Hillsborough Castle & Gardens

Explore Northern Ireland’s royal residence, where worlds and minds meet. Relax in 100 acres of picturesque gardens, explore the State Rooms still used today.  The castle is the official Northern Ireland residence of HM The King.  It’s also been home to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland since the 1970s and has played a central role in the peace-building process for 40 years, including the Good Friday Agreement negotiations. Access is to the State Rooms that make up this elegant Georgian home including the grand Throne Room, relaxing State Drawing Room, Lady Grey’s Study, State Dining Room, Red Room and Stair Hall. Hillsborough Castle’s glorious gardens are bursting with colour and are a joy to explore. Discover ornamental grounds, peaceful woodland, meandering waterways and picturesque glens.

Mourne Mountains

Driving the stunning Mourne Coastal Route gives you some sense of the epic size of these mountains – Northern Ireland’s highest – but the best way to see the sights is on foot or by bike.  Many of the accessible trails and paths will at some point lead you down into Silent Valley or up the slopes of Slieve Donard, or both. Either way, the Mournes make for a breath-taking outdoors experience. Even stepping off a trail to admire the panoramic views across the glittering Irish sea feels like an event in itself. Look out for the Cooley peninsula to the south, the Isle of Man to the north-east, with Mount Snowdon in Wales visible through binoculars on the clearest of days.

Ulster Transport Musuem

Ulster Transport Museum celebrates the history of invention and innovation through engineering, design, and technology. Home to one of the most comprehensive transport collections in Europe, explore majestic steam locomotives, Irish built motor cars and vintage motorbikes, and traditional horse-drawn carriages. Uncover the history of ship and aircraft building in Ulster, with historic reading materials on show and a model replica of the Titanic!  The Museum of Innovation located in the lower galleries celebrates the great innovations of Ulster including the famous Delorean, Ferguson tractor and the brand new ‘Celtic Wave: A History of Surfing’ exhibition.

Ulster Folk Museum

First opened in 1964, the Ulster Folk Museum is a remarkable living museum and environmental resource, three miles east of Belfast.  The museum is home to a rich collection of heritage buildings and objects, which is uses to actively preserve and demonstrate traditions, stories and skills passed down through many generations.  Experience daily craft demonstrations from blacksmithing to basket weaving*, wander the winding lanes of the rural site taking in the views and wildlife, and learn about life in rural Ulster.

Kilbroney Park

Kilbroney Park Forest features riverside walks and an arboretum. There is a two-mile forest drive which showcases panoramic views over Carlingford Lough. The forest drive leads to a car park from where walkers have the opportunity to climb to Cloughmore, ‘the big stone’, a 30ton erratic, which sits at approx 1000ft above Rostrevor. Geologists explain its presence here as having been deposited during the ice age.  However, local folklore claims it was thrown here by Fionn Mac Cool during a fight with a Scottish Giant. During the same battle, the Scottish Giant allegedly tore out a handful of earth and flung it back at Fionn, it missed and landed in the sea.  We now know that area as the Isle of Man and the divot he made filled up with water and became Lough Neagh.   There is also a 4 star caravan & camping park onsite.