Oxford Island is a National Nature Reserve and public recreation site on the southern shores of Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland. The site covers 282 acres and is owned and maintained by Craigavon Borough Council. Much of the area is designated as a National Nature Reserve due to its wide variety of natural habitats.
Oxford Island is located on the South-Eastern shores of Lough Neagh, County Armagh. Owned and managed by Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon Council much of the area is designated as a National Nature Reserve due to the diversity and local importance of habitats such as reed beds, open water, wildlife ponds, forests and wildflower meadows.
Housing a number of facilities including a network of all access walking trails, bird watching hides, the Lough Neagh Discovery Centre, Kinnego Marina and the Kinnego Bushcraft Centre.
Oxford Island
*Summer Season
Monday-Sunday: 9:00am – (up to) 9:00pm
Winter Season:
Monday-Sunday: 9:00am – 6:00pm
*The Summer season hours will steadily increase by hour as the days grow longer and the nights become shorter.
Lough Neagh Discovery Centre
Monday-Friday: 9:00am – 5:00pm
Saturday: 10:00 am – 5:00pm
*Sunday: 10:00am – 5:00pm
*From April until September the Centre will be open on Sundays until 6:00 pm
It is busy with wildlife though – especially as a sanctuary for wintering wildfowl. Guided trails lead around the reserve, passing along the shore and through woodland that was planted around forty years ago. On the route you’ll pass by meadows that are home to Irish breeds of cattle. You’ll also come across picnic areas, play parks and ponds with plenty of ducks and swans splashing around and hoping to be fed. There are three bird hides dotted along the shore – spend time in these to see how many of the wildfowl and songbirds you can identify. Kinnego Marina is in the reserve and is also the largest marina on Lough Neagh – from here, for a charge, visitors, including wheelchair users, can enjoy a pre-booked relaxing trip on the lake in the Master McGra vessel.
The Discovery Centre is main building in the reserve, with a reception desk, café, shop and tourist information desk. From time to time, exhibitions are run in the centre too. The centre has accessible parking, and is a good place to start an exploration of the island. There are several car parks in the reserve, so if you have trouble covering long distances then it makes sense to drive from car park to car park and explore the surrounding area of each one. The marina has two car parks, with plenty of designated disabled spaces. Two Shopmobility powered scooters and a wheelchair are available from the Discovery Centre. Most of the paths in the reserve are either tarmac or compact gravel and easily accessible for wheelchair users. Unfortunately, there are few routes that have rest seats, although there are numerous picnic areas to stop at. Many of the play areas are fenced and the Discovery Centre and Kinnego Marina have safety flooring. The only wheelchair accessible hide is called Kinnego Hide (despite not being near the marina) – the closest car park to this is at Artscape (a facility on the island for community arts), where there is one disabled parking space. The car park is a four-minute walk or push away from the hide. The disabled toilet at the marina requires a RADAR key.
