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Hillsborough, Co. Down

16km (10 m) south of Belfast, this very picturesque Georgian town boasts a steep main street, with antique and craft shops.

Across the town square the mansion house of Hillsborough Castle is visible, through a pair of impressive wrought iron gates. A prominent feature of the east and south approaches to Hillsborough is a five mile wall surrounding a lake and its adjoining forest.

At the gates of Hillsborough Castle is the Hillsborough heritage centre and visitors can find out more about the town at the Hillsborough Tourist centre (0044 28 92 689 717). The castle itself is a fine artillery fort, 270 square foot, built around 1650.

Hillsborough plays host to a heritage festival every year (0044 28 92 682 477), with battle re-enactments and an old time fair.

The 40 acre lake at Hillsborough offers anglers excellent brown and rainbow trout, with fishing spots set in the forest around the lake.

Featured Establishment

Eat

Pheasant, The

Hillsborough, Co. Down

Pub / Restaurant

Owned by the well know known Patterson brothers, Richard and William, since 1998, this ...

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Featured Establishment

Drink

Parson's Nose, The

Hillsborough, Co. Down

Pub / Restaurant

Originally named after its first owner, The Marquis of Downshire, Ronan and Jennie Swe ...

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Gardens

Seaforde Gardens

Downpatrick, Co. Down

In its own way Seaforde has the answer to Japan’s cherry blossom viewing season. The garden holds the national collection of eucryphias, known poetically as the ‘White Knights of August’. Gleaming with clouds of white blossom cr ...

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Golf

Royal Belfast Golf Club

Craigavad, Co. Down
Course Type: Parkland

Founded on November 9th 1881, the Royal Belfast Golf Club is the oldest club in Ireland and has a delightful, parkland setting on the shores of Belfast Lough. Its formation proved to be the inspiration for the growth of the game in Ireland. Th ...

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Self Catering

The Colonel's Lodge

Holywood, Co. Down

The Colonel's Lodge is set in the garden of Beech Hill Country House bed and breakfast. It is a converted grain store with a small double bedroom under the rafters in an open gallery upstairs , a small single bedroom dow ...

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What's On

Portadown Market - County Armagh - Friday & Saturday

Portadown Farmers Market is held Friday and Saturday 7.00am to 4.00pm.

Millenium Court, William Street, Portadown, County Armagh, Northern Ireland

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Tourist Attractions

Titanic Belfast

Belfast, Co. Antrim

Titanic Belfast extends over nine galleries, with multiple dimensions to the exhibition, drawing together special effects, dark rides, full-scale reconstructions and innovative interactive features to explore the Titanic story in a fresh and insi ...

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Wedding Venues

Hastings Culloden Estate & Spa

Holywood, Co. Down

Formerly the official palace for the Bishops of Down, the Culloden is romantically set in beautifully maintained gardens and woodland overlooking Belfast Lough and the County Antrim coastline. The building is a fine example of 19th-century Sc ...

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