Meelmore Lodge
County Down
A walkers' campsite in the Mournes with direct views into the Hare's Gap
About Meelmore Lodge
Meelmore Lodge sits around seven miles from Newcastle in the heart of the Mourne Mountains, run as a family business and built around exactly the kind of trip most visitors come to the range for: a night under canvas within sight of the peaks and a walk straight from the tent the next morning. The campsite looks directly across at Slieve Meelmore and into the Hare's Gap, one of the main routes onto the high ridge and the Mourne Wall, and the Trassey Track trailhead is close by.
Facilities are built around walkers and outdoor groups rather than touring caravans, with grass tent pitches, showers, toilets and an on-site coffee shop serving hot food through the day. A hostel building offers indoor bunk accommodation as an alternative to camping, useful in poor weather or for larger groups, and firepits can be hired for the evening with firewood sold on site. A CCTV-monitored car park and a lit walkway add a level of practicality that some more remote mountain sites lack.
The on-site bistro operates daily through the main season and at weekends outside it, giving a straightforward option for an evening meal without a drive back into Newcastle. Duke of Edinburgh groups and other organised parties are a regular presence, reflecting the site's role as one of the main gateways into the central Mournes, but it works just as well for a couple or family wanting one of the most scenic pitches in the range.