Walking through the inside of Ards Lesiure Centre is like walking through a cold war bunker. The…read moregrey brick work along with the brown tiled floor makes for a really unpleasant experience. No wonder people hate the gym, the walk to it would put you in mind of the Green Mile. There's been absolutely no attempt to give Ards Leisure Centre a facelift. In fact I think it's exactly the same as it was when I last reviewed it back in 2010. Since the opening of Aurora in Bangor this place pales in to insignificance. On the positive side it does have a wealth of activities on offer, everything from badminton to fitness classes. i was actually there to attend a spin class and it was top notch. The instructor was great and you can distract yourself from the pain of peddling by questioning what era the curtains were erected in. All in all this place is a little dated - i wouldn't be surprised if NI Screen bought it up as the set of their next post apocalyptic blockbuster.

Yeah Ards Leisure Centre is just alright as far as I am concerned it could be cleaner and the staff…read morecould be friendlier. They have a health suite which you pay about £4 to use, to be honest it is very dated with swing doors on the front of the entrance. It just feels a bit grimy. The swimming pool is used by local schools for swimming lessons which means that if you are unlucky you will be swimming along side 30 splashing, noisy, snot-ridden kids. They have a gym but it is small and has that chalky feeling to it. One good thing is the classes they run - pole dancing, trampoline and archery are among those on offer but you need to be fast as the places go quick, quick, quick!

I have played football here since I was 10, so that is other 13 years ago and I can honestly say I…read moredo not think they have updated the facilities in all those years. I have never been to the playground and as I said I know this place purely and simply for footballing reasons. There are around 7 pitches but we always seem to get the one that backs on to the road and have had many balls hit passing cars. I do not know what that says for our accuracy but one thing is for sure it gets annoying having to fetch them. Apart from this the pitches are generally well kept and are evenly cut which can not be said for a lot of the council pitches in North Down. The changing facilities are basic at very best but they do the job. It is proper grass roots football as always At Londonderry park.

Excellent park now compared to my last visit about six years ago, top class facilities .only…read morepossible improvement would be to move ards leisure centre down to the park and combine all the facilities together .great for families and dog owners as well as sports

We took our toddler here today for a play. A huge warehouse turned into a children's play area,…read moregreat idea. There is a lot in here for kids, there is a big stage at the back of the store where kids can dance with a huge video screen above, dj section too. Lots of rides, a mini library, a quietish seating area , toddler area for under 4s , bigger kids play area and lots of games machines. There is a cafe selling, chips, coffee, tea, crisps, sandwiches, baked potatoes , ice cream and more. There are lots of tables and chairs to sit at and the prices are decent in the cafe. We paid £4.95 for 2 hours I think it is for the play area, our boy is nearly 2 and prices vary depending on the children's age. Lockers available, this place is great for kids birthday parties etc not sure of the prices. Can get quite busy in here. Free car parking available outside.

Happy town is an ideal play centre to take your kids to. Its split into sections for different age…read moregroups with a variety of soft play equipment. There's even a stage for little performers to dance to music and a massive screen too. Slides , ball pits,cosy coupe cars and track. There's also tablet style screen in one section with various apps. Books and a football cage. there's plenty of rooms for birthday parties and games machines and rides. It's got everything including hot food , the car park is really big too. They could easily use part of the car park as a small outside play area with swings etc. Best play centre by far and the staff are watching and supervising all areas to keep it safe for everyone. Making sure older kids don't get into areas designed for younger kids and babies.

Awesome! Was here as part of pre season football training last night and was blown away by firstly…read morethe knowledge and guidance of Sam (the instructor), the facilities and equipment and how sore I was after only a 20 minute work out! Having never tried Crossfit before I was intrigued as to what it entailed, I had seen videos online and heard people talking about it's benefits but until I tried it I didn't want to cast judgement. As I am writing this I can still feel the burn in my shoulders - I think that speaks for itself. We were all beginners to Crossfit and Sam took us through it step by step - firstly the warm up, lunges and crab crawls - this got everyone laughing at each other's efforts and really broke the ice. Then we moved on to the main event. A circuit that started with a 200 meter run then on to burpees, then a wall walk, sit ups and finally (if you had enough energy) press ups. This circuit suited us all perfectly and was obviously tailored by Sam to meet our needs. The best aspect of this was that it was timed and this really helped to bring out the competitive edge in our group. Also over the coming weeks we will be doing the same circuit so there's a chance to see your progress as fitness improves. The facilities in the gym area are excellent, we were doing all body weight excersises but they had plenty of kettle bells, pull up bars, benches and a synthetic grassed area. I can not recommend trying this out enough - give it a go, if you like it you'll be hooked!

The tower itself is closed to the public but the grounds are accessible at any time,I'm not a hippy…read moreor anything but I really want to get up early some morning in the summer and walk up to scrabo tower and have a bowl of cornflakes as the sun rises. The views on a sunny day are fantastic over Belfast,comber and the Irish sea. The walks through the quarries and through killyneither woods are long and challenging in places, great for a bit of exercise and peace and quiet , bring food and a disposable bbq there's lots of picnic tables throughout the park. Great place to bring your kids or walk your dog. Would benefit from a shop here for drinks and snacks. You can have dinner in the golf club though.

The price is 5 pound it's good you get to walk up to the top went a hour ago just to look inside it…read morewas fun haven't been in while that's why I went today

As you drive along Crawfordsburn Road there is a little parking area and a fence - beyond this…read morefence is a beautiful, peaceful sweeping forest. This walkway is very popular with local dog walkers, ramblers and cyclists. The track is well established and the terrain is mostly flat, making it suitable for even the most unfit person. I often take my dog here and my only gripe is the lack of dog waste bins - this leads many people to lift the poo but leave it in the colorful little bag along the path - why bother lifting it if you're not going to bin it? This walkway runs along the side of Blackwood Golf Center so you can often hear and see the men and women out playing golf - I find this quite reassuring as the forest can be quite dark, looming and a little scary. The walk is part of The Ulster Way and if you fancy a really big walk you can walk from Blackwood forest all the way to Helen's bay - a beach a few miles away. That walk will take a few hours but it is picturesque, beautiful and well worth it if you have the stamina and time. A lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

An easy walk with good views, lots for anyone into photography. Great for a walk with your kids or…read morepet. Icecream van is sometimes there in the car park too and a memorial garden by a cancer charity. If your in ards and have time its worth a walk around and its only ten minutes walk from ards shopping centre. Plenty of seating , easy place to chill out and forget the rest of the world exists

Kiltonga is great for people like me...the type who are allergic to exercise (it's really terrible,…read moreI come out in dreadful sweats and start to ache all over....not pleasant), because it's just a short little walk round a duck pond. Yippee! When I worked in Ards, I would pass Kiltonga every morning at around 8:30, and the place would be crazy busy already. Mainly people walking dogs, joggers, and other mad, er, I mean, extremely enthusiastic people getting out and about. In fact, every time you pass by, Kiltonga is hiving. The main attraction is really the duck pond, and when I was younger, we used to always pop down and donate the poor, underfed birdies our stale loaf of bread. I bet they loved us. Kiltonga is a lovely place to get away from it all, and with Scrabo Tower in the background, it is a really pretty little place for a dander. And I mean dander. Definition: A gentle meandering walk with no particular haste or purpose. Thank you Wikipedia. (Note the 'no haste' part...nice and gentle. Ahhh).

I had a microlight flying lesson here a couple of years ago and it was a fantastic experience,you…read morecan also do helicopter and light aircraft lessons. There's a cafe there now too if you don't fancy flying you can go for something to eat and watch the aircraft come and go.

If you havnt been here before its defo worth the visit. ..been here a few times with the family…read morethe last time we wnt it had new things added to it Pay a pound at the shoo and can get a cup of food so that u can feed the animals which the kids love. Goats were out walkin about the last time we were here came to us to get food and a pet Theres a peting part were they bring aniamls and u can hold and feed them Kids love it The cafe is good Good picnic areas Park Lake to feed ducks Big boucing thing for kids And an ark Ive put sum pics up wel worth the visit

I have now been to The Ark three times in the last two years. I think this should tell you that I…read morereally like it. The first time, we had some visitors staying and we thought it would be a nice day out. We had a great time feeding and stroking the animals -it was like being kids again! The second time my fiancé took me to visit as part of my birthday fun things to do. It was raining but we still had a great time as many areas are enclosed. There was a school trip there and we lingered by the petting farm area to watch the kids feed the kids (baby goats) using a bottle and to listen in on the educational talk given by the guide. The third time I took my nephew - what a hoot that was - one of the enclosures houses a really big goat who can almost stretch out of his pen - he took a rather large lick of my nephews ice cream which then had to be chucked even though Niall protested by screaming his head off. The farm is well run with a shop selling farm themed toys, animal food as well as farm produce. There are many different types of farm creature that you would expect to find on any farm- pigs, horses, sheep and, rather randomly, a wallaby. For a few quid it's well worth a visit. Apart from the farm animals there is also a really great playground for the (human) kids to enjoy. With a café on site as well as a large indoor area full of toy tractors for the younger ones to ride about on you can have a nice time in the sun or the rain. The owners also offer pony and horseback rides for a few pounds more. Most of the animals have a lot of space and are in pens with just one other of their species - I did notice that some chickens who were locked away did look a little cramped but in fairness most of the chickens are free to wander around the land. A great day out!