Divis (; ) is a hill and area of sprawling

moorland Moorland or moor is a type of Habitat (ecology), habitat found in upland (geology), upland areas in temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands and the biomes of montane grasslands and shrublands, characterised by low-growing vegetation on So ...

north-west of

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. With a height of 1,568 ft (478 m), it is the highest of the Belfast Hills. It is joined with the neighbouring Black Mountain, and in the past they may have been seen as one. Divis transmitting station is on the summit. The mountain extends north to the Antrim Plateau and shares its geology; consisting of a

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

ic cover underlain by

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

and lias clay. In 2004 the Divis area and its surrounding mountains were handed over to the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

; having been under the control of the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

since 1953. Since then four walking trails have been developed, of varying lengths and taking walkers to differents points of interest: these are the Lough, Summit, Heath and Ridge trails.

Wildlife

Among the most common birds to be seen on Divis are: snipe, curlew, meadow pipit, skylark, red grouse, greenfinch, cuckoo, owls and peregrines. Less common are buzzards whose appearance is often recorded online to preserve valuable environmental data. The site is also home to badgers and hares.

A View to the Future

In September 2023,

National Lottery Heritage Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

awarded the National Trust £3 million to deliver a new project that will open up new trails and routes on the mountain. The overall aim is to create "Belfast's largest urban green space."https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/northern-ireland/divis-and-the-black-mountain/a-view-to-the-future-project#rt-the-vision

References

External links

BBC - Divis Mountain wins "space award"

BBC - Beacon of hope on city's mountain

National Trust
{{coord, 54, 36, 41, N, 6, 01, 07, W, type:landmark, display=title Marilyns of Northern Ireland Mountains and hills of County Antrim Geography of Belfast Volcanism of Northern Ireland