The nature reserve was created on an area of wet wasteland thanks to funds from North Down Strategy Partnership, managed by North Down Business Village, through the European Union’s PEACE II Programme. The wetland nature reserve was very much created from scratch and involved drawing up a detailed plan and the use of heavy machinery to dig out the ponds and landscape the site.The nature reserve is still very much a work in progress and it will take a while for the plant life to establish itself and for wildlife to colonise it – so it may look a bit scruffy to begin with!
It doesn’t take long for nature to take over so we will be holding a community event to officially ‘launch’ the site when it becomes more established next spring. This nature reserve is very much a ‘people and wildlife’ site - a fantastic place for wildlife and for the community in the area to enjoy.
The nature reserve has two large ponds, a bird hide, a picnic area, paths and information panels. The nature reserve will provide a home to a wide variety of wetland wildlife including many plant and bird species, butterflies, dragonflies, newts, frogs and much more.
Access: Wheelchair access around the site, including a bird hide and a large section of boardwalk. The majority of the path network is made of elevated wooden boardwalks that loop around the site. It has open access all year round, and the walk around it is approximately one kilometre long. Picnic area and car parking available. K Crooks.jpg)
Getting there: Balloo Wetland Nature Reserve is situated off the Balloo Road in Bangor near the Signal Business Centre.
Look out for: As well as the usual ducks and geese you might spot kingfishers, dragonflies and damselflies and a variety of wetland plant life.
Balloo Woodland Nature Reserve
Balloo Woodland Nature Reserve is an oasis for wildlife and people in the heart of the Balloo Industrial Estate. It is full of mature native (and some exotic) trees and woodland plant life, with a small pond to provide a home to some watery wildlife too!
Unlike the wetland, which is a newly created nature reserve, the woodland at Balloo has been there for a long time. What we now call Balloo Woodland was previously the grounds of Balloo House, home of the Steele-Nicholson family since the early 1700s. The House was demolished in the mid 1900s but the remains of the family mausoleum built in 1792 (known locally as Nicky’s tomb) still exist on the eastern edge of the wood. North Down Borough Council bought the woodland in 1995 and stopped it from being built upon.
We will be seeking to secure funding to improve the access around Balloo Woodland in the coming months along with work to remove invasive species from the nature reserve.
Access: Open access with a path network around the site.
Getting there: You can’t miss the entrance to the site as it is beside the huge wind turbine, visible from all over Bangor! It can also be accessed from behind the new Recycling Centre, off the Balloo Road.
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Look out for: The woodland has some excellent examples of native tree species with some oaks thought to be as old as 400 years old. The woodland is home to a wide variety of wildlife including the trees themselves of course. The trees provide perches and nesting sites for birds, support numerous insects, provide shady conditions for woodland flowers and are home to weird and wonderful fungi in the autumn.
