Mixed reaction on streets of Rostrevor to gondola

On a mocky, wet Thursday people were keen to have their say - if not put their name to their comments.

I stopped with a couple of hillwalkers who were tourists to the area. I asked them if they would be willing to take a gondola to the Big Stone and save their feet the trouble.

“It wouldn’t be for me,” said one of the men. “I think the whole point of going up the mountains is the walk and the sense of achievement when you get to the top.

“But I can see how it could be a novelty for say young families, who would like to take their families to the Stone but don’t want to push a pram that far.”

His colleague felt that a visitors’ centre would give people a reason to visit Rostrevor.

“You have one of the most picturesque views on the whole island of Ireland, why wouldn’t you want to show it off?” He added.

A problem might be where you put all the people who want to go on a gondola and their cars, as one resident pointed out.

“I do think that tourism in this area needs a boost, particularly with the Narrow Water Bridge coming, but this is not the answer,” he said.

“On a good day when the sun is shining and Kilbroney is busy, there’s nowhere to put the people who want to come here.

“Another question which would need to be answered is this - people who visit the area and don’t have a permit have to pay to park in Kilbroney. Are they also going to be charged to use the gondola and the visitor centre? If so, they could decide to park at the side of the road and walk in, which would cause traffic chaos.

“I would rather see this money spent on improving the play parks in Rostrevor, giving the place a bit of a tidy up and putting it to good use that way.”

On a gable wall there is a mural to the work of CS Lewis, who often visited Rostrevor. There is a Narnia Trail inspired by his most famous works, the ‘Chronicles of Narnia’.

Lewis is reported to have written a letter to his brother saying: “That part of Rostrevor which overlooks Carlingford Lough is my idea of Narnia”.

I bumped into another writer who felt that a stair lift in Kilbroney was the height of nonsense.

“I can’t believe this has got so much traction. It seems as bizarre to me as oil rigs arriving and digging for oil.

“I’d be very concerned about the how environmentally friendly this proposal is as well.

“It just seems bizarre to me but humanity is curious - I can’t believe that anyone would want it.”

One man who stopped with me briefly said defiantly “build it and they will come!”

Regardless of their opinion, it seems that Rostrevor residents will be waiting to see how far off the ground the gondola project gets.