Hill Country Bus Services in Northern Ireland
Like its counterpart south of the border, Northern Ireland has a dominant publicly-owned transport company, Translink. The interurban bus division of the same is known as Ulsterbus and they operate the services that I have listed here. This is a small start but it'll build as I keep finding more to include. If there are any of which you that want to see on here, please let me know and I'll add them.
18/20/518/520 Belfast-Newcastle
Newcastle is situated at the foot of the Mourne Mountains and the regular (think at least hourly) bus service, albeit with buses carrying different route numbers at different times of operation, makes getting there without a car that much easier. With this state of affairs, my mind has been drawn to map perusal with potential walks being made out in advance of the chance of a future incursion into what should be attractive countryside.
Southbound Timetable
Northbound Timetable
402 Coleraine-Bushmills-Carrick a rede
It may not be hill country per se but the Antrim coast of Northern Ireland features a World Heritage Site in the form of Giant's Causeway with its basalt pillars. That's not all because there's the Carrick a rede rope bridge and the impressive well-maintained ruins of Dunluce castle too. There's a coastal path hereabouts so the four departures on Mondays to Sundays in the summertime could see a use. Nevertheless, it's a pity to see it only running for part of the year.
Eastbound Timetable
Westbound Timetable
403 Omagh-Cranagh-Magherafelt
This isn't a frequent service at the time of writing (it's January so that may be an explanation) but the two departures each way on Mondays to Saturdays could come is useful for exploring the Sperrin Mountains with their heritage centre being a hub for buses from both ends of the route.
Eastbound Timetable
Westbound Timetable
407A/407B Kikeel-Attical
Here's a service that gets near the Mourne Mountains year round, at least on Mondays to Fridays anyway. Apparently, there's a 405 service from Newcastle too but I couldn't locate that when I went looking but I blame the winter time for that. Still, the 407 has a respectable number of services running on its days of operation.
