Loughside Festival 2025: Ten Days That Showed The Point at Its Best

The bunting is down, the last of the fireworks have faded over the lough, and Warrenpoint is catching its breath after ten cracking days of the Loughside Festival, which ran from 7th to 17th August.

Where do you start? The Currach Championships brought the traditional boats racing off the front shore, with “come and try it” sessions for anyone brave enough to take an oar. There was outdoor cinema, Blues in the Park, artisan markets, a dog show, and — for the hardy — the Mourne Hot Barrel Sauna down by the water.

Fayre Day on the 15th was the big one: stalls the length of the front, live music, a petting zoo for the wee ones, and fireworks to finish. The festival wound down in gentler style with comedy nights, yoga on the shore, a teddy bears’ picnic and the Loughside Run to Remember.

The festival carries on the tradition of the Maiden of the Mournes, which put Warrenpoint’s August week on the map back in 1990 — different name, same big-hearted town. Roll on next year.

Photo: David Crozier, CC BY-SA 2.0, via geograph.org.uk.