County Down (Irish: Contae an Dúin) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of 961 mi2 (2,490 km2) and has a population of 552,261. It borders County Antrim to the north, the Irish Sea to the east, County Armagh to the west, and County Louth across Carlingford Lough to the southwest. In the east of the county is Strangford Lough and the Ards Peninsula. The largest settlement is Bangor, a city on the northeast coast. Three other large towns and cities are on its border: Newry lies on the western border with County Armagh; Lisburn and Belfast lie on the northern border with County Antrim. Down contains the southernmost point of Northern Ireland (Cranfield Point) and the easternmost point of Ireland (Burr Point). It was one of two counties of Northern Ireland to have a Protestant majority in the 2001 census. The other Protestant-majority County was County Antrim to the north. In the 2021 Census, it was the only county with a Protestant background majority, as Antrim has a Protestant background plurality. In the 2021 census, Ards and North Down had the highest number of "No Religion" responses (30.6%) for Northern Ireland. In March 2018, The Sunday Times published its list of Best Places to Live in Britain, including five in Northern Ireland. The list included three in County Down: Holywood, Newcastle, and Strangford. The county has two cities: Newry and Bangor. Bangor is the more recent, gaining city status in December 2022.
Intro from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
#1 SS Nomadic is a former tender of the White Star Line, launched on 25 April 1911 at Belfast, that is now on display in Belfast's Titanic Quarter. She was built to transfer passengers and mail to and from the ocean liners RMS Olympic and RMS Titanic. She is the only surviving vessel designed by Thomas Andrews, who also helped design those two ocean liners, and the last White Star Line vessel in existence today.
#2 Slieve Croob (SLEEV CROOB; from Irish Sliabh Crúibe 'mountain of the hoof') is a mountain with a height of 534 metres (1,752 ft) in the middle of County Down, Northern Ireland. It is the heart of a mountainous area, the Dromara Hills, north of the Mourne Mountains. It is designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is the source of the River Lagan. There is a small road to the summit, where there is an ancient burial cairn and several transmitter stations with radio masts. It has wide views over all of County Down and further afield. The Dromara Hills also includes Slievenisky, Cratlieve, Slievegarran and Slievenaboley. Slieve Croob may have been the mountain named Brí Erigi or Brí Airige in medieval writings. The cairn on its summit is believed to be the remains of an ancient burial mound, possibly of a passage tomb like the one on Slieve Gullion. In the 19th century it was recorded to be 77 yards (70 m) around and 18 yards (16 m) in "conical height", with forty-two "pillar stones" or kerbstones around the edge. The cairn would have had a well-defined shape when it was built. Still, over time it has slipped and been damaged by visitors. Irish folklore holds that it is bad luck to damage such cairns. Some of its stones have been piled into smaller cairns on top of it, which led to the summit being nicknamed 'The Twelve Cairns'. Traditionally, people would gather on the summit at Lughnasadh where they would add a stone to one of the cairns. They would collect and eat bilberries and there would be folk music, dancing and games. Local people still climb the mountain on the first Sunday in August (referred to as Cairn Sunday or Blaeberry Sunday), and carry a stone up the mountain to help bury the twelve Kings, who are said to be buried at the top. Legannany Dolmen sits on the southern slopes of Slieve Croob near the village of Leitrim.
#3 The Legananny Dolmen is a megalithic dolmen or cromlech nine miles southeast of Banbridge and three miles north of Castlewellan, both in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is on the slopes of Slieve Croob near the village of Leitrim in Drumgooland parish, between a farmer's stone wall and a back road. It is a State Care Historic Monument sited in the townland of Legananny, in Banbridge District, at grid ref: J2887 4339. This tripod dolmen has a capstone over 3 m (10 ft) long and 1.8 m (6 ft) from the ground. It dates to the Neolithic period, making the monument around 5,000 years old. Such portal tombs were funerary sites for the disposal of the dead in Neolithic society. The heavy stones would have been dragged some distance before being set in place. The three supporting stones are unusually long and there are slight traces of a cairn which must have been far more extensive. Some urns were found underneath. The name Legananny is derived from Irish Liagán Áine 'Áine's standing stone'.
Greencastle is a castle in County Down, Northern Ireland. While it dates mainly from the 13th century, it had substantial 15th- and 16th-century alterations. It was originally surrounded by outer rectangular walls with four corner towers (ruins of some remain). It is likely to have been built by Hugh de Lacy, along with Carlingford Castle on the opposite side of Carlingford Lough, to guard the narrow entry channel to the Lough, and the ferry crossing between the two. The motte from the earlier wooden motte-and-bailey castle (possibly built by John de Courcy) is still on the seaward side nearer the point. According to one legend John de Courcy was married at Greencastle, but this may have been at the original motte & bailey castle. According to the information boards at the site it was held for the English Crown by Richard de Burgh, Earl of Ulster, from 1264 to 1333. It was attacked and taken by Edward Bruce, the brother of Robert, in 1316. This was in spite of one of Richard de Burgh's daughters having married Robert the Bruce himself. It was attacked at least twice by the Irish in the later 14th century but still maintained as an English garrison in the 1590s. In the 16th century it was held by the Earl of Kildare and then Nicholas Bagenal of Newry. It fell into disuse after a bombardment by Cromwellian soldiers, to stop it being used by rebel forces. The site is also surrounded in close proximity by other medieval sites/monuments: e.g., the motte fortification predating the stone castle (Northern Ireland Sites and Monuments Record No. DOW 057:001), late-Medieval stone church (DOW 057:002) and two burial pits (DOW 057:017) that were excavated in 2003; one contained a female aged 25–35 and the second a child (one presumes related) of less than four years old at death (1 and a half to 3 and a half years old). A calibrated date range of AD1270-1380 was indicated; likely contemporary with the construction of Greencastle in the mid-13th century. The castle underwent archaeological excavations from 1966 - 1970 which also identified layers of occupation deposits that pre-dated the castle on the site. The castle is a state-care historic monument in the townland of Greencastle, in the Newry and Mourne District Council area, at grid ref: J2473 1184.
#5 Castle Espie is a wetland reserve managed by the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) on the banks of Strangford Lough, three miles south of Comber, County Down, Northern Ireland, in the townland of the same name. It is part of the Strangford Lough Ramsar Site. It provides an early wintering site for almost the entire Nearctic population of pale-bellied brent geese. The Castle which gave the reserve its name no longer exists.
#6 Slieve Donard ( SLEEV DON-ərd; from Irish Sliabh Dónairt, meaning 'Dónairt's mountain') is the highest mountain in Northern Ireland, the highest in Ulster, and the seventh-highest in Ireland, with a height of 850 metres (2,790 ft). The tallest of the Mourne Mountains, it is near the town of Newcastle on the eastern coast of County Down, overlooking the Irish Sea. It is also the tallest mountain in the northern half of Ireland. The Mourne Wall – built in the early 20th century – runs up the western and southern slopes of the mountain, joining a small stone tower at the summit. Also on the summit are the remains of two ancient burial cairns, one of which is the remains of the highest known passage tomb in Ireland. In Irish mythology the mountain was associated with the mythical figures Boirche and Slángha. It was later associated with, and named after, Saint Donard, who was said to have made the summit his hermitage. Up until the 1830s, people would climb the mountain as part of a yearly pilgrimage, which may have originally been a Lughnasadh (harvest) ritual. Royal Engineers camped on the summit for four months in 1826 as part of the Ordnance Survey's Principal Triangulation.
#7 Hillsborough Castle is an official government residence in Northern Ireland. It is the official residence of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and the official residence in Northern Ireland of the British monarch and other members of the British royal family when they visit the region, as well as a guest house for prominent international visitors. From 1924 until the post's abolition in 1973, it was the official residence of the Governor of Northern Ireland. Since April 2014, it has been managed by Historic Royal Palaces, and is open to paying members of the public.
#8 Titanic Belfast is a visitor attraction in Belfast, Northern Ireland, which opened in 2012. It is a monument to Belfast's maritime heritage on the site of the former Harland & Wolff shipyard in the city's Titanic Quarter where the RMS Titanic was built. It tells the stories of the Titanic, which hit an iceberg and sank during her maiden voyage in 1912, and her sister ships RMS Olympic and HMHS Britannic. The building contains more than 12,000 square metres (130,000 sq ft) of floor space, most of which is occupied by a series of galleries, private function rooms and community facilities.
#9 Castle Ward is an 18th-century National Trust property located near the village of Strangford, in County Down, Northern Ireland, in the townland of the same name. It overlooks Strangford Lough and is 7 miles from Downpatrick and 1.5 miles from Strangford. Castle Ward is open to the public and includes 332 hectares (820 acres) of landscaped gardens, a fortified tower house, Victorian laundry, theatre, restaurant, shop, saw mill and a working corn mill. It has a shore on Strangford Lough. From 1985 to 2010 it has also hosted Castleward Opera, an annual summer opera festival.
#10 HMS Caroline is a decommissioned C-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy that was the lead ship of her sub-class. Completed in 1914, she saw combat service during the First World War and served as an administrative centre in the Second World War. The ship served as a static headquarters and training ship for the Royal Naval Reserve, based in Alexandra Dock, Belfast, Northern Ireland, for the later stages of her career. At the time of her decommissioning in 2011, she was the second-oldest ship in Royal Navy service, after the ship-of-the-line HMS Victory. Caroline was converted into a museum ship after she was decommissioned. From October 2016, she underwent inspection and repairs to her hull at Harland and Wolff and opened to the public on 1 July 2017 at Alexandra Dock in the Titanic Quarter in Belfast. Caroline was the last remaining British First World War light cruiser in service, and she is the last survivor of the Battle of Jutland still afloat. She is also one of only two surviving Royal Navy warships of the First World War, along with the 1915 monitor HMS M33 (in Portsmouth dockyard). A third ship, the Flower-class sloop HMS President, (formerly HMS Saxifrage) was scrapped in 2026.
Dougie Beattie speaks to Eimear Kearney, head of marketing at Titanic Belfast, about the SS Nomadic
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Exploring Lonely Slieve Croob: A Hike of Stunning Vistas
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▶ VideoSS Nomadic is a former tender of the White Star Line, launched on 25 April 1911 at Belfast, that is now on display in Belfast's Titanic Quarter. She was built to transfer passengers and mail to and from the ocean liners RMS Olympic and RMS Titanic. She is the only surviving vessel designed by Thomas Andrews, who also helped design those two ocean liners, and the last White Star Line vessel in existence today.
▶ VideoSlieve Croob (SLEEV CROOB; from Irish Sliabh Crúibe 'mountain of the hoof') is a mountain with a height of 534 metres (1,752 ft) in the middle of County Down, Northern Ireland. It is the heart of a mountainous area, the Dromara Hills, north of the Mourne Mountains. It is designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is the source of the River Lagan. There is a small road to the summit, where there is an ancient burial cairn and several transmitter stations with radio masts. It has wide views over all of County Down and further afield. The Dromara Hills also includes Slievenisky, Cratlieve, Slievegarran and Slievenaboley. Slieve Croob may have been the mountain named Brí Erigi or Brí Airige in medieval writings. The cairn on its summit is believed to be the remains of an ancient burial mound, possibly of a passage tomb like the one on Slieve Gullion. In the 19th century it was recorded to be 77 yards (70 m) around and 18 yards (16 m) in "conical height", with forty-two "pillar stones" or kerbstones around the edge. The cairn would have had a well-defined shape when it was built. Still, over time it has slipped and been damaged by visitors. Irish folklore holds that it is bad luck to damage such cairns. Some of its stones have been piled into smaller cairns on top of it, which led to the summit being nicknamed 'The Twelve Cairns'. Traditionally, people would gather on the summit at Lughnasadh where they would add a stone to one of the cairns. They would collect and eat bilberries and there would be folk music, dancing and games. Local people still climb the mountain on the first Sunday in August (referred to as Cairn Sunday or Blaeberry Sunday), and carry a stone up the mountain to help bury the twelve Kings, who are said to be buried at the top. Legannany Dolmen sits on the southern slopes of Slieve Croob near the village of Leitrim.
Greencastle is a castle in County Down, Northern Ireland. While it dates mainly from the 13th century, it had substantial 15th- and 16th-century alterations. It was originally surrounded by outer rectangular walls with four corner towers (ruins of some remain). It is likely to have been built by Hugh de Lacy, along with Carlingford Castle on the opposite side of Carlingford Lough, to guard the narrow entry channel to the Lough, and the ferry crossing between the two. The motte from the earlier wooden motte-and-bailey castle (possibly built by John de Courcy) is still on the seaward side nearer the point. According to one legend John de Courcy was married at Greencastle, but this may have been at the original motte & bailey castle. According to the information boards at the site it was held for the English Crown by Richard de Burgh, Earl of Ulster, from 1264 to 1333. It was attacked and taken by Edward Bruce, the brother of Robert, in 1316. This was in spite of one of Richard de Burgh's daughters having married Robert the Bruce himself. It was attacked at least twice by the Irish in the later 14th century but still maintained as an English garrison in the 1590s. In the 16th century it was held by the Earl of Kildare and then Nicholas Bagenal of Newry. It fell into disuse after a bombardment by Cromwellian soldiers, to stop it being used by rebel forces. The site is also surrounded in close proximity by other medieval sites/monuments: e.g., the motte fortification predating the stone castle (Northern Ireland Sites and Monuments Record No. DOW 057:001), late-Medieval stone church (DOW 057:002) and two burial pits (DOW 057:017) that were excavated in 2003; one contained a female aged 25–35 and the second a child (one presumes related) of less than four years old at death (1 and a half to 3 and a half years old). A calibrated date range of AD1270-1380 was indicated; likely contemporary with the construction of Greencastle in the mid-13th century. The castle underwent archaeological excavations from 1966 - 1970 which also identified layers of occupation deposits that pre-dated the castle on the site. The castle is a state-care historic monument in the townland of Greencastle, in the Newry and Mourne District Council area, at grid ref: J2473 1184.
The Legananny Dolmen is a megalithic dolmen or cromlech nine miles southeast of Banbridge and three miles north of Castlewellan, both in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is on the slopes of Slieve Croob near the village of Leitrim in Drumgooland parish, between a farmer's stone wall and a back road. It is a State Care Historic Monument sited in the townland of Legananny, in Banbridge District, at grid ref: J2887 4339. This tripod dolmen has a capstone over 3 m (10 ft) long and 1.8 m (6 ft) from the ground. It dates to the Neolithic period, making the monument around 5,000 years old. Such portal tombs were funerary sites for the disposal of the dead in Neolithic society. The heavy stones would have been dragged some distance before being set in place. The three supporting stones are unusually long and there are slight traces of a cairn which must have been far more extensive. Some urns were found underneath. The name Legananny is derived from Irish Liagán Áine 'Áine's standing stone'.
Castle Espie is a wetland reserve managed by the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) on the banks of Strangford Lough, three miles south of Comber, County Down, Northern Ireland, in the townland of the same name. It is part of the Strangford Lough Ramsar Site. It provides an early wintering site for almost the entire Nearctic population of pale-bellied brent geese. The Castle which gave the reserve its name no longer exists.
Slieve Donard ( SLEEV DON-ərd; from Irish Sliabh Dónairt, meaning 'Dónairt's mountain') is the highest mountain in Northern Ireland, the highest in Ulster, and the seventh-highest in Ireland, with a height of 850 metres (2,790 ft). The tallest of the Mourne Mountains, it is near the town of Newcastle on the eastern coast of County Down, overlooking the Irish Sea. It is also the tallest mountain in the northern half of Ireland. The Mourne Wall – built in the early 20th century – runs up the western and southern slopes of the mountain, joining a small stone tower at the summit. Also on the summit are the remains of two ancient burial cairns, one of which is the remains of the highest known passage tomb in Ireland. In Irish mythology the mountain was associated with the mythical figures Boirche and Slángha. It was later associated with, and named after, Saint Donard, who was said to have made the summit his hermitage. Up until the 1830s, people would climb the mountain as part of a yearly pilgrimage, which may have originally been a Lughnasadh (harvest) ritual. Royal Engineers camped on the summit for four months in 1826 as part of the Ordnance Survey's Principal Triangulation.
Hillsborough Castle is an official government residence in Northern Ireland. It is the official residence of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and the official residence in Northern Ireland of the British monarch and other members of the British royal family when they visit the region, as well as a guest house for prominent international visitors. From 1924 until the post's abolition in 1973, it was the official residence of the Governor of Northern Ireland. Since April 2014, it has been managed by Historic Royal Palaces, and is open to paying members of the public.
Titanic Belfast is a visitor attraction in Belfast, Northern Ireland, which opened in 2012. It is a monument to Belfast's maritime heritage on the site of the former Harland & Wolff shipyard in the city's Titanic Quarter where the RMS Titanic was built. It tells the stories of the Titanic, which hit an iceberg and sank during her maiden voyage in 1912, and her sister ships RMS Olympic and HMHS Britannic. The building contains more than 12,000 square metres (130,000 sq ft) of floor space, most of which is occupied by a series of galleries, private function rooms and community facilities.
Castle Ward is an 18th-century National Trust property located near the village of Strangford, in County Down, Northern Ireland, in the townland of the same name. It overlooks Strangford Lough and is 7 miles from Downpatrick and 1.5 miles from Strangford. Castle Ward is open to the public and includes 332 hectares (820 acres) of landscaped gardens, a fortified tower house, Victorian laundry, theatre, restaurant, shop, saw mill and a working corn mill. It has a shore on Strangford Lough. From 1985 to 2010 it has also hosted Castleward Opera, an annual summer opera festival.
HMS Caroline is a decommissioned C-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy that was the lead ship of her sub-class. Completed in 1914, she saw combat service during the First World War and served as an administrative centre in the Second World War. The ship served as a static headquarters and training ship for the Royal Naval Reserve, based in Alexandra Dock, Belfast, Northern Ireland, for the later stages of her career. At the time of her decommissioning in 2011, she was the second-oldest ship in Royal Navy service, after the ship-of-the-line HMS Victory. Caroline was converted into a museum ship after she was decommissioned. From October 2016, she underwent inspection and repairs to her hull at Harland and Wolff and opened to the public on 1 July 2017 at Alexandra Dock in the Titanic Quarter in Belfast. Caroline was the last remaining British First World War light cruiser in service, and she is the last survivor of the Battle of Jutland still afloat. She is also one of only two surviving Royal Navy warships of the First World War, along with the 1915 monitor HMS M33 (in Portsmouth dockyard). A third ship, the Flower-class sloop HMS President, (formerly HMS Saxifrage) was scrapped in 2026.
The Giant's Ring is a henge monument at Ballynahatty, near Shaw's Bridge, Belfast, Northern Ireland. The site is a State Care Historic Monument and also a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The site consists of a circular enclosure, 180 m (590 ft) in diameter and 2.8 hectares (6.9 acres) in area, surrounded by a circular earthwork bank 3.5 m (11 ft) high. At least three of the five irregularly spaced gaps in the bank are intentional and possibly original. East of the centre of the enclosure is a small passage tomb with a vestigial passage facing west. There were reports of other tombs outside the enclosure, but there is no trace of these. A wall to protect the site was constructed under the supervision of local landowner Arthur Hill-Trevor, 3rd Viscount Dungannon in 1837. An inscribed stone tablet on the wall surrounding the site, which details Viscount Dungannon's interest, was carved by Belfast stone-carver Charles A Thompson c. 1919.
Mount Stewart is a 19th-century house and garden in County Down, Northern Ireland, owned by the National Trust. Situated on the east shore of Strangford Lough, a few miles outside the town of Newtownards and near Greyabbey, it was the Irish seat of the Stewart family, Marquesses of Londonderry. Prominently associated in particular with the 2nd Marquess of Londonderry (better known as Viscount Castlereagh), Britain's Foreign Secretary at the Congress of Vienna, and with the 7th Marquess of Londonderry, the former Air Minister who at Mount Stewart attempted private diplomacy with Hitler's Germany, the house and its contents reflect the history of the family's leading role in social and political life in Britain and Ireland.
Scrabo Tower is a 135 feet (41 m) high 19th-century lookout tower or folly that stands on Scrabo Hill near Newtownards in County Down, Northern Ireland. It provides wide views and is a landmark that can be seen from afar. It was built as a memorial to Charles Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry and was originally known as the Londonderry Monument. Its architectural style is Scottish Baronial Revival.
Slieve Binnian (SLEEV BIN-yan; from Irish Sliabh Binneáin, meaning 'mountain of the little peaks') is one of the Mourne Mountains in County Down, Northern Ireland, 9 km north of Kilkeel. It is the third-highest mountain in Northern Ireland at 747 metres (2,451 ft). The summit is broad and flat with rocky tors at the north and south ends, with the Back Castles, impressive towers of granite, in between. To the south-west is Wee Binnian (from Irish Broinn Bhinneáin, meaning 'breast of Binneán') (460m). It lies east of Silent Valley Reservoir and west of the Annalong Valley. The Mourne Wall also crosses over Slieve Binnian. The mountain is in the townland of Brackenagh East Upper (379 acres), the civil parish of Kilkeel and the historic barony of Mourne.
Kilclief Castle (Irish: Caislean Cill Cléithe; Ordnance Survey ref: J597457) is a tower-house castle beside Strangford Lough and 2.5 miles (4 km) south of the village of Strangford, County Down, Northern Ireland. Kilclief is a hamlet on the Strangford to Ardglass road.
Killyleagh Castle is a castle in the village of Killyleagh, County Down, Northern Ireland. It is believed to be one of the oldest inhabited castles in the country, with parts dating back to 1180. It follows the architectural style of a Loire Valley château, being redesigned by the architect Sir Charles Lanyon in the mid-19th century. It has been owned by the Hamilton family since the early 17th century. It is currently the home of Gawn Rowan Hamilton and his family. The castle hosts occasional concerts; performers have included Van Morrison, Glen Hansard and Bap Kennedy. The gate lodges provide self-catering holiday accommodation. From 2012 to 2014, the castle was used to film CBBC show Dani's Castle.
Slieve Bearnagh (SLEEV BAR-na; from Irish Sliabh Bearnach 'gapped mountain') is one of the Mourne Mountains in County Down, Northern Ireland. It has a height of 739 metres (2,425 ft). Its summit is crowned by two tors with a gap between them, giving it its distinctive shape and name. The Mourne Wall crosses the summit of Slieve Bearnagh east to west. Paths lead to the cols on either side of the mountain, namely Pollaphuca (from Irish Poll an Phúca 'hole of the púca') to the west and Hare's Gap to the east. From the latter, one can also descend southwards to the head of the Ben Crom reservoir.
Slieve Commedagh (SLEEV COM-eh-da; from Irish Sliabh Coimhéideach, meaning 'the guarding/watching mountain') is a mountain with a height of 767 m (2,516 ft) in County Down, Northern Ireland. After Slieve Donard, it is the second-highest of the Mourne Mountains and the second-highest mountain in Northern Ireland. Slieve Commedagh is northwest of Slieve Donard, and the two are linked by a col. Further west of Slieve Commedagh is the lower summit of Slieve Corragh. The Mourne Wall passes east–west over the mountaintop, and there is a small tower at the summit. There are also the remains of an ancient burial cairn on the mountaintop. Slieve Commedagh overlooks the Glen River to the east, and the Pot of Legawherry to the west. On its southern side are a group of granite tors known as 'the Castles'. This overlooks the Brandy Pad, a track used in the 18th century to smuggle commodities such as brandy and tobacco, mainly from Britain. The Slieve Commedagh massif also includes the lesser summits of Shan Slieve, Slievenamaddy and Slievenabrock (to the north).
Struell Wells (Irish: Toibreacha an tSruthail; Ulster-Scots: Struell Waals) are a set of four holy wells in the townland of Struell, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) east of Downpatrick, County Down, Northern Ireland (grid ref: J513442). The wells date from before the time of Saint Patrick, and even today are used for people seeking cures. On Mid-Summer Eve (Saint John's Eve) and the Friday before Lammas, hundreds of pilgrims used to visit Struell. The earliest written reference to the wells is in 1306 when a chapel was recorded on the site, but none of the surviving buildings is earlier than about 1600. Pilgrimages to the site are well documented from the 16th century to the 19th century. The site is managed by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency.
Ballynoe Stone Circle is a complex multi-phase site, meaning its use spans multiple periods of human history. It is believed to be some 5,000 years old dating from the late Neolithic (around 3000 BC) into the Early Bronze Age (itself two millennia from 2500 – 500 BC). The stone circle located near the village of Ballynoe, County Down in Northern Ireland is one of around 1,300 recorded stone circles in Ireland, Britain and Brittany remaining today....
Clough Castle is a 12th century Anglo-Norman motte-and-bailey castle located in Clough, County Down, Northern Ireland. It consists of a ruined tower house situated on a 7.6 metres (25 ft) high motte. A small crescent-shaped bailey lies next to the south-east of the motte, separated by a 2.1 metres (6 ft 11 in) deep ditch.
Jordan's Castle (Irish: Caisleán MacSiurtain; Ulster Scots: Joardan's Kessel) is a castle situated in Ardglass, County Down, Northern Ireland. The tower house known as Jordan's Castle is a State Care Historic Monument sited in the townland of Ardglass, in the Newry, Mourne and Down District Council area, at grid ref: J5601 3713. It stands close to the junction of Kildare and Quay Streets in Ardglass and commands the harbour.
Kirkistown Castle is a tower house situated near Cloghy, County Down, Northern Ireland.
Millstone Mountain is a hill in the Mourne Mountains in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is the most easterly peak in the Mournes and, along with Thomas Mountain and Crossone, is one of the three subsidiary peaks of Slieve Donard. Millstone was produced in the area in the past and there are two former sites to the south-west and north-west of the summit. A granite quarry was opened on the northern side of the mountain in 1824 and a funicular railway, known as the Bogie Line, ran from it to King Street. The railway was diverted to the nearby quarry on Thomas Mountain in 1959. Both quarries are abandoned and the path of the Bogie Line is now a walking trail known as The Granite Trail.