County Down - 74 Attractions You Must Visit

A privately owned estate nestled in the picturesque surroundings of Co. Down offering a wonderful visitor experience including a café and trails. It is also home to an exotic plant collection initially created by ‘The Father of Irish Gardening’, Sir Arthur Rawdon. It is an iconic attraction in this area and invites all visitors.

Castle Ward is a highly unusual house built in 1762-60 by an unknown architect for Bernard Ward, later 1st Viscount Bangor and his wife. It is open to the public and includes 332 hectares 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.

Murlough National Nature Reserve is a fragile 6000 year old sand dune system owned by the National Trust and managed as Ireland’s first Nature Reserve since 1967. It is an excellent area for walking and bird watching due to its spectacular location at the edge of Dundrum Bay and the Mourne Mountains. The sand dunes were extensively used by the US Army during the Second World War.

Rowallane Gardens are well known for its large collection of rhododendrons there is much else to see including wildflower meadows, snowdrops, an interesting rock garden and a walled garden with many rare plants including the National Collection of Penstemon. In the Autumn the Garden comes alive with a good display of Autumn tints. There is a farmland trail to the summit of Trio Hill.

Nendrum Monastery was a Christian monastery on Mahee Island in Strangford Lough, County Down, Northern Ireland. Medieval records say it was founded in the 5th century, but this is uncertain. The monastery came to an end at some time between 974 and 1178, but its church served a parish until the site was abandoned in the 15th century. Some remains of the monastery can still be seen.

Newcastle is a small seaside resort town in County Down, Northern Ireland, which had a population of 7,672 at the 2011 Census. It lies by the Irish Sea at the foot of Slieve Donard, the highest of the Mourne Mountains. Newcastle is known for its sandy beach, forests and mountains. The town lies within the Newry, Mourne and Down District. The town aims to promote itself as the "activity resort" for Northern Ireland.

Newcastle is a small seaside resort town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It comprises of sand, pebbles and larger stones and is approximately 2.5 km in length. The major part of Newcastle Beach is backed by a promenade and the seaside town of Newcastle, which has lots of shops, amusements and other attractions. It also offers opportunities for watersports and amazing walks in the Mourne mountains.

This gentle walk is through a mature wood of mixed broad leaved trees. Visitors will enjoy spectacular views across the Strangford Narrows, towards Audleys Castle and Castleward. Nugent’s Wood is home to Red Squirrels, badgers and has an impressive display of spring flowers such as bluebells, stitchwort and honey suckle.

Portaferry Castle is a 16th-century tower-house, built by the Savage family and prominently located on the slope overlooking Portaferry harbour within sight of Strangford and Audley's Castles across the water. It is a square building with a small projecting turret on the south corner. It is three storeys high plus attic and there is no vault. Most of the eastern corner is in ruins. This house is a State Care Historic Monument in the townland of Ballyphilip.

The extensive Rossglass Beach offers a wonderful view over Dundrum Bay to the Mourne Mountains. Sandy shingle at high tide with rocks beyond the shoreline. It is home to breeding seals and wading birds such as oyster-catchers

Royal County Down Golf Club is a golf club in Northern Ireland, located in Newcastle, County Down. It opened on 23 March 1889 and is one of the oldest golf clubs in Ireland. It has two 18-hole links courses, the Championship Course and the Annesley Links.

Seaforde Gardens, Maze and Tropical Butterfly House promises a truly plant rich and nature-filled experience for visitors. Situated in the historic Demesne of Seaforde in County Down, which has been a family home for almost 400 years, visitors will discover an historic walled garden that has something for everyone. The Tropical Butterfly House is set in beautiful grounds, with avenues of mature trees, a maze set in the middle of an old walled garden.

Silent Valley Reservoir in the heart of the Mourne Mountains is one of the most beautiful places in Northern Ireland. It located in the Mourne Mountains near Kilkeel, County Down in Northern Ireland. It supplies most of the water for County Down, surrounding counties and most of Belfast.

Sketrick Castle is a castle situated on Sketrick Island near Whiterock, County Down, Northern Ireland. This large tower house was built in the mid 15th century and was actively involved in warfare during the 16th century. It would have originally been four storeys high with a boat bay and subterranean passage. There were four chambers at ground level, the largest had a vault built on wicker centring and two ovens. The small unlighted room could have been a lock up or treasury.

Slieve Bearnagh is one of the Mourne Mountains in County Down, Northern Ireland. It has a height of 739 metres. Its summit is crowned by two tors with a gap between them, giving it a distinctive shape. 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 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.

It is the third highest mountain in Northern Ireland at 747 metres. 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. It lies to the east of the Silent Valley Reservoir and the west of the Annalong Valley. The Mourne Wall also crosses over Slieve Binnian. A good trekking destination and also it offers nice views too.

Slieve Commedagh is a 767 m mountain in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is the second-highest of the Mourne Mountains, after Slieve Donard. It lies to the northwest of Slieve Donard, and the two are linked by a col. The Mourne Wall passes east-west over the mountaintop, and there is a small one-room tower at the summit. There is also the remains of an ancient burial cairn on the summit. On its southern side is a group of granite tors known as 'the Castles.

This is the highest peak in the Dromara hills, a range of mountains forming the foothills of the high Mournes. 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 Donard is the highest mountain in Northern Ireland and the wider province of Ulster, with a height of 850 metres. The highest 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 highest mountain in the northern half of Ireland, and 7th highest on the island.

This is a mountain located in the Mourne Mountains. It is a popular hiking destination and is 5.5 miles east of the village of Hilltown. It also offers beautiful views from here.