picnic or paddling their feet in the water there are also over 200 outdoor places listed.”

So why not discover new outdoor trails and places to explore throughout Northern Ireland...Get Out More!