Newtownards is a town in County Down at the head of Strangford Lough. Little remains of its ecclesiastical history and it's now a modern commuter town for Belfast. To the southeast stretches the Ards peninsula, which almost pinches off the lough from the Irish Sea.

Get in

5 miles south of Bangor along the A21; via A20 10 miles east of Belfast.

See

• 1 Scrabo Tower. 38m turreted tower (updated Jan 2017)
• 2 Somme Heritage Centre, 233 Bangor Road, BT23 7PH, ☏ +44 28 9182-3202. Ireland's role in the First World War (updated Jan 2017)
• 3 Mount Stewart, Portaferry Road, BT22 2AD, ☏ +44 28 4278-8387, mountstewart@nationaltrust.org.uk. 19th-century house and garden (updated Jan 2017)

Do

• 1 Scrabo Golf Club, Scrabo Rd., ☏ +44 28 9181 2355. (updated Jan 2017)

Buy

• 1 Ards Shopping Centre, 22C Circular Rd, ☏ +44 28 9181 5444. 

Eat

• 1 Molly Brown's Kitchen and Bar, 45-47 South St, ☏ +44 28 9182 1444. (updated Jan 2017)
• 2 Hickory's Smokehouse, Grill & Bar, 96-98 Frances St, ☏ +44 28 9181 4711. (updated Jan 2017)

Sleep

• 1 Strangford Arms Hotel, 90-92 Church St, ☏ +44 28 9181 4141. (updated Jan 2017)
• 2 Edenvale House, 130 Portaferry Rd, ☏ +44 28 9181 4881. (updated Jan 2017)

Go next

• Bangor (Northern Ireland)
• Holywood
• Strangford