DEEP within the breath-taking peaks of the Mountains of Mourne, lies a hidden oasis of tranquility, a small monastery off the Rostrevor Road that houses a small community of Benedictine monks.

I first met these monks over 20 years ago when they first arrived to the North from France. At that time their altar wasn’t in place so they went to mass in Clonard Monastery, hence the connection. When you enter their little monastery you can’t help but be immersed in the silence. The monks enter their little church from their enclosed quarters and sing the vespers which is in itself angelic. This is the only time that the monks appear from their enclosure and the only time that they break their spiritual silence.

I had the good fortune of catching up on old times with their abbot and reminisce about the time of the Dalai Lama’s visit to Belfast. It was also renewing and refreshing to me to indulge in the silence of the monastery.

Once again I found myself surrounded by natures beauty and I enjoyed one of the three walks that visitors can enjoy.

As I walked around their manicured garden under the gaze of the watchful eyes of the mountains I got that sense of connection of belonging to this place and time. I found that my very footsteps slowed down as I walked around the grounds enjoying the natural incense of the fragrance of the flowers and I enjoyed the beautiful bird song as they sang their praises.

I left the monastery and continued on my journey to another treasure of the Mourne’s the recently opened to the public Mourne Park just a couple of miles outside Kilkeel on the Newry Road. 

Once again I found myself surrounded by natures beauty and I enjoyed one of the three walks that visitors can enjoy.

The park was recently bought by the Woodland Trust back in 2021 and you can see the wonderful work that they are doing in establishing walks and information on the area and its local habitat. Major ancient woodland restoration has been ongoing for over four years, allowing the ancient woodland to regenerate, its natural flora to flower. The park is also the home for our native red squirrel, who can be seen playing amongst the canopy of the trees.

The forest was the home to the family seat of the Kilmorey family and was admired by 19th century travellers and artists. A guide informed me that many famous people were hosted on the estate, including Errol Flynn, General Patton and Percy French. She also informed me that during the Second World War a tank regiment of the American army was stationed here. 

What I discovered on my journey to both the monastery and the forest was the ancient timeless wisdom that can be found in silence and the natural tranquility that arises from the silence especially in the midst of our fast-paced world that we find ourselves in and the need I believe to check out of the pace of the rat race and slow down and embrace mother natures timeless cure to modern angst.