Newtownards is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies at the most northern tip of Strangford Lough, 10 miles (16 km) east of Belfast, on the Ards Peninsula. It is in the civil parish of Newtownards and the historic baronies of Ards Lower and Castlereagh Lower. Newtownards is in the Ards and North Down Borough. The population was 29,677 in the 2021 Census.
Strangford Lough is a large sea lough or inlet in County Down, in the east of Northern Ireland. It is the largest inlet in Ireland and the wider British Isles, covering 150 km2 (58 sq mi). The lough is almost fully enclosed by the Ards Peninsula and is linked to the Irish Sea by a long narrow channel at its southeastern edge. The main body of the lough has at least seventy islands along with many islets (pladdies), bays, coves, headlands and mudflats. It is part of the Strangford and Lecale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Strangford Lough was designated as Northern Ireland's first Marine Conservation Zone in 2013, and has been designated a Special Area of Conservation for its important wildlife.
Portaferry is a small town in County Down, Northern Ireland, at the southern end of the Ards Peninsula, near the Narrows at the entrance to Strangford Lough. It is home to the Exploris aquarium and is well known for the annual Gala Week Float Parade. It hosts its own small Marina, the Portaferry Marina. The Portaferry – Strangford Ferry service operates daily at 30-minute intervals between the villages of Portaferry and Strangford, less than 1500 metres apart, conveying about 500,000 passengers per annum. It had a population of 2,514 people in the 2011 Census. The town is located within the Barony of Ards Upper.
Ards was a local government district in Northern Ireland with the status of borough. It was one of twenty-six districts formed on 1 October 1973, and had its headquarters in Newtownards. It was merged with neighbouring North Down on 1 May 2015 to form the new Borough of Ards and North Down. Other towns in the defunct Borough included Portaferry, Comber, and Donaghadee, and the population of the area was 78,078 according to the 2011 census.
Strangford is a parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom House of Commons. The current MP is Jim Shannon of the DUP.
Ulsterbus is a public transport operator in Northern Ireland and operates bus services outside Belfast. It is part of Translink, the brand name for the subsidiary operating companies of the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company, which also includes Northern Ireland Railways and Metro Belfast.
The Quoile is a river in County Down, Northern Ireland.
Portaferry Marina is situated in Portaferry, on the east shore of The Narrows, the gateway to Strangford Lough, County Down, Northern Ireland. It is owned and managed by Portaferry Regeneration, is sited 100 metres south of the ferry slipway in Portaferry and can accommodate up to 50 boats. Some 12 berths are reserved purely for visitor use and there is on-site water and electricity. Portaferry village centre is two minutes from the marina. The marina pontoon is chain fixed and provides good shelter, although the current can reach up to 11 knots.
Clough is a village and townland in County Down, Northern Ireland. It sits about 3 miles from Dundrum on the A2 between Newcastle and Belfast. The A2 continues via Downpatrick and the coast via Strangford and the Portaferry – Strangford Ferry to Portaferry to Belfast, whilst most road traffic heads along from Clough along the A24 via Carryduff to Belfast. It had a population of 255 people in the 2001 census. Clough is situated within the Newry, Mourne and Down area.
The A2 is a major road in Northern Ireland, a considerable length of which is often referred to the Antrim Coast Road because much of it follows the scenic coastline of County Antrim; other parts of the road follow the coasts in Counties Down and Londonderry.
The Diocese of Down and Connor, is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Northern Ireland. It is one of eight suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Armagh. Bishop Alan McGuckian is Bishop.
Quoile Castle is a castle situated 1.5 miles (2.4km) from Downpatrick, County Down, Northern Ireland, just off the main road from Downpatrick to Strangford, on the east bank of the River Quoile. The castle was built during the late 16th / early 17th Century and was continuously used up to the 1700s. It has been suggested that it was built by Captain Richard West. Quoile Castle is a State Care Historic Monument in the townland of Quoile, in Down District Council area, at grid ref: J4963 4701.
The A6 road in Northern Ireland runs for 71.4 miles (114.9 km) from Belfast to Derry, via County Antrim and County Londonderry. While stretches of the road before Randalstown have now been superseded by a motorway, the A6 remains one of the most important arterial routes in Northern Ireland, connecting its two largest cities and urban areas. Between Randalstown and Derry, the road forms part of European route E16.
The A26 is a road in Northern Ireland. It travels in a north–south direction from Coleraine, County Londonderry to Banbridge, County Down.
Ballybeen, also known as Ballybeen Housing Estate, is the second-biggest housing estate in Northern Ireland. It is in the village of Dundonald, on the outskirts of east Belfast. It lies within the townlands of Ballybeen and Carrowreagh, between the Newtownards Road and Comber Road. Started in 1963, and mostly completed by 1971, the estate consists of some 2,400 dwellings. Most of the street names are Scottish in origin as the architects who designed the estates layout mostly came from Scotland. It lies within the Borough of Castlereagh and the Belfast East Parliamentary and Assembly constituency. In the 2001 census the area had a population of 9,170.
The Comber Greenway is a 7-mile (11 km) traffic-free section of the National Cycle Network that runs along the old Belfast-Comber railway line. The cycle path starts on Dee Street in east Belfast and finishes at Comber in County Down. As well as a cycling path, it is also popular with people on foot. The most recent addition to the route was in November 2008 when the final link between Old Dundonald Road/Comber Rd junction and Comber was opened. This added 1.6 miles (2.6 km) to the route. One section runs through a SLNCI-designated Wetland ecosystem.
The A21, also Comber road, is a road in County Down in Northern Ireland. The route commences in Bangor, passing through Newtownards, Comber, and Ballygowan, and finishes on the northern outskirts of Ballynahinch.
The A22 is a road in County Down, in Northern Ireland. Its route starts in Dundonald and runs to Comber, forming the main transport corridor connecting Belfast and Comber, a commuter town situated 8 miles outside of the city. After bypassing Comber town itself, the route continues along the eastern shores of, though not directly adjacent to, Strangford Lough. The route passes through Lisbane, Balloo, and Killyleagh, terminating in Downpatrick.
The A25 is the name given to the sections of the main route connecting Strangford with Castleblayney that lie in Northern Ireland. It is a road of regional importance, serving much of south Armagh and south Down. The road commences in the village of Strangford, on the shores of Strangford Lough, from which the Portaferry - Strangford Ferry service transports vehicles to Portaferry on the Ards peninsula. The entirety of the route is 61.2 miles, of which 54.5 miles are located north of the border, forming the A25 - the remaining 6.7 miles form the R182 in the Republic of Ireland.
