Visit Strangford Lough

19/06/2024

Have you explored the Discovery Hub in Ards Visitor Information, 31 Regent Street, Newtownards?
A varied programme of displays take place throughout the year - here is a taster of what is coming up over the summer months:
🐚Until 26 June -What the SeaSaw - an exhibition of beach finds
🎨July - Portaferry Plein Air Festival - work created at the recent Plein Air Festival in Portaferry
🧵August - A Finnish/Irish creative liaison - celebrating natural materials and the landscape as part of Creative Peninsula 2024.
Search for Discovery Hub on www.visitardsandnorthdown.com to find out more.

19/06/2024

🥾Comber Historical Walking Tour | Sat 22 June
💰£6 per person
👉11am

From Titanic connections, to St Patrick and the Knights of John de Courcy - learn about the town on this guided tour. Why not make a day of it and enjoy the Comber Earlies Food Festival running until 5pm!

For more information and to book click the link below 👇

Comber may be small in size but is big in terms of history. Come along to discover what we mean!

18/06/2024

😋Get your taste buds tingling this Sunday...

💚Kicking off 'Taste Summer in Ards and North Down' is the Taste Comber Tour.
The tour combines local history from expert Lolly Spence of Hidden Ulster Tours, with fours stops in the town to enjoy some of the finest local food and drink.

For more informationclick below 👇

A Sunday Lunch Tour with expert local guide Lolly Spence of Hidden Ulster Tours including a 4 course meal. Starting at McBride's on the Square, then…

16/06/2024

Just "go with the flow" across the Narrows of Strangford Lough.

15/06/2024

Don't panic! There is still time to get something for Father's Day. Call in to Ards Visitor Information Centre, 31 Regent Street, Newtownards to see if there is something to appeal - choose from a range of Guinness items or a book from the selection of local interest publications. Open until 5pm!

14/06/2024

Portaferry's fabulous art and heritage centre, The Portico of Ards, hosts an eclectic range of events, from organ recitals to stand up comedy, and is housed in a Grade A listed building from 1841.
The classically inspired building was constructed for Portaferry Presbyterian Church. The minister, Rev John Orr, ran a Classics school in the town and this might have influenced its unique design, modelled on the Greek Temple of Nemesis.
The Presbyterian congregation still hold their church service in Portico every Sunday.
To find out more about Portico's events programme and architecture see https://www.porticoards.com

14/06/2024

Sounds like a great weekend coming up at WWT Castle Espie Wetland Centre with lots going on - and don't miss this last chance to see Julian Frier's stunning wildlife art in the Graffan Gallery during your visit.

13/06/2024

June is our favourite time to visit the gorgeous gardens at Mount Stewart - National Trust. Voted amongst the Top Ten Gardens in the World, they are truly stunning. A wee bit of sunshine wouldn't go amiss though!

12/06/2024

The little town of Portaferry on the Ards Peninsula lines the shore beneath Windmill Hill and catches the evening sun - a lovely location to sit and watch the ferry shuttle to and fro. You might even spot dolphins following the ferry across the Narrows of Strangford Lough. 🐬

11/06/2024

Take a moment of calm.

10/06/2024

🎁A few more suggestions for Father's Day gifts. Ards Visitor Information Centre has a range of books of local interest which just might make the perfect present, including Mark Scott's new book "We Fought on D Day", telling the D Day story in the words of local men who were in Normandy 80 years ago. Call in to browse - just beside the bus station in Regent Street, Newtownards.

09/06/2024

Have you explored Scrabo Country Park? Landmark Scrabo Tower crowns Scrabo Hill where you can enjoy walks through woodlands and around former quarries which are of special interest to geologists and a breeding site for kestrels and peregrine falcons. The views over Strangford Lough, the Ards Peninsula and fertile County Down farmland are the reward for your efforts.
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08/06/2024

With Father's Day on the way, treat your Dad to tickets for a memory making tour coming up over the summer months:
🚤 20 June - Summer Solstice Voyage of Discovery from Portaferry
🚶‍♂️ 22 June - Comber Historical Walking Tour
🍸 27 July - Gardens & Gin coach tour visiting Mount Stewart - National Trust and The Echlinville Distillery
🌺8 September Gardeners' Delight - guided tour of the gardens at Ballywalter Park
All are bookable here: https://www.visitardsandnorthdown.com/things-to-do/experience-ards-and-north-down or call Ards Visitor Information Centre on 028 9182 6846 and save the booking fee!

07/06/2024

Did you know that the Ards Peninsula was once known as "Little Holland" because of all the windmills dotted across the landscape? With few rivers on the peninsula to turn watermills, farmers and landowners took advantage of the seawinds and built windmills. Many survive as windmill "stumps" such as these at Knockinelder and Windmill Hill near Portaferry.
Ballycopeland Windmill, near Millisle, is one of the few remaining windmills in Ireland with its working mechanism still in place. You can visit Ballycopeland Windmill Thursday to Mondays for free!

06/06/2024

Choppy waters near Killard Point on the Lecale Peninsula. Here the waters of the Irish Sea rush through the Narrows and meet the water emptying from Strangford Lough occasionally forming a "standing wave".

05/06/2024

With food rationing during and after World War Two, folk must really have looked forward to the start of the locally grown Comber Earlies potatoes - a real treat to be enjoyed with farmhouse butter (and perhaps a drink of buttermilk) - to relieve the monotony of the wartime diet.
On Thursday 6 June, Comber Farmers' Market commemorates D Day with a themed market and, of course, Comber Earlies will be on sale. No ration book required.

03/06/2024

What The SeaSaw's exhibition is now running in the Discovery Hub, Ards Visitor Information Centre until 26 June.
Children can play a game of "Knots and Crosses" or find out about the wonderful wildlife found in rockpools and on our beaches.
This colourful display will make you think about the litter we discard and its impact on the marine environment.

02/06/2024

Next time you call to Daft Eddy's, Whiterock, for lunch you can walk off some of the calories on the trail which takes you over the back of Sketrick Island with gorgeous views across Strangford Lough. You might dress for dinner, but for this walk sturdy shoes are recommended - it can get a bit muddy in places!

01/06/2024

You know summer is here when the NGS Northern Ireland Open Gardens start!
This weekend, Old Balloo House and Barn at Killinchy will be open 2 - 5pm on both Saturday and Sunday. Admission is £5. These informal gardens have a great variety of shrubs, and perennials but the focus for 2024 is on late rhododendrons and early roses. (Please note: As the site is on a very steep incline it is not accessible to everyone and is not suitable for children). Pick up the Open Gardens 2024 Guide in Ards Visitor Information Centre, 31 Regent Street, Newtownards, so you don't miss out on other openings throughout the summer months.

31/05/2024

Did you know that Grey Abbey on the beautiful Ards Peninsula was at one time one of the richest abbeys in the Earldom of Ulster? The Papal Taxation of 1306 indicates that it was a very prosperous foundation. Although the Cistercian order usually left their buildings quite simple and unadorned, the main West door has some beautiful "dogtooth" decoration. Take a closer look when you visit and wonder at this stone carving which has survived for 800 years!

30/05/2024

Some say the month of May is the gateway to the summer 🥳🤩
Summer is in the air on Strangford Lough ...most of the time 🤪

29/05/2024

Next up in the Discovery Hub during June is What The SeaSaw - an intriguing and educational look at our relationship with the marine environment and the rubbish we often thoughtlessly discard. What the SeaSaw is beachcomber, beach-cleaner and incidental artist, Aileen McClenaghan whose colourful display featuring beach finds is accessible to all ages, so sea you there!

28/05/2024

This dramatic image of Ballyquintin Point at the extreme south of the Ards Peninsula was taken by Chris Henry.

26/05/2024

Take a seat!
This bench at Gibb's Island is perfectly positioned to take in the fabulous views of Strangford Lough.

25/05/2024

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24/05/2024

Did you know that many of the ponds at WWT Castle Espie Wetland Centre outside Comber are flooded quarries? Castle Espie limestone was quarried on the site and valued for its reddish pink colour. It was used locally and a good example can be seen in the nearby old Tullynakill church where it was used in the window and door surrounds. The door at Tullynakill is dated 1639.

24/05/2024

Congratulations to The Cuan 🥳🍾🥂
Have a wonderful Bank Holiday Weekend Celebrating!

23/05/2024

The small town of Comber near the shores of Strangford Lough is something of a foodie heaven for locals and visitors.

🥣 Recent Ulster winner of the Irish Restaurant Awards Local Food Hero, Johnny, runs Indie Füde in the town - a delectable deli with locally sourced products.
🥣 No14 Restaurant at the Georgian House won Ulster's Best Sustainable Practices category at the same awards ceremony.
🥣 Comber Farmers' Market takes place on the first Thursday each month with locally grown and produced items on sale (with a side order of banter and chat!).
📗 the Comber Earlies Food Festival takes place on Saturday 22 June, celebrating Comber's best known and loved food - the small but mighty Comber spud!
📗Put the date in your diary now!

22/05/2024

Lake & Oak Coppersmithing are displaying some of their stunning work in the Discovery Hub, Ards Visitor Information Centre, 31 Regent Street, Newtownards until Tuesday 28 May.

Inspired by the beautiful surroundings of their studio near Millisle, their work reflects the colours and forms of the natural world.

Your visit might just inspire you to take up a new skill! On one of their half day or full day workshops you will learn basic smithing skills and create your own unique piece to take home and treasure.