The Ards Peninsula () is a

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

, on the north-east coast of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. It separates

Strangford Lough Strangford Lough (from Old Norse ''Strangr Fjörðr'', meaning "strong sea-inlet"PlaceNames N ...

from the

North Channel North Channel may refer to: *North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland) The North Channel (known in Irish and Scottish Gaelic as , in Scots as the ) is the strait between north-eastern Northern Ireland and south-western Scotland. It begins no ...

of the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...

. Towns and villages on the peninsula include

Donaghadee Donaghadee ( , ) is a small town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the northeast coast of the Ards Peninsula, about east of Belfast and about six miles (10 km) south east of Bangor. It is in the civil parish of Donaghadee and ...

Millisle Millisle or Mill Isle (from Scots ''mill'' + ''isle'', meaning "the meadow of the mill") is a village on the Ards Peninsula in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is about south of Donaghadee. It is situated in the townlands of Ballymacruise () ...

Portavogie Portavogie ()Placenames NI
is a village,

and

Portaferry Portaferry () is a small town in County Down, Northern Ireland, at the southern end of the Ards Peninsula, near the Narrows at the entrance to Strangford Lough. It is home to the Exploris aquarium and is well known for the annual Gala Week Flo ...

. The large towns of

Newtownards Newtownards is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies at the most northern tip of Strangford Lough, 10 miles (16 km) east of Belfast, on the Ards Peninsula. It is in the Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of Newtownard ...

and Bangor are at the mainland edge of the peninsula.

Burr Point Burr Point is the easternmost point of mainland Northern Ireland and the island of Ireland. It is located in the townland of Ballyhalbert on the Ards Peninsula in County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, ...

is the easternmost point on the island of Ireland.

History

In the Middle Ages, the Ards peninsula was inhabited by the Uí Echach Arda, a

Gaelic Irish The Gaels ( ; ga, Na Gaeil ; gd, Na Gàidheil ; gv, Ny Gaeil ) are an ethnolinguistic group native to Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man in the British Isles. They are associated with the Gaelic languages: a branch of the Celtic languag ...

clan, and was part of the kingdom of

Ulaid Ulaid (Old Irish, ) or Ulaidh (Modern Irish, ) was a Gaelic over-kingdom in north-eastern Ireland during the Middle Ages made up of a confederation of dynastic groups. Alternative names include Ulidia, which is the Latin form of Ulaid, and in ...

. In the late 12th century it was invaded and conquered by the

Anglo-Normans The Anglo-Normans ( nrf, Anglo-Normaunds, ang, Engel-Norðmandisca) were the medieval ruling class in England, composed mainly of a combination of ethnic Normans, French, Anglo-Saxons, Flemings and Bretons, following the Norman conquest. A sm ...

under

John de Courcy {{Infobox noble , image = Sir John de Courcy (1150-1219).jpg , caption = , alt = , more = no , succession = , reign = , predecessor = , successor = , ...

, becoming a county of the

Earldom of Ulster The Earldom of Ulster was an Anglo-Norman lordship in northern medieval Ireland, established by John de Courcy from the conquest of the province of Ulaid in eastern Ulster. It was the most important Anglo-Norman lordship in the north of Ireland ...

. The Earldom collapsed in the 14th century, but the Hiberno-Norman

Savage Savage may refer to: Places Antarctica * Savage Glacier, Ellsworth Land * Savage Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Savage Ridge, Victoria Land United States * Savage, Maryland, an unincorporated community * Savage, Minnesota, a city * Savage, Mi ...

family controlled the southern portion of the peninsula (the 'Upper Ards' or 'Little Ards') over the following three centuries, while the northern portion (the 'Lower Ards' or 'Great Ards') became part of the Gaelic territory of

Clannaboy Clandeboye or Clannaboy (from Irish ''Clann Aodha Buí'', "family of Hugh the Blond") was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, comprising what is now south County Antrim, north County Down, and the barony of Loughinsholin, Northern Ireland. The entity w ...

. There was a failed attempt by the English to colonize the Ards in the 1570s. In the early 17th century, the Lower Ards was acquired by James Hamilton and Hugh Montgomery, who settled Scottish Protestants there as part of the

Plantation of Ulster The Plantation of Ulster ( gle, Plandáil Uladh; Ulster-Scots: ''Plantin o Ulstèr'') was the organised colonisation (''plantation'') of Ulstera province of Irelandby people from Great Britain during the reign of King James I. Most of the sett ...

Places of interest

Scrabo Tower Scrabo Tower is a high 19th-century lookout tower or folly that stands on Scrabo Hill near Newtownards in County Down, Northern Ireland. It provides wide views and is a landmark that can be seen from afar. It was built as a memorial to Charles ...

overlooks

and the northern end of the Ards Peninsula. *

Mount Stewart Mount Stewart is a 19th-century house and garden in County Down, Northern Ireland, owned by the National Trust. Situated on the east shore of Strangford Lough, a few miles outside the town of Newtownards and near Greyabbey, it was the Iris ...

, an 18th-century house and garden owned by the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

near

Greyabbey Greyabbey or Grey Abbey is a small village, townland (of 208 acres) and civil parish located on the eastern shores of Strangford Lough, on the Ards Peninsula in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies south of Newtownards. Both townland and c ...

. It was the home of the Vane-Tempest-Stewart family,

Marquesses of Londonderry Marquess of Londonderry, of the County of Londonderry ( ), is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. History The title was created in 1816 for Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Londonderry. He had earlier represented County Down in the Irish House of ...

. * Grey Abbey, a ruined

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...

abbey. *

Kirkistown Circuit Kirkistown Motor Racing Circuit is a permanent motorsport circuit located between the villages of Kirkistown and Portavogie, on the Ards Peninsula of County Down in Northern Ireland. History The circuit is owned and operated by the 500 Motor ...

, Northern Ireland's only MSA-licensed permanent

motorsport Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...

circuit. *

located at the very tip of the Ards Peninsula, a coastal town with a number of scenic routes.

Settlements

Towns and villages of the Ards Peninsula include: *

Ballyhalbert Ballyhalbert (formerly known as Talbotston and Halbertston) is a small village and townland in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is on the east (Irish Sea) coast of the Ards Peninsula between Ballywalter and Portavogie. It is largely residential ...

* Ballywalter *

Carrowdore Carrowdore () is a small village on the Ards Peninsula in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is situated in the townland of Ballyrawer, the Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of Donaghadee (civil parish), Donaghadee and the historic Barony (g ...

Cloghy CloghyPlacenames NI: Cloghy
( ; ),

Kircubbin Kircubbin is a village and townland in County Down, Northern Ireland. The village had a population of 1,153 people in the 2011 Census. History The settlement was originally known as Kilcubin, which is thought to come from Irish ''Cill Ghobáin' ...

Portavogie Portavogie ()Placenames NI
is a village,

Archaeological sites

Ballyfounder Rath Ballyfounder Rath is the remains of a ringfort situated on the Ards Peninsula, in County Down, Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situ ...

* Derry Churches * Grey Abbey *

Kirkistown Castle Kirkistown Castle is a castle situated near Cloghy, County Down, Northern Ireland. The tower house and bawn is a state care historic monument in the townland of Kirkistown, in Ards and North Down Borough (at grid ref: J6450 5800). It is an im ...

* Portaferry Castle * White House, Ballyspurge

Climate

References

{{County Down Landforms of County Down Peninsulas of Northern Ireland Portaferry Newtownards