Strangford Lough and the Mourne Mountains

Route description

Leave Belfast on the A20 through Newtownards and follow the eastern shore of Strangford Lough. Mount Stewart is about 30 minutes out, with its house and formal gardens right on the water. Continue down the Ards Peninsula to Portaferry, a small harbour town at the narrow mouth of the lough. The A2 on the outer coast is an alternative on the way back, with sea views and small fishing villages.

From Portaferry the Strangford Ferry carries cars across the fast tidal narrows to Strangford village in under ten minutes, usually every half hour. Castle Ward is just west of Strangford, a National Trust estate with lough-side trails and the farmyard used for Winterfell in Game of Thrones. Allow half a day if you want to walk or cycle the estate paths.

Take the A25 to Downpatrick and then the A2 via Dundrum to Newcastle, a seaside town where the Mourne Mountains drop to the sea. Slieve Donard, the highest peak in Northern Ireland at 850 m, is climbed from here. Tollymore Forest Park is five minutes inland, with riverside paths along the Shimna and a large car park; you pay at the barrier on the way in.

The A2 hugs the coast south to Annalong and Kilkeel, where a road turns inland to the Silent Valley Reservoir, surrounded by the dry-stone Mourne Wall. Continue via Newry and cross the open border into the Republic for Carlingford, a medieval town on Carlingford Lough. Note that once you cross the border, speed limits are in km/h and prices are in euro.