The Sperrin Mountains are in the heart of Northern Ireland; an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the perfect destination for nature lovers and home to the Sperrin Giants. The three magnificent sculptures are quite the adventure to visit and well worth the effort.
The trio of Sperrin giants form the Sperrin Sculpture Trail, an art installation designed to showcase the geology and history of the Sperrin Mountains.
You can visit the Sperrin giants individually or make a day of it and complete the Sperrin Sculpture Trail by visiting all three. It’s a great way to experience a beautiful part of Northern Ireland.
Introducing, the Sperrin Giants.
Darach: The Guardian
Location: Mullaghcarn Mountain, Gortin Glen Forest Park, BT79 7SU. Toilets and cafe available here.
Darach stands watchfully at the peak of the Mullaghcarn mountain, County Tyrone. This is the only giant that you cannot drive directly to. Visiting Darach involves hiking the 7.5km Mullaghcarn Walking Trail through Gortin Glen Forest Park
Although parts of the hike are quite steep and the final stretch felt a little challenging, the route is all on clearly marked paths and the views are stunning. There are plenty of places along the way to rest.
On a clear day, the final hike up to Sperrin Giant Darach would offer sweeping views across the forest and mountains. On a cloudy Autumn day, not so much for views, but you do get the eerie experience of seeing Darach emerge from rolling clouds and mist as you get closer.
Darach stands in celebration of the Sperrin landscape, encircled by a ring of stones. Stone circles are significant in this area, around 90 have been discovered locally.
With one arm open and one holding a staff, Darach invites visitors to rest after the hike to the peak and enjoy some time in the wild.
Trigbagging Bonus:
If you’re into trigbagging, there is a trig pillar just behind Darach.
Makes for a unique trigbagging shot getting a giant in the background!
Nowanois: The Storytellers
Location: 274 Glenelly Road, Omagh, BT79 8LS . Find Nowanois here on Google Maps
Note on this location: The Nowanois are located by the former Sperrin Heritage Center. That facility is now closed. Free parking and a play park are still open, all other facilities in nearby village of Cranagh.
The only pair of Sperrin giants, and I think the most charming. The Nowanois, pronounced now-now, are a tribute to the preservation of heritage through story telling, folklore and song.
The Nowanois sit in their own ring of stones designed to represent a rath or ringfort, several of which have been discovered in this area dating back to 500-1100 AD. It’s a nod to the rich history of the Sperrin Mountains.
Note that the elder Nowanois is pointing to the sky, representing the first Sperrin people who had a deep connection with the stars and sky. This is evident in many local prehistoric sites including Goles Stone Row, a place believed to have been used for moon rituals.
We couldn’t resist recreating a little Nowanois magic ourselves. How did we do?
Ceoldán: The Stargazer
Location: Ceoldán is located in the OM Dark Sky Park and Observatory in Davagh Forest. Use address 155 Davagh Road, Omagh, BT79 8JQ.
Ceoldán, the stargazer, looks to the skies and looks to the future. He is encircled by poles, one for each constellation of the zodiac.The Stargazer sculpture design is based upon the intertwined astronomy and archeology of the area.
This is an accredited Dark Sky area where the lack of light pollution creates great conditions for star gazing. Alongside this, 27 prehistoric monuments or sites lie within a 3km radius of The Stargazer, including stone circles and cairns.
Archaeologists believe many of these were used to record celestial events and mark solstices. The pattern on the offering Ceoldán holds skywards is based on the patterns of ancient stone circles.
Can we also just take a moment to appreciate Ceoldán and his wonderful beard? It even has a birdbox. In the heart of the Davagh forest, local birds aren’t short of places to nest. But I really do hope that in the Spring, a bird family will take up residence in there.
You can park directly by Ceoldán, but if you want to walk there is a short circular forest walk from the carpark.
Who Created The Sperrin Giants?
The Sperrin Giants are the work of Danish recycling artist Thomas Dambo. He creates large scale sculptures using discarded or salvaged material in line with his mission as an artist to, ‘waste no more’.
Dambo has a fascinating backstory. He’s worked in street art and graffiti and enjoyed success as part of a hip-hop group before attending the Kolding School of Design. He is now best known for his Troll sculptures; hundreds of them across the world, from Scandinavia to Singapore.
Today, Thomas Dambo works from an old farm in the Danish countryside and hopes to inspire everyone to have fun and see everything, even things we’d usually discard, as a valuable resource.
If you want to explore the Sperrin Giant Sculpture Trail and fancy making a weekend of it, you could also visit nearby Wild Ireland.
If you enjoyed this post, you might also enjoy reading about another mountain walk in Northern Ireland: Walking the Divis & Black Mountain
Helen x
Spooky in the fog!
It was a little eerie!
This looks great – definitely somewhere I’d take my little ones when they’re older – don’t think they’re ready for the hike yet, but they’ll love the statues . Thanks for sharing.
The hike definitely blows the cobwebs away! Thanks for taking the time to read and comment, appreciate it.
This is such a wonderful post, Helen 🙂 I have always loved visiting and exploring the Sperrin Mountains but even more so now with all the wonderful giant sculptures in it. While I loved all the imposing art installations, my favourite was Nowanois. As the weather was quite foggy and moody during our visit, too I plan on returning during the summer. Thanks for sharing, and have a good day 🙂 Aiva xx
I loved the Nowanois too, and also plan to return to the Sperrins. I really want to explore some of the old ring forts and stone circles, such an interesting part of Northern Ireland.
Fabulous
Thanks Sheree 😊
This looks an interesting way of exploring this patch of Ireland. My only rservation is that these statues look a little ‘cute’. Do they come across better in real life?
They didn’t seem cute, quite imposing. They do have a story book quality though.
This looks spooky but fun. It’s a good place to visit during Halloween.
Definitely atmospheric, but good fun! Thanks for stopping by
I love how you got into the spirit of things! These are certainly different and another thing to add to my list for any return visit to Northern Ireland.
Thanks Anabel, it was a fun day 😊 The Sperrins are definitely one for the list and do-able from Belfast or Derry
This is fascinating Helen as we viewed some of his giant installations in Mandurah, Western Australia last year. I didn’t know that he had created some in Northern Ireland too. https://lovetravellingblog.com/2024/04/03/rockingham-and-the-giants-of-mandurah-wa/
That’s amazing! They do look very much part of the landscape there. I actually thought of you when we found the Sperrin Giants as checking the Troll map, I realised there’s one in Singapore (somewhere!) and I know you were that way recently 😊
I looked up where they are located in Singapore. It’s a place we’ve been in the past. It says they are only going to be there until the end of the year but hopefully the installation will be extended.
We didn’t seem or even know about them in Singapore and we’ve been three times now so I’ll make a point of looking into it for a future trip. Hopefully we’ll get to see the ones in Northern Ireland too!
I only discovered the Sperrin giants by accident Marion, via a social media post. Glad I did though, amazing sculptures in a beautiful part of Northern Ireland.
Aw they’re amazing and a lot of fun!!! I’m off back to Singapore next year so will try and track the trolls down 🙂
Ah that would be great! They are fabulous. Thanks for dropping by to read and comment.
They look great! Very atmospheric.
Oh I love them. Very striking!
Waouh, these giants are stunning. They must be very impressive when close to them.
This is a great post. Thanks for sharing!
Happy to share, appreciate you taking the time to read and comment
This is so cool! Irelands hold some unique and fantastic gems.
It really is a magical place. Thanks so much for dropping by!
Wow, this is so coooool! Adding to my life for next trip to Ireland! 🙂
It’s a great day out, thanks for stopping by!
Great that you introduced us to Dambo’s art. We love Trolls and as Scandinavians, we have a close connection with them.
Wishing you a happy weekend
The Fab Four of Cley
🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂