Things to do in Ards Peninsula
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Mount Stewart
The magnificent 18th-century Mount Stewart is one of Northern Ireland’s grandest stately homes. It was built for the Marquess of Londonderry and is decorated with lavish plasterwork, marble nudes and priceless artworks. Much of the landscaping of the beautiful gardens was supervised in the early 20th century by Lady Edith, wife of the seventh marquess, for the benefit of her children – the Dodo Terrace at the front of the house is populated with unusual creatures from history (dinosaurs and dodos) and myth (griffins and mermaids), accompanied by giant frogs and duck-billed platypuses. Mount Stewart is on the A20, 3km north-west of Greyabbey and 8km south-east of Newtown…
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Exploris
Next to the tourist office is this outstanding state-of-the-art aquarium, with displays of marine life from Strangford Lough and the Irish Sea. Touch tanks allow visitors to stroke and hold rays, starfish, sea anemones and other sea creatures. Exploris also has a seal sanctuary, where orphaned, sick and injured seals are nursed back to health before being released into the wild.
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Portaferry Castle
Portaferry's castle is a small 16th-century tower house beside the tourist information centre, which, together with the tower house in Strangford, used to control sea traffic through the Narrows.
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Ballycopeland Windmill
Approximately 1.5km northwest of Millisle is Ballycopeland Windmill, a late-18th-century corn mill that remained in commercial use until 1915 and has been restored to full working order.
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Temple of the Winds
The 18th-century Temple of the Winds is a folly in the classical Greek style built on a high point above the lough.
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Temple of the Winds
The 18th-century Temple of the Winds is a folly in the classical Greek style built on a high point above the lough.
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Local Walks
Walk up to Windmill Hill above the town, topped by an old windmill tower, for a good view over the Narrows to Strangford. The Vikings named this stretch of water Strangfjörthr, meaning 'powerful fjord', because when the tide turns, as it does four times a day, 400,000 tonnes of water per minute churn through the gap at speeds of up to eight knots(15km/h). You get some idea of the tide's remarkable strength when you see the ferry being whipped sideways by the current.
Portaferry hit the headlines in 2008 when SeaGen – the world's first commercial-scale tidal energy turbine, built at Belfast's Harland & Wolff shipyard – was installed in the Narrows. The generator is clearly…
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John Murray
Also organises fishing and birdwatching trips from May to September, along with pleasure cruises. Book in advance.
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Des Rogers
Fishing and birdwatching trips from May to September, as well as pleasure cruises on the lough. Book in advance.
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