County Down - Towns

In the west of the district along the Newry/Portadown canal is the historic village of Scarva where King William's army of 30,000 men camped in June 1690 before marching south to meet the forces of King James at the Battle of the Boyne the folowing month.

Each year a sham fight and pageant takes place on 13 July on the old training ground used by King William's army before they marched to victory at the Boyne.

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Seaforde lies in the south Down area just to the north of the famous Mountains of Mourne. There are several forest parks in the area, nearby Downpatrick has a racecourse.

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An area of astonishing beauty both in an out of the water, Strangford Lough lies between the great arm of land that forms the Ards Peninsula in the east and the main body of County Down in the West. This 15 mile long sea haven, scattered with small islands is home to migrant birds, common and grey seals and other marine animals. Its maritime wildlife is among the richest in Europe making it Northern Ireland's first Marine Nature Reserve as wel as An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and an Area of Special Scientific Interest with six National Nature Reserves within its reaches.

Just south of Strangford village is Cloghy Rockys, a great vantage point for seals. In summer some 20% of the Irish seal populations can be found basking along this part of the shore at low tide.

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The founder of Waringstown built himself a two storey Jacobean-style gentleman's house, one of the first unfortified houses in Ireland (1667). A third storey was added later. A handsome flaky pink painted mansion with tall Tudor revival chimneys, it looks solid enough but is actually built of mud and rubble. Across the road are seven curious terraces in sets of three and four houses, with scalloped garden walls and railings-some of Waring's seventeenth century cottages rebuilt in 1930's style. The Waring fortune was founded on linen and Dutch style houses were built along the main street for the weavers, most of whom came from Flanders. The present white-washed houses with flowerbeds, though modern, have a certain harmony. A yeoman's house built 1698, now a restaurant, founded in 1851, fields a strong team. The big house and the parish church (1681) had the same designer, James Robb, chief mason of the King's works in Ireland. The church's Jacobean interior is largely of ancient oak-roof, panelling, choir screen and a notable pulpit.

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The port at Warrenpoint handles container traffic and substantial coal, timber, paper and grain tonnages, with a regular service to Rotterdam. When Newry port closed in the 1970s, this harbour was enlarged, and the town has an animated waterfront, long promenade, and a spacious square used mostly as a carpark but also for fetes and occasional markets.

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