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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

A sister to the well known The Plough Inn in Hillsborough and The Tannery in Moira, th ...

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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

Rowallane Garden

Saintfield, Co. Down

Rowallane is at its most glorious in spring and autumn, thanks to the display of rhododendrons and azaleas and the final blaze of glory of ornamental trees and shrubs, but it is a lovely place at any time of year. The 52 acre demesne near the old ...

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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

Belfast - St. Georges Street - Saturdays

Every Saturday 9am-4pm

St. Georges Street, Belfast

Contact: Andrew Irvine 00 44 (0) 28 9027 0509

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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

The Old Inn

Crawfordsburn, Co. Down

The pretty village setting of this famous and hospitable 16th century inn - the oldest in continuous use in all Ireland - belies its convenient location close to Belfast. The hotel overlooks the wooded glen of Crawfordsburn Country Park at the ba ...

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