Newcastle County Down, Slieve Donard Hotel, Northern Ireland
Newcastle Co. Down - A glimpse of the beach town, Slieve Donard Hotel, main street and more...
Newcastle Co Down is a lovely town to visit - the beach is amazing, just off the beach is the equally impressive Slieve Donard Hotel. Newcastle Northern Ireland (not to be confused with the English city of the same name!) is a small town that nestles between the Slieve Donard Mountain and the Irish Sea - it would also be well known for the Royal County Down Golf Club.
The town is a great base for exploring the local area - Tollymore Forest Park ( Donard Park, Murlough Nature Reserve and more. There is a wide variety of B&B and hotels in the area - some amazing restaurants in the town, and loads of shops selling ice cream :-) What more do you need?
Newcastle is a small seaside resort in county Down, Northern Ireland, which is one reason why its beach is always referred to and mentioned. This small seaside resort lies on the Irish sea at the foot of Slieve Donard, one of the Mourne Mountains, and is known with its sandy beach and the Royal County Down Golf Club. With all these different features which the town is known with, it is trying to promote itself as the activity resort for Northern Ireland - since we love the place, we could say that it will be able to win this.
Newcastle is not just a place that Irish people tend to come to from across the country, but it is also a touristic destination for the tourists coming from abroad to visit the country. There are different things that tourists come for and the most important of them is Slieve Donard since they come to walk the Mourne Mountains. In addition to this main attraction in the town, the second one is the Royal County Down Golf Club which is now recognized as the number one golf course in the world. There is also one important thing to mention when it comes to Newcastle in Northern Ireland which is the Mourne Granite which was quarried in Newcastle and shipped all around the world for many years and which was also used to make paving stones for different cities like London and New York, and was also being used to make the base for 9/11 memorial in New York - it seems that this small town at the end of the road is filled with things that serves the whole world.
These different things that might interest any person coming to visit Newcastle in Northern Ireland differ from the places which might attract tourists and give them places which they could see, such as the Tollymore Forest Park ( and the Donard Park, the Shimna River, the Murlough Nature Reserve which is located between Newcastle and Dundrum where Dundrum Castle is located and which we have been to before ( the Slidderyford Dolmen, Saint Patrick Stream, as well as Newcastle Harbour.
In this trip and while exploring Newcastle, we have visited the Slieve Donard Hotel, we have walked down the streets of the town and even came across their shopping center and the different shops and restaurants scattered around the street. One of those places of interest in this town was the Percy French Restaurant which is located inside the Slieve Donard Hotel and which is the place where the third door in the Game of Thrones movie series appeared and also one of the reasons why a lot of those fans for the movie tend to come and visit it (
There are a lot of scenes from Game of Thrones which were taken in Northern Ireland, whether it is something related to the doors that appeared throughout the movie or else general locations which might be found across the country - we believe that this movie actually succeeded at making some of these locations more famous than they really were.
The Dark Hedges ( Cushendun Caves ( Lough Neagh ( Binevenagh Mountain ( are all different locations for the movie that are all found in Northern Ireland and which are also considered touristic places - or at least some of them. The doors which appeared in the movie were found in different places like restaurants, cafes, and hotels around the country as well.
There are some places which are near Newcastle and that will be always shown through the signs that are found near the hotel, such as the Giant's Causeway ( St. Patrick's Visitor Centre, and other signs and places as well, you just have to know how to head out for them and whether they are within a walking distance or need something to take you there.
You must place Newcastle town on your list when it comes to Northern Ireland!
Some of the best locations around Ireland / Northern Ireland and further afield. A travel blog/vlog of the hidden treasures that are on our doorstep.
Northern Ireland - Slieve Donard - Sea to Summit
In this video we head to the Mountains of Mourne to climb Slieve Donard which is the Highest Peak in Northern Ireland. It was a great walk and we were treated to spectacular views from the top.
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All music by Dean Read. Footage shot with a Canon 7D with a 17-40mm lens, a DJI Phantom 4 and it was edited in iMovie.
Newtownabbey Tourist Attractions: 6 Top Places to Visit
Planning to visit Newtownabbey? Check out our Newtownabbey Travel Guide video and see top most Tourist Attractions in Newtownabbey.
Top Places to visit in Newtownabbey:
Jordanstown Loughshore Park, Belfast Zoo, War Years Remembered, Sentry Hill Historic House, Ballyrobert Cottage Garden and Nursery, Hazelbank Park
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Amazing Nature: Belfast, Northern Ireland exploring north coast and hiked up Slieve Donard
Video CC-BY from:
This summer we spent two weeks in Belfast, Northern Ireland exploring north coast and hiked up Slieve Donard. Full blog post and pictures available at
Music: David C Clements - Coast
Used with permission from author
Travel Setup
GoPro H4 Silver
Came TV action gimbal
Shot with protunes
Color grading using Osiris LUTs
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Please watch: Girls taking a hot TEST DRIVE REVIEW in Mustang GT CS 500
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Climbing Slieve Donard - Northern Ireland's Highest Point
On a day with less than perfect weather I climb Slieve Donard which is the tallest mountain in Norther Ireland. I leave from the Irish Sea in the town of Newcastle before heading up into the Mourne Mountains. I follow the famous Mourne Wall all the way to the top, and give a some information along the way.
Climbing Slieve Donard: Northern Ireland's Highest Mountain
What a ridiculously gorgeous hike! DISCLAIMER: if attempting this yourself, your experience of Northern Irish weather may differ quite significantly from what is portrayed in this video.
Newcastle Tourist Attractions: 9 Top Places to Visit
Planning to visit Newcastle? Check out our Newcastle Travel Guide video and see top most Tourist Attractions in Newcastle.
Top Places to visit in Newcastle:
Tollymore Forest Park, Murlough National Nature Reserve, Silent Valley and Ben Crom Reservoirs, Dundrum Castle, Kilbroney Park, Newcastle Visitor Information Centre, Tollymore National Outdoor Centre, The Granite Trail, Funny Farm Adventures
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Places to see in ( Downpatrick - UK )
Places to see in ( Downpatrick - UK )
Downpatrick is a medium-sized town about 33 km south of Belfast in County Down, Northern Ireland. It has been an important site since ancient times. Its cathedral is said to be the burial place of Saint Patrick.
As the largest town in the Lecale area, Downpatrick is a commercial, recreational and administrative centre for the locality and serves as a hub for the nearby towns and villages. Within a 30 minutes drive from Belfast, the location serves as a commuter town for a large number of people. The town has a number of primary and post-primary schools educating students from all over the east Down area.
Downpatrick is characterised by the rolling drumlins that are a feature of the Lecale area and a legacy of glaciation during the Pleistocene, the Down drumlins themselves are underlaid by Ordovician and Silurian shales and grits. Its lowest point lies within the marshland surrounding the north east of the town, recorded as being 1.3 ft (0.40 m) below sea level. Downpatrick is approximately 22 miles (35 km) from Belfast and has a regular bus service to the city.
Ballyalton Court Cairn is a single court grave situated on a rock outcrop by the roadside 0.5 miles (0.80 km) from Ballyalton village, which is 2.25 miles (3.62 km) east of Downpatrick, at grid ref 531 448. Ballynoe Stone Circle, a large circle of over 50 closely spaced upright stones, surrounding a mound which, when excavated, was found to contain two cists in which cremated bones were found, is only 2.5 miles (4 km) south in the hamlet of Ballynoe.
Down County Museum, is located on the Mall in English Street in Downpatrick and was formerly the old Down County Gaol. It was built between 1789 and 1796 at the behest of the County Grand Jury of Down under the supervision of Marquess of Downshire, the Earl of Hillsborough and the Hon Edward Ward, it was designed by architect Charles Lilly.
Downpatrick Racecourse, is located on the Ballydugan Road on the outskirts of Downpatrick. Horse racing has been held at Downpatrick under the charter of James II of England.
Downpatrick & County Down Railway is Ireland's only full-sized heritage railway. Built on the BCDR's former line to Belfast, it links the town with Inch Abbey and various other places of historical interest.
Inch Abbey, a large, ruined Cistercian monastic site featuring early Gothic architecture is 0.75 miles (1.2 km) north-west of Downpatrick on the north bank of the River Quoile off the main road to Belfast. The Lecale peninsula covers an area of some 78 square miles (200 km2) between Downpatrick and Dundrum. It is an area of historical and geographic significance.
The Mound of Down or Rathkeltair is one of the major earthworks of Ulster, situated on the NW edge of Downpatrick it is a good example of an Iron Age defensive earthwork in the middle of which a Norman Motte and Bailey was built by John de Courcy after his defeat of Rory Mac Donlevy in 1177.
St. Patrick Center, is the only permanent exhibition in the world dedicated to the patron saint of Ireland, and one of the best tourist destinations in Ireland. Quoile Castle is a ruined 16th-century tower house, just off the main road from Downpatrick to Strangford.
Downpatrick is situated at the junction of the A7 (Downpatrick to Saintfield and Belfast) road, the A25 (Downpatrick to Newry and Dublin) road and the A2 coast road. While there are no rail services in Downpatrick, Ulsterbus provides bus services to and from the Downpatrick Bus Station. Downpatrick railway station on the Belfast and County Down Railway, opened on 23 March 1859 and Downpatrick Loop Platform opened on 24 September 1892.
( Downpatrick - UK ) is well know as a tourist destination because of the variety of places you can enjoy while you are visiting the city of Downpatrick . Through a series of videos we will try to show you recommended places to visit in Downpatrick - UK
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WICKLOW MOUNTAIN HIKE // IRELAND
Hike up the Wicklow Mountains, Ireland.
August 2016
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Newcastle County Down - Road Trip Around Northern Ireland
First stop was Castlewellan Forest Park - what a great place - gardens, forest, lake and maze! Then we headed from Castlewellan to Newcastle - lovely beach, but was windy! Then to Tollymore Forest Park after an ice cream and Percy French's! On the way back to Belfast - we found Dundrum and it's amazing castle... Great day out and the sun was shining the whole time! :-) (
On this road trip that we were on, we stopped at different destinations. The first stop to be at was the Castlewellan Forest Park which is located in Castlewellan, Northern Ireland, and contains the National Arboretum of Northern Ireland that started back in 1740, bringing trees from different parts of the world, such as Asia, North and South America, as well as Australasia. The Castlewellan Castle which is also found in the same place is believed to be built back between 1856 and 1858 by a Scottish Family since it is a Scottish baronial castle that overlooks the Castlewellan Lake. The most famous thing about this forest park is the peace maze which contains 6,000 yew trees that were planted by volunteers from Northern Ireland and was considered the longest permanent hedge maze until 2007 (
Moving on to the second stop in our road trip, we reached Newcastle. Newcastle is known to be a small seaside town in County Down, Northern Ireland, that lies on the Irish sea on the foot of Slieve Donard, one of the Mourne Mountains, which is known for its sandy beach. The most important thing for this town is trying to promote itself as the activity resort in Northern Ireland, which is believed to be effective due to its location at the foot of Slieve Donard. We enjoyed our part of the day there although it was a little bit windy - we were surprised because the sun was up all the day!
The third stop we managed to make was at the Tollymore Forest Park; Yes, that is exactly where two different scenes in the Game of Thrones movie series were taken. So in addition to being curious about stopping at these points were the movie was once taken, it was also interesting to come to this forest in general in the first place. Tollymore Forest Park is considered a historical place since it is the first state forest park in Northern Ireland that is located at Bryansford, near the town of Newcastle in the Mourne and Slieve Croob area. There are 16 different bridges inside this park to allow people to cross over the Shimna River that flows through the park - where two different scenes of the movie were taken by two of them. For those who are willing to visit this forest park, there are four different walking traits to choose from - placed on the map - and which will tell you which on is considered the longest and which one is the shortest (
The fourth and final stop to be at was the Dundrum Castle which we stopped by on our way back to Belfast - it is important to differentiate between Dundrum Castle in Northern Ireland and Dundrum Castle in Dundrum, County Dublin. Dundrum Castle is situated above the town of Dundrum in County Down. This castle was constructed and built by John de Courcy on the top of a rocky hill that provides fine views south over Dundrum Bay and the Mourne Mountains, and lands west towards Slieve Croob and the plains of Lecale to the east; since it was originally built to control access into Lecale from the west and south (
During this road trip and passing by all those different places and stops, all what we managed to say was a big WOW! The green areas, the old buildings, the rivers, the mountains, and the overall views which we managed to receive every single time we stopped and looked around was really magnificent, we didn't want to go back home and leave all these views behind, but we had to :-)
You might choose to head to one place only, like checking the Tollymore Forest Park ( along and then coming back another day to visit the Dundrum Castle ( and you could take the road trip we have taken and fill your day with lots of amazing scenes from different places and destinations which are not far from one another.
There are a lot of beautiful places in Northern Ireland - some we managed to visit while there are still lots of other places which we haven't been to yet (
Since we have visited this place in which some shots from Game of Thrones were taken, you could still visit other locations where this movie series was filmed ( which happen to be in Northern Ireland. There is the Perchy French ( the Dark Horse Bar in Belfast ( and Portstewart beach (