Ormeau Park

I can’t believe I haven’t yet reviewed Ormeau Park! I have fond memories of the park from growing up and playing football here and also enjoying summer walks through the nature.
I suppose that sums up Ormeau Park, it has excellent versatility fantastic for sport and nature enthusiasts. In terms of sport Ormeau Park has a number of well maintained football pitches, a BMX track, tennis courts and basket ball courts — there is also a playground for those too young for organised sport.
In terms of nature theres a few good jogging routes and signed eco orienteering routes.
The park is extremely accessible and it seems that over the years Belfast City Council have made a converted effort to u[grade facilities where they can.
Parking is generous and is much needed especially in May when the Belfast City Marathon takes place (Ormeau Park acts as the end of the run).
All in all a great park — it’s also the site of the Ozone Centre (Laser Quest as it’s commonly known).

Ormeau Park is a lovely green spot of Belfast, well-​maintained but still with a sense of wilderness. I think it is quite popular although due to the massive size of the park, it is never crowded as such. There are different paths and trails, so you can enjoy a long enough stroll if you feel like. Sports facilities are great here, a jogger’s paradise with various trails, lots of space for team sports, there are soccer pitches, bowling greens, basketball and tennis courts, a playground for kids and a number of outdoor fitness equipment (not taken seriously by kids :)) As far as I know, there is also a 5K park run on Saturday mornings.

Ormeau Park is lovely for a dander almost all year round — just maybe not if there’s heavy rain or snow! You can enjoy the sunshine on a Summer’s day, or a walk in the Autumn crunching over the fallen leaves is also lovely. The park is quite wild compared to some other parks and the trees and so on have grown a lot over the years. I was surprised when I was there recently, as I used to go there all the time as a child and the trees were far smaller then! It’s a lovely place to go to enjoy the ‘wilderness’, and would also be a great place to walk a dog if you have one. I agree with some of the other reviewers about how it would be good to see more events in the park.

Ormeau Park, the underrated green space of Belfast. I love this place its a little emerald in the grey concrete of the city. Well cultivated and kept with its grandiose gates and lots of little walks and trails, great for a little peace of mind walk or a wee day out for kids at the pretty awesome play park.
My only negative is that I think there could be more done here events wise. It always seems botanic has the monopoly on those. Maybe a winter wonderland like they do at Hyde Park in London and a few Summer events to make use of the bandstand and nice open spaces.

A massive sprawling wilderness of a park for a small city such as Belfast. Full of mature trees and large space to wander around. Popular with dog walkers and joggers. I do like this park, though it’s not as cultivated as Botanic Gardens with its landscaped, gardener tended areas. There’s a more natural, uncultivated lushness to Ormeau Park. A lovely place especially in autumn and summer…

Ormeau Park doesn’t get nearly the credit it deserves, in my opinion. It’s much more vast and wild than Botanic Gardens, and offers a true escape from the city. If manicured lawns and flower beds are your thing, you won’t find much in Ormeau although recently I notice that more of an effort is being made to sculpt beds and plant ornamental flowers than in previous years.
And let’s not forget the bowling green, found inside the walled garden at the Ormeau Road side of the park, which sports a riot of flowers in the beds around the edges and lots of benches where you can take them in and enjoy a sedate game of bowls at the same time.
There are also basketball courts and some sort of stunt bike area — if you can find them among the trees and football pitches and other things the park has going on.
This park occasionally gets a dodgy reputation from reports of people being attacked there after dark, but I’ve never had a bad experience.

This knocks the socks off Botanic Gardens any day. It’s massive, wilder, nowhere near as crowded and just lovely. I used to take my spaniel Tiko here every day and he loved it — OK, dogs love anywhere they can run about, but he really did share my love of this park, as there’s loads of undergrowth he could and did snuffle into and lots of space to run around. (And if the poor girl whose lunchtime Subway sandwich he scarfed is reading this, I can only apologise yet again.)
I haven’t been back to Ormeau Park since he died, because, well, I just don’t want to at the mo, but some of my happiest memories of him are at this park and it”s probably my favourite outdoor spot in all of Belfast. I love walking past the house in the middle of it and dreaming someday of living there. I’d even give up my Melbourne yearning for that…
This is a stellar spot for walking, cycling or skating, and I even saw a mini orchestra happily playing near the bandstand once as well. There are bowling greens, a basketball/​netball court and tennis courts, at which I would marvel at healthy types playing vigorously there at 10am on a Sunday, as Tiko and I lurched past. (And if the poor guy whose tennis ball he neatly nipped in and stole is reading this, I can only apologise yet again.)
A beautiful park that’s a bit bittersweet for me at the moment, but hopefully will become a regular chilling out place for me again. Perfect.

Ormeau Park is a wonderful publicly run park, and for me is far superior to Botanic gardens, which I find to be sadly lacking in natural beauty.
Ormeau Park is absolutely massive compared to Botanic which is rather small and cramped, especially on sunny days where students swarm to it like flies to a word I cannot type here!
The park has tennis courts, football pitches and basketball courts that can be booked for low prices, and is a really overlooked facility! The whole park is never too full which is one of the appealing aspects of the park, because you feel like you are really in an isolated grassy country park somewhere, not stuck right in the centre of Belfast!
The park was also the temporary site of the Vital concerts that used to be held in Belfast which were great, and I saw The Killers, Kasabian, Mark Ronson and The Shins here all in one day for £25, which was phenomenal value!
Ormeau is a wonderful escape from the hustle and bustle of the city, so get there if you want a relaxing walk or a bit of sporting fun!
Ormeau Park is a wonderful publicly run park, and for me is far superior to Botanic gardens, which I find to be sadly lacking in natural beauty.
Ormeau Park is absolutely massive compared to Botanic which is rather small and cramped, especially on sunny days where students swarm to it like flies to a word I cannot type here!
The park has tennis courts, football pitches and basketball courts that can be booked for low prices, and is a really overlooked facility! The whole park is never too full which is one of the appealing aspects of the park, because you feel like you are really in an isolated grassy country park somewhere, not stuck right in the centre of Belfast!
The park was also the temporary site of the Vital concerts that used to be held in Belfast which were great, and I saw The Killers, Kasabian, Mark Ronson and The Shins here all in one day for £25, which was phenomenal value!
Ormeau is a wonderful escape from the hustle and bustle of the city, so get there if you want a relaxing walk or a bit of sporting fun!

Ormeau Park is definitely one of the best green spaces in Belfast. I never actually realised how huge it was until I decided to walk through it one day. I was meeting some friends to play tennis in the Ozone Complex, but entered through the Ormeau Road, rather than the Embankment or the Ravenhill Road. It took ages to get there! Although, it was a really pleasurable walk. The pathways were lovely and wide, allowing for cyclists, dog walkers and pedestrians to co-​exist in harmony, and the greenery has the right balance between being really wild and mechanically maintained.

Ormeau Park is the sort of park you could spend hours roaming around in and no one would find you. It’s absolutely massive, with the path seemingly winding forever (in reality, it probably runs for about 1 or 2 miles). It’s a favourite with local dogwalkers. The best time to visit is Spring, when the trees are blooming with pink blossoms. Lovely.

Ormeau Park is the oldest park in all of Belfast, and opened in 1871. It’s also one of the biggest, you can really get lost here! It’s got lots of stuff to occupy kids and teenagers also, football pitches, tennis courts, and little playground areas too. You can access it from the Ormeau Road, the Ormeau Embankment, Park Road and Ravenhill Road too.
It’s extremely well-​maintained, with winding paths and grassy lawns, and beautiful flower beds at certain times of the year. It’s weird that it’s smack bang in the middle of Belfast — you wouldn’t know it, it’s like a calm oasis — and it’s especially nice that it’s right around the corner from where I work — so I can get some space from my pupils at lunchtime!
It wouldn’t be top of the list for any tourists or sightseers, unless they are particularly into the history of parks, for which this one, being the oldest in Belfast, might hold an interest for them, but if you’re staying in the area and fancy a bit of scenery I would definitely recommend it. And, being from North Belfast myself, I would suggest any Belfast residents go and stroll around any quiet afternoon — it’s a lovely place.