This ruined Abbey is in Northern Ireland. It is close to the beautiful village of Grey Abbey. That village alone is well worth visiting on any tours of Ireland. The Abbey dates back to Norman times when they held this part of County Down. It was founded by the...
We have had a number of tours of Ireland where clients have been interested in gardens. Rowallane has always been a favourite on those tours. The gardens are in Saintfield , County Down. It is a garden of exceptional interest and beauty. It was started by Mr Hugh Armytage...
These gardens surround a grand residence in County Down, Northern Ireland. They are a must see if you are that direction on any tours of Ireland. Mount Stewart was bought in 1744 by Alexander Stewart. The house has been in continuous family ownership. The gardens were designed by Lady...
This is an 18th century mansion near Strangford in Northern Ireland. It is a spectacular place to visit on any tours of Ireland. Strangford is a small village that was a Viking trading post in the 9th century. It is a beautiful wee place. Castleward house is the most...
This lake is definitely worth seeing on any tours of Ireland. In a superb setting of mountains, called the Twelve Bens of Connemara, lies Ballynahinch Lake. This forms part of the famous Ballynahinch fishery. A fine salmon river empties the lake into a creek of Bertraghboy Bay. The West...
Narrow Water Castle is at the bottle neck of the Newry canal which runs into Carlingford Lough. It was built after the restoration of King Charles the second to protect the commercial town of Newry and its strategic hinterland of Down, Armagh, and Louth. Carlingford is a...
The peninsula – and some of Northern Ireland’s finest scenery – begins east of Belfast at Bangor. This resort town has a modern marina and some well-known yacht clubs. A little way south is Donaghadee, from where boats sail to the three Copeland Islands. These...
The cathedral was built in 1790-1827, but it retains some portions of the older building, notably part of the east end (possibly the work of de Courcy), with its recessed doorway and trefoil niches. Within, arcades survive from the 13th, 15th and 16th centuries, and...
Newtownards, now a busy manufacturing centre in an old town, despite its name. It dates from 1244, when a Dominican Priory was founded here by Walter de Burgh, the church of which still stands in ruins in Court Square, off Castle Street. Of the existing...
Ardglass is a fishing village and small resort to the southeast of Downpatrick. It occupies the site of a Viking settlement, and its importance in medieval times is attested by the remains of five 14th- 16th century, fortified merchants’ houses: King’s Castle, Margarets Castle, Cowd...