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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

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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Featured Establishment

Drink

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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Gardens

Annas House and Garden - Comber County Down Northern Ireland

Anna's House & Garden

Comber, Co. Down

Anna and Ken Johnson’s charming house near Strangford Lough looks over their own ten-acre wildfowl lake to the rolling north Down countryside, and not only does it make a comfortable base for visits to major County Down gardens three Nati ...

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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

Park Shopping Centre - Belfast - Thursdays

Farmers Market - The Park Shopping Centre Belfast

Thursdays 10-4pm

Contact: Sean McArdle - 087 6115016 info@irishfarmersmarkets.ie

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Tourist Attractions

Sentry Hill & Visitor Centre

Newtownabbey, Co. Antrim

Sentry Hill is a 19th century farmhouse that together with its' contents provide a rare insight into life in rural Ulster during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Sentry Hill was the home of the McKinney family, who came to Ireland from Scot ...

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Wedding Venues

Dunadry Hotel & Country Club

Dunadry, Co. Antrim

Formerly a mill, this attractive riverside hotel creates a good impression on arrival and succeeds very well in combining the character of the old buildings with the comfort and efficiency of an international hotel. There are churches of several ...

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