For centuries physicians have sent their patients to the seaside to benefit from the healing properties of seawater and the sea air, and today many of us will take a walk along a beach or seaside promenade to blow away the cobwebs and feel our spirits lifted. Just being close to the sea, filling our lungs with a deep breath of sea air is incredibly therapeutic. Those of us who do not wish to be in the sea, are not deprived of all the benefits it has to offer.
The importance of being outdoors and in nature is well known to help people not only improve physical health but also maintain their positive mental health, build resilience and increase social interactions. In the times in which we are living, with social distancing and restrictions on how we conduct our lives in place, people are turning to the outdoors in vast numbers to feel all these benefits.
Strangford and Lecale is a coastal Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). It is the very special interplay of land and water across the soft, rounded drumlin hills and islands of Strangford Lough that gives Strangford and Lecale its distinct character. Hugging the shores on both sides of Strangford Lough, this AONB extends from Scrabo Hill in the north, to Dundrum Bay in the south taking in the western shores of the Ards Peninsula, Downpatrick and the Lecale Coast. Here, there are so many opportunities to walk, and no matter where you are, you will never be more than a few miles from the coast and the sea air. Visit www.outmoreni.com to discover many beautiful coastal walks in Strangford and Lecale. You will find something there for everyone, no matter what your level of ability.
Strangford Lough and Lecale Partnership (SLLP) brings together stakeholders from many sectors to work to conserve this magnificent natural environment for future generations with, and for, local people to achieve social and physical well-being. For us, and our work to protect and conserve the natural habitats and species, an added benefit of more people being in the outdoors and feeling it’s benefits, is that this often leads people to want to care for the place that gives them so much. The Live Here Love Here programme has kindly supported a number of our projects, including helping fund 2 minute beach clean boards, litter lifting equipment, our annual schedule of beach clean activities and a project to conserve and protect some of our rarest coastal plants, through seed collection and storage in the seed bank facility at True Harvest Seeds, Kilclief.
Through these projects we are encouraging you to visit, explore and care for this wonderful place, feel the benefits of the sea air, and if you like, volunteer with us to protect and conserve it. If you would like to learn more about this opportunity please visit www.strangfordlough.org and sign up for our ezine.
Judith Caldwell
AONB & Geopark Officer
Newry Mourne and Down District Council