Places to see in ( Newtownards - UK )
Places to see in ( Newtownards - UK )
Newtownards, is a large town, townland and civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland. Newtownards lies at the most northern tip of Strangford Lough, 10 miles east of Belfast, on the Ards Peninsula. Newtownards is situated in the civil parish of Newtownards and the historic baronies of Ards Lower and Castlereagh Lower. Newtownards is the largest town in the former Borough of Ards. It is known colloquially by locals as Ards.
The town of Newtownards is overlooked by the 100-foot (30 m) high Scrabo Tower. The tower is 41 metres high, and was erected as a memorial to Charles Stewart, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry, in recognition of his concern for the plight of his tenants during the great potato famine. It is open to the public and houses a historical and local environment exhibition. The basalt topped sandstone hill at Scrabo is one of the dominant features of north Down. The tower now stands tall in Scrabo Country Park with its woodland walks and parkland through Killynether Wood.
The Somme Heritage Centre, which is situated a little north of the town, is the Somme Association's flagship project. Situated adjacent to the Clandeboye Estate outside Newtownards, the centre is a unique visitor attraction of international significance showing the reality of the Great War and its effects on the community at home. The centre commemorates the involvement of the 36th (Ulster) and 16th (Irish) divisions in the Battle of the Somme, the 10th (Irish) Division in Gallipoli, Salonika and Palestine and provides displays and information on the entire Irish contribution to the First World War.
The centre promotes cross-community contact, mutual understanding, an appreciation of cultural diversity, and is a major visitor attraction. The centre is built on ground provided by Ards Borough Council in what is to be the Whitespots Country Park. It is linked to Helen's Tower on the Clandeboye Estate via the Ulster Way. Historically, the 36th (Ulster) Division trained on the estate during the first few months of the war and German prisoners of war were interned there. A replica of Helen's Tower was built on the Somme battlefield as Northern Ireland's national war memorial.
On the east shore of Strangford Lough, a few miles outside Newtownards and near Greyabbey, stands Mount Stewart, an 18th-century house and garden – the home of the Londonderry family. The house and its contents reflect the history of the Londonderrys who played a leading role in British social and political life. The ninety-eight acre garden at Mount Stewart has been proposed as a UNESCO world heritage site. Largely created by Edith, Lady Londonderry, wife of the 7th Marquess, in the 1920s, it has an unrivalled collection of rare and unusual plants.
( Newtownards - UK ) is well know as a tourist destination because of the variety of places you can enjoy while you are visiting the city of Newtownards . Through a series of videos we will try to show you recommended places to visit in Newtownards - UK
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Discover NI Strangford movie
Eating Ideas was invited to explore Strangford Lough with Discover NI. What a beautiful part of Northern Ireland. We visited Peartree Hill B&B, The Old Schoolhouse Inn, Mount Stewart, NI Food Tours and Castle Espie. What a treat! You can read the full post here-
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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The Game of Thrones Tour - Winterfell in Northern Ireland!
Game of Thrones Tour - Northern Ireland. A Trip to castle Ward in Northern Ireland will transport you to Winterfell. Become John Snow and the Starks, dressing up in their fur capes with swords. And see the GOT sets.
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Dave and Deb of The Planet D visit Northern Ireland's Castle Ward, perhaps more commonly referred to these days as Winterfell from the Game of Thrones.
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The castle and surrounding area was used as a filming location for many scenes in popular TV show Game of thrones. Dave and Deb try their hand at archery in the exact spot where Jon Snow taught Bran Stark to do the same!
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A Tour Of Scrabo Tower
Scrabo Tower is located to the west of Newtownards in County Down, Northern Ireland. Built in the 1850s as a memorial to the Marquess of Londonderry it was originally and formally known as the 'Londonderry Monument'. The turreted tower is a noted landmark and stands 540 feet (160 m) above sea level and is 125 feet (38 m) high.
The landmark, which is visible from most of north Down, was built above Newtownards in 1857 as a memorial to Charles Stewart, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry who was one of the Duke of Wellington's generals during the Napoleonic Wars. The 3rd Marquess, or Fighting Charlie as he was also known, inherited the title and family seat of Mount Stewart after his brother, the 2nd Marquess, committed suicide. The 2nd Marquis is better known as Viscount Castlereagh, the politician who served a term as Britain's Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
The tower houses two floors of displays, with access to a viewing level via a climb of 122 steps. In April 2014, the Northern Ireland Environment Agency said that the tower had suffered serious water ingress, which had damaged the electricity supply, and citing concerns for visitor safety, advised that the tower would close to visitors. By 2015, the tower opened occasionally, and by July 2017 was fully reopened to the public.
Scrabo Country Park, in which the tower stands is also open to the public, and has several woodland walks and parkland through Killynether Wood. The view from the hill extends across Strangford Lough, scattered with its many islands, to the Mountains of Mourne and the Scottish coast. Scrabo Golf Club is overlooked by the tower and park.
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Please watch: A Walk To Cranny Falls
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Mount Stewart County Down - 19th Century House and Gardens-The National Trust Northern Ireland
Mount Stewart House and Gardens is a National Trust property based in County Down, Northern Ireland. Mount Stewart house is a home that was owned by the 7th Marchioness Edith, Lady Londonderry and her family and it has been beautifully restored to its spender from that era (
Mount Stewart Gardens overlook Strangford Lough and has been voted as one of the top 10 gardens in the world! Mount Stewart is listed on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage tentative list.
The garden areas consist of - The Sunk Garden, Shamrock Garden, The Italian Garden, The Spanish Garden and the Mairi Garden.
Old houses, castles, and buildings in general are our number one interest when it comes to visiting the historical locations and attractions of a city we are heading to. Newtownards is not a town that we are visiting for the first time - we are locals :-) - but we love to come and cherish the beauty of this building which is being taken care of by the National Trust.
This 19th-century house and garden reflect the history of the Vane-Tempest-Stewart family through the contents it still carries - for those who don't know, this family played a great leading role in the British and Irish social and political life; it was the Marquesses of Londonderry.
Back in time, when the house was first bought by Alexander Stewart in 1744, it was known as Mount Pleasant and it is also believed that the money that this family had to buy the house came from the sales of linen at that time.
Through the history related to this house and the different members of the family who took over taking care of the house, there were some changes done to it all, such as the temporary wing that the son of Alexander added in 1800 when he became the first Marquess of Londonderry. Actually, what brought this house all the wealth it has gone through and gave it the chance to keep growing and changing to the better was the third Marquess, Charles, who married two times and who his second wife was mainly the reason since she was the greatest heiress of her time.
Mount Stewart is not just about the house, but it is also about the gardens which started small and then were enlarged by the help of the Marchioness who was responsible for the different gardens which were added as well as the fountain pool and the walks, she was also the one who decided to give the gardens to the National Trust in 1957.
The National Trust took over the gardens to take care of and it received the remaining of the place in 1977 and it now operates the property under the name of Mount Stewart House, Gardens and Temple of the Winds.
We have walked through the whole place and we have to say that it always takes our breath away for the gardens that are there as well as seeing this old building - even if we didn't get the chance to enter it and see the interiors. What also attracted our attention to this place were the beautiful sculptures which are made in the shape of animals and which we believe are done in a different kind of way.
In addition to the place as a whole and the perfection of it, it is also situated on the east shore of Strangford Lough and this brings a beautiful view with those ducks swimming around - it could be a combination of a touristic visit and also getting some peace of mind by this magnificent view.
This is one of the most visited places which we will recommend when it comes to the town of Newtownards, but there are several other places which one could pass by and enjoy visiting and which include Kiltonga Wildlife Reserve which we have also been to before and which we definitely loved ( there is also the Grey Abbey ( another place is the Scrabo Tower in Newtownards which was built back in 1857 (
It is always interesting to get to know more about the place which you are heading to especially if it carries a great history behind that one should be well aware of, just like the case of the Mount Stewart which passed through different owners until it finally reached the point where the National Trust became the one responsible for it all and for taking care of it as well.
Mount Stewart in Newtownards, County Down, is very close to the Greyabbey (or Grey Abbey) so you could always choose to visit both locations during the same day and get the chance to see what they tend to bring to you from information and history.
Never been there? Go visit now! If you have already been to Mount Stewart before then we are waiting for your comments to tell us more about your experience and what you loved most about the place as a whole - we could not lie, but we loved it all; the building along with the beautiful garden that is part of it all.
Mount Stewart County Down - 19th Century House and Gardens-The National Trust Northern Ireland
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Travel Tours of England and Ireland | Loveland Colorado
970-776-9963 Jolly Good Tours is a Travel Coach Tour company specializing in coach tours of England and Ireland including Scotland and Wales. We like to give our guest a lot more time to see more sights and places with more leisure time.
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Castleward
Castleward is a beautiful Northern Irish house on the shores of Strangford Lough, Co Down. It's full of history and surrounded by lovely gardens and walks along the lough.