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In the shadow of the two great cranes, Samson and Goliath, tranquil Victoria Park, with its lakes and famous birdlife, is an oasis from city life. So is the beautiful Cregagh Glen, one of the last of the glens that once surrounded Belfast, with its fabulous views of the city, ancient rath and woods. As well as beautiful parks and glens, East Belfast is also home to the most exciting environmental project in Northern Ireland, the huge £32 million Connswater Community Greenway, which will develop a stunning linear park through the area.
Victoria Park
 The attractive Victoria Park is approximately twenty four hectares in size and just over a century old. It was the park the people of East Belfast located between the tight-knit communities to the east and major workplaces of Harland & Wolff and Shorts to the west. Many of the original features of Victoria Park are still visible today however the Edwardian outdoor bathing pool is long gone.
There are two paths around the park popular with walkers and joggers if you are feeling energetic, although if you would rather relax then why not kick back and watch a game of bowls while the kids are let loose on the playground or BMX track.
Natural Interest
Lake
The lake boasts 2 islands, the larger of which is heavily wooded and offers sanctuary for nesting swans and ducks. Birdlife is abundant in the water, particularly in winter months when overwintering wildfowl and waders use the lake as a high-tide roost.
Species include greylag goose, black-headed and herring gull, heron, mute swan, mallard, tufted duck and pied and grey wagtail.
Mudflats
Mudflats are biodiversity centres for a range of invertebrates living in the sediment which are extremely productive biologically. These include molluscs, crustaceans and worms such as lugworms, ragworms, oysters, cockles and snails.
Mudflats provide an important nursery and feeding ground for many fish species. They also provide a valuable food source for internationally important populations of wintering waders and wildfowl such as brent goose and redshank.
Orangefield Park
Orangefield is a very popular park, providing many facilities for the residents of east Belfast. Like many of Belfast’s parks, it was once part of a large estate, belonging to the Blakiston Houston family. The old Belfast Corporation bought part of the estate in 1938 and turned it into a public park.
The park offers bowling, cycling/BMX tracks, horticultural displays, playing fields, a children’s playground, soccer, a sports pavilion, tennis and walks.
Natural Interest
Orangefield Park has a number of mature trees including oak tress and many nesting birds. Look out for…….
Cregagh Glen
The path up to the Glen is picturesque, passing through mature woodland and with close proximity to the cascading stream. A historic hill fort, or rath, is located on the upper slopes of the Glen. The Glen provides a delightful sense of escape from the City. Access to it is undermined by the wide road, known as the ‘Outer Ring’.
The last of the glens that once surrounded Belfast and cover most of Ulster. The paths through the Glens led to Lisnabreeny in the Castlereagh Hills. A beautiful stroll through this wood is well recommended. The glen was made famous during the United Irishmens Rising of 1798 and 1804 when first Henry Joy McCracken, then Thomas Russell were sheltered from the Military in the cottage of William Witherspoon, even though there was a bounty of £1,500 on their heads.
Natural Interest
There are several waterfalls on the river, and the glen itself contains some mature mixed woodland that includes sycamore, beech, Scots pine and ash trees. Field woodrush is the dominant ground plant but here and there are other species such as dog violet and bluebell.
Look out for farmland birds such as linnets on the Lisnabreeny section of the trail.
Connswater River
 History
Long ago the Connswater river was used first by smugglers, and later by traders to bring in raw materials to the factories and mills, and to take the finished materials back out. 400 years ago the river was a wide deep river free of pollution and full of fish, and with sandy banks, and the only place for people to cross was up stream at the Conn O’ Neill Bridge which today is still standing, a 400 year old bridge, at the Beersbridge behind Abetta Parade.
The bridge and the river were named after Conn O’ Neill, the last of the Ulster Chieftains, who lived at the Grey Castle. Conn was by all accounts a bit of a rogue, and one of his favourite pastimes was to steal and smuggle wine up the river to the bridge, and then transport it overland on horseback - back to the Castle where he held wild parties with his clansmen. The mouth of the river at this time was at a wide sandy bay, most likely around the area of what is now Victoria Park, Belfast.
At around the mid 1600s, the De Beer’s family built a corn mill beside the river and ran the mill on a water wheel. This site is the oldest standing building in Ballymacarrett, now called the Owen O’Cork Mill at Beersbridge Road. The 1850’s brought with it the industrial revolution and the need for cotton production to be increased. So the mill was enlarged to increase the production and with the building and opening of the lagan canal led to raw materials like flax being brought by barge down to Belfast and up the Connswater to the Mill. The river was also used to bring in Jute, the raw material for rope and take the finished rope by barge back onto the Queens Island.
There were also two other companies who used the river to bring in barley and other raw materials for the making of Irish whiskey. These were the Avoniel and Connswater Distillerys, who between them produced over 4 million gallons of whiskey a year.
The Loop River & The Knock River
The 3 rivers meet by Elmgrove school and Abetta Parade.
Natural Interest
The Connswater River used to be a trout river. Decades of pollution have eradicated much of the river life.
The Loop and Knock Rivers are natural habitats for many native plants and birds including reed beds at Avoniel, Kingfishers and Cranes on the Loop River
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