Work to create Northern Ireland's only 'Dark Sky Observatory' is to get underway later this month at Davagh Forest near Cookstown.

Mid Ulster District Council is investing over £1 million to develop the 'Davagh Dark Skies' project close to the ancient Beaghmore Stone Circles, at the foot of the Sperrin mountains.

The new star-gazing experience will include a visitor centre, complete with a virtual reality exhibition and telescope.

A further £500,000 has been awarded towards the project from the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) Rural Tourism Scheme. The centre is scheduled to open in spring 2019.

Cllr Kim Ashton said: "This is one of the most exciting, innovative and progressive tourism development projects of recent times and it is at the core of our work to showcase this part of the country as the heart of ancient Ulster.

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"Visitors will not only look up and be mesmerised by the clear views of star constellations, in exactly the same way as our ancestors living in those hills did, but also look around them at a rich landscape of substantial archaeological and cultural significance and a history which spans not just centuries, but millennia.

"It is these characteristics which the observatory, visitor centre and associated glamping and leisure facilities, will combine to create an unrivalled visitor experience and we are grateful to DAERA for funding which recognises this potential."

Catherine McCallum, Director of Rural Affairs Division at DAERA, said: "The £500,000 funding investment in the 'Dark Sky Observatory' can act as a driver for encouraging rural tourism and particularly out of state visitors.

"By investing in tourism projects in rural areas the Department believes linkages to other attractions and 'tourism corridors' can be developed which should help to encourage further visitors to these rural areas which in turn has the potential to generate significant additional economic and tourism benefits for each area."

(LM/MH)