In this current economic climate it is often too difficult to even contemplate planning a family holiday which involves the expense of plane travel, accommodation, food and then entertainment on top of that. However, if you are fortunate enough to be able to plan such an expedition then I will attempt to provide you with some good reasons for visiting Co Down in Northern Ireland. What I would state first and foremost is, don't come here if you are imagining a vacation of unbroken sunshine. But then that's our charm or the source of it anyway, the rugged terrain lashed by torrential wind and rain, the depth of green of the rural landscape and the ethereal mists that hang over the land of a morning only to dissolve and ebb away by noon. If that doesn't sound like your cup of holiday tea then stop reading now! I assure you we can receive four seasons in one day. But enough about the weather though I must admit its discussion is a national obsession due to the swiftness of its changes.
The crux of this article is to provide the interested party and potential traveller with some useful information that may make the holiday that little less stressful. I hope to include lots of ideas that may keep children amused whilst throwing a few things in the mix for the oldies! Financial constraints will always be uppermost but hopefully that will only add to the creativity of the ideas! I will include any websites that I feel will enhance the information in the article to save the endless trawling of rubbishy ones that are inaccurate and gimmicky.
I've decided to start off in the county town of Downpatrick, Down or Dun meaning hill or fort and Patrick named after Ireland's patron saint who it is said is buried in the town in the grounds of Down Cathedral. Downpatrick is one of Ireland's most ancient towns and as such this is reflected in its interesting things to see and do. If you begin your exploration of the town at the St Patrick's Centre (www.saintpatrickcentre.com) then you are in an ideal location to visit Down Cathedral and Down County Museum. The Centre houses an exhibition of St Patrick's life, an arts and crafts gallery, a large cafe and garden, a tourist information centre and a gift shop. Unfortunately there is a charge (4.95 pounds adult/2.55 pounds child) for the St Patrick's exhibition which is a crying shame. The Centre works tirelessly for survival as its funding is limited.
The modern exhibition style portrays the ancient story of St Patrick and the introduction of Christianity to Ireland through interactive displays. The content will pass younger children by but the beautiful nature of the exhibition, the lighting and the actual space to move freely about may keep toddlers and young children distracted long enough to allow the older children and adults the time to enjoy the experience. The exhibition concludes with the influence of St Patrick's legacy on modern Ireland and allows the visitor to listen to the words of a range of contemporary voices discussing their views on St Patrick and what he means to them. From the Centre's homepage click on [guided tour] on the top right to access information regarding this exhibition (I felt that this link should have been more prominent!)
From the St Patrick's Centre it is very easy to access both Down Cathedral and Down County Museum (an 18th century gaol) on foot, both of which virtually sit cheek-by-jowl at the top of English Street. Leave the St Patrick's centre and take a sharp left up the old stone steps. At the top of the steps you are almost directly across the road from the museum and to the left on the hill is the Cathedral. If you have mobility problems or have kids in pushchairs then this may not be possible but the journey by car is relatively straightforward. There is a car park very close to the St Patrick's Centre and although it is not free it is very reasonably priced. There are disabled parking spaces outside the museum as well as some roadside parking along English street but during office hours a space may be difficult to come by. The following is a link to a simple map of the town which will give some indication of how to get from the Centre to English Street. www.courtsni.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/1BD50D7A-FFE9-49E6- 96B1-A1DBE3464691/0/downpatrickmap.pdf.
The eighteenth century gaol definitely deserves a visit (www.downcountymuseum.com). Firstly, admission is free and secondly it combines a historical visit with kid-friendly hands-on activities. The gaol itself is claimed to be "one of the most complete surviving Georgian gaols in Ireland" and sure enough the cells, restored in 1980, do give one an eerie sense of how it must have felt to have been incarcerated in such basic conditions.
Down Cathedral is not the most exciting place to take children though having learned something of St Patrick they may have some interest in a brief visit to his supposed burial place. It is also quite peaceful at the Cathedral and its surrounding graveyards so it's not a bad location for a picnicwhich bring s and this brings me on to the all important FOOD!
If you are hungry then there are a number of cafes in the town, the St Patrick's Centre has a rather pleasant cafe and friendly staff. The Down Museum has a large but basic cafe with some lovely views of the countryside. The picnic alternative may appeal especially if you have a lot of bellies to fill on a budget. If you want to pick up some food supplies the cheapest places to do your shopping are Lidl (the food is hit and miss!) in the centre of the town on Market street or slightly further out of the town travelling towards Newcastle on the Ballydugan road you will find an Asda (a safer bet) store on the right.
A rather pleasant place to have a picnic is a few miles outside the town at the Quoile Countryside Centre (www.ni-environment.gov.uk/quoile.shtml). From Downpatrick follow the signs for Strangford (A25). Just outside the town you will see the large brown and white road sign for the Quoile Countryside Centre. A fantastic website www.virtualvisit-northernireland.com/gallery.aspx?da taid=50071&title=Nature_and_Wildlife will take you on a tour of the centre. Admission is free and the centre welcomes children to come along and touch, feel and learn about local habitats and wildlife. The centre itself is small but packed full of interesting information aimed at children. Beside the centre are the remains of a 17th century castle as well as some very pleasant walks along the Quoile River. This area is of historical significance in that it was once a busy port, in 1717 Quoile Quay was built to service Downpatrick for more than 200 years.
From here you are a short car journey (7 miles) following the A25 to the National Trust property, Castle Ward (www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findap lace/w-castleward.htm. This is an 18th century mansion famous for its two architectural facades on one side it is gothic and the on other, classical as a result of a difference in taste between the original husband and wife. There is a charge in to the grounds of this property: 5 pounds per adult and 2.50 pounds per child and a further charge if you want a tour of the house. It is possible to spend an entire day at Castle Ward exploring the gardens and walks, farm yard and wildlife centre. I find the front of the house a beautiful place to allow small children to run free and safely; it is well away from any traffic and it doesn't involve a long walk to get there if you are bringing small kids and all the paraphernalia that entails. Bring a blanket and have a picnic with fantastic views of Strangford Lough in front of you and the mansion behind. There is a large adventure playground (behind the car park) with a popular "death slide"and a slide tower for older children and it also caters for the little ones with baby swings and slides.
For the last few years Castle Ward has been hosting "jazz in the garden" each Sunday afternoon of the summer. Kids run around while adults eat, drink and listen to a live jazz band. It is a lovely lazy experience particularly if the weather is good but if not the band will play in the court yard and seats with canopies are organised or you can shelter in the nearby teashop and sample their tea, cakes and homemade soup (and if you are lucky, Carmel's homemade boiled cake). There is a Victorian playroom in the court yard where children can play with toys from that era but in all honesty they were a bit worn and in need of replacement the last time I was there.
The nearest village to Castle Ward is Strangford. Once you leave the estate take a left and continue driving for about 1.5 miles. The scenery along parts of this route is stunning so it is worth a drive. Strangford itself does not have much for the tourist to do but it is a very picturesque place and worth a wander about. However, it is where you can pick up the Portaferry ferry and make the short trip across Strangford Lough (10 to 15 mins). I suggest leaving your car if possible in the free car park in Strangford (located just passed the slipway to the ferry). This is a much cheaper way to travel in fact sometimes you don't even get charged at all as a foot passenger! In Portaferry you are a very short walk (5 to10 mins) to the aquarium, Exploris (www.exploris.org.uk/) and this is well signposted. If you are taking the car there is a car park close by with some disabled car parking spaces near the centre. Aside from the usual tanks full of fishy wildlife there are touch pools which allow the visitor to have contact with the animals, a large observation pool which you can look at from above and below and a sanctuary for sick and injured seals which allows the visitor to watch the animals. The sting in ray's tail however is that it is 7 pounds per adult and 4 pounds per child but under 4s do go free. Check the website for family tickets and work out your cheapest option. What I would advise is to bring your own food to cut down on costs. Any time I have eaten in the cafe I have not been impressed at all and that is to put it mildly!
I am going to leap back to Strangford now and imagine it is a sunny day. If you want to go for a paddle in a quiet little cove of a beach then I suggest going out towards Ballyhornan, following the A2 Shore Road. If you get to Ballyhornan village there is a car park beside the beach (with steps down to the beach). However, on the way out this road you will pass small beaches that local people will take their kids to. There are no amenities but that is the attraction. Parking is often on the sandy roadside verges.
One more place I will recommend on my tour of the area is Newcastle. It is about 14 miles from Downpatrick, just take the A25 to Clough, turn left and drive to Dundrum. If you want to stop off in Dundrum for a quick exploration I would definitely recommend the medieval hilltop castle (www.ni-environment.gov.uk/dundrum.htm). Kids will love the open spaces not to mention the ability to climb up to the top of the castle walls to look out over the countryside. Again this location offers a beautiful place for a picnic but there are also some very pleasant restaurants in Dundrum. The two I have had experience in and would recommend are The Mourne Seafood bar and The Buck's Head. Neither is particularly cheap but the former often offer really good lunchtime deals.
Newcastle is a seaside resort famous for the Mountains of Mourne that in the words of the Irish artist, Percy French, "sweep down to the sea". The recently renovated promenade and pavements have made the town much more pedestrian friendly and gave it the face lift that it sorely needed. It is a lovely town on a good day or bad with the Mourne mountains as a backdrop. If it is stormy and the tide is in you get the full effects of the crashing waves along the prom. If you don't want to brave a swim in the ocean then there is the heated outdoor swimming pool, Tropicana, conveniently in the centre of the town. Those of you more used to warmer climes may consider the idea of outdoor swimming in Ireland a little daunting or perhaps downright crazy. Having never ventured into the pool myself I am unable to say one way or the other what the experience is like though it does seem to be a very popular venue for the kids in summer (www.discovernorthernireland.com/Tropicana-Outdoor-H eated-Fun-Pool-Newcastle-P3010). There are a lot of the usual rather unpleasant amusement arcades in Newcastle that have been part and parcel of the place for as long as I can remember so perhaps I should look upon them as an integral part of seaside culture! Along the main street in Newcastle there is a small innocuous looking church which you might walk right on past without a second glance but for noticing the clientele entering the building. Skate 56 is housed in The Belfry (www.thebelfrynewcastle.com/state56/) and was designed and built by Ireland's top skate boarder Mike Keane. Having taken my nephews there, both under the age of 9 at the time, they gave it the big thumbs up. There were much older kids there too making use of the facilities. Equipment, both boards and safety gear, are available.
A couple more things about Newcastle, there is a children's play park along the prom and there are picnic areas close by as well as large benches to sit and watch the sea. If you want to pick up food for a picnic then Tesco (like Asda this is the safer bet) is located on the Castlewellan road or Lidl is on Railway street near the bus station. If you want a decent cafe then I would definitely suggest the Coffee House and Deli located further out of the town on South Promenade. It may not look like much from the outside but the food is very wholesome and they have a little corner set aside for small children to play in though I must admit a lot of the toys and books are looking a little worn. There are beautiful views of the sea from the large shop front windows.
Finally if the adults are in need of some rest and recuperation then you might want to try the seaweed baths at Soak, (www.soakseaweedbaths.co.uk/) South Promenade. You can bring a CD of your own music which is piped into the room while you steam in the shower and then soak your holiday-weary bones in the (clean) seaweed. Don't plan to go anywhere special afterwards as I recall having an extremely healthy glow on my cheeks resembling a beef tomato for some time after!
This is really just a snap shot of a very small area and I have tried to limit it to actual places, cafes and museums that I have had direct experience of and would happily recommend. I am hoping that the websites I have chosen to include will give further food-for-thought and lead your plotting and planning into all sorts of areas that you may not have stumbled upon.
(Some of the web addresses have not translated accurately in the upload onto the website so it may be easier to google the names of some of the venues in order to access the sites.)