page_title: Craigavon
section_title: Geography
hierarchical_section_title: Craigavon / Geography
caption_attribution_description: English: Craigavon Lakes Taken from the Craigavon City Park car park.
context_page_description: Craigavon is an incomplete planned settlement in northern County Armagh, Northern Ireland. Its construction began in 1965 and it was named after the first Prime Minister of Northern Ireland: James Craig, 1st Viscount Craigavon. It was intended to be the heart of a new linear city incorporating Lurgan and Portadown, but this plan was mostly abandoned and later described as having been flawed. Among local people today, "Craigavon" refers to the area between the two towns. It is built beside two artificial lakes and is made up of a large residential area, a second smaller one, plus a central area that includes a substantial shopping centre, a courthouse and the district council headquarters. The area around the lakes is a public park and wildlife haven made up of woodland with walking trails. There is also a watersports centre, golf course and ski slope in the area. In most of Craigavon, motor vehicles are completely separated from pedestrians, and roundabouts are used extensively.
  Craigavon sometimes refers to the much larger Craigavon Urban Area, which includes Craigavon, Lurgan, Portadown, Waringstown and Bleary.
context_section_description: Craigavon lies on an area of flat land near the southeastern shore of Lough Neagh. The surrounding settlements (listed clockwise) are Aghacommon (north), Lurgan (northeast), Corcreeny (east), Bleary (southeast) and Portadown (southwest). It is separated from these surrounding settlements mostly by fields.
  Craigavon is built beside two artificial lakes called Craigavon Lakes. The Portadown–Lurgan railway line runs between the two lakes, and further north is the M1 motorway, which runs parallel with the railway line. The area around Craigavon Lakes is a public park and wildlife haven made up of woodland with walking trails. In 2017 it was awarded the best park in Northern Ireland by Fields in Trust. Recent plans to build in the park, beginning with a college campus, have met opposition from some locals.
caption: Craigavon Lakes
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