Dundrum CastleJohn de Courcy began this castle on the rocky hill above Dundrum, and Hugh de Lacy added the massive round keep that looks over Dundrum Bay.
Nature reserve
Murlough National Nature Reserve
Newcastle, County Down
Sand dunes up to six thousand years old on the shore between Dundrum and Newcastle, and Ireland's first national nature reserve.
- Where
- Newcastle, County Down
- Official site
- nationaltrust.org.uk
- Map
- Directions · OpenStreetMap
- Before you go
- Opening times, prices and access change. Check with the place itself.
Nearby
The closest places on our lists, in any county.
Dundrum CastleJohn de Courcy began this castle on the rocky hill above Dundrum, and Hugh de Lacy added the massive round keep that looks over Dundrum Bay.
Tollymore Forest ParkForest at the foot of the Mournes near Newcastle, open all year, with views of the sea and paths on foot up to Slieve Donard and Slieve Commedagh.
Slieve DonardThe highest mountain in Northern Ireland stands over Newcastle, and the Great Cairn on its summit holds the highest passage tomb in Ireland.
Castlewellan Forest ParkForest park on the north side of the Mournes with a lake you can fish and canoe on, and the Annesley Garden and Arboretum inside the grounds.
Down CathedralThe Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity stands on the hill in Downpatrick, and the grave in its grounds is the traditional burial place of Saint Patrick.
Inch AbbeyThe ruins of a Cistercian abbey that John de Courcy founded in the 12th century, on the River Quoile on the outskirts of Downpatrick.More in Down
Mourne MountainsMountain · NewcastleA granite range in the south of the county. The dry stone Mourne Wall, built between 1904 and 1922 to mark off the water catchment, runs over its summits.
Mount StewartHouse and gardens · NewtownardsThe Stewart family's neoclassical house on the Ards Peninsula looks over Strangford Lough, and Edith, Lady Londonderry designed the gardens around it from the 1920s.
Titanic BelfastMuseum · BelfastThe museum stands beside the slipways where the Titanic was built and launched, and a ticket also takes you aboard SS Nomadic, the last surviving White Star Line ship.
Castle WardHouse and gardens · StrangfordBernard Ward and Lady Ann Bligh built this house above Strangford Lough in the 1760s, with a classical entrance front and a Gothic garden front.
Silent Valley ReservoirLake · KilkeelBelfast's water supply reservoir in the high Mournes was begun in 1923 and opened in 1933, and a trail runs up the valley to Ben Crom Reservoir.
Strangford LoughLake · StrangfordThe largest sea lough in the British Isles and a Marine Conservation Zone, crossed at its narrow mouth by the Strangford to Portaferry ferry.
Scrabo TowerViewpoint · NewtownardsA stone tower finished in 1859 on top of Scrabo Hill above Newtownards, in a country park of woodland and old quarries looking over Strangford Lough.
Ulster Folk MuseumMuseum · HolywoodAn open-air museum at Cultra, outside Holywood, opened in 1964, where cottages, shops and a school moved from across Ulster were rebuilt and the old crafts are still shown.