Nendrum Monastic site, located on Mahee Island in Strangford Lough is free to visit. It boasts…read morestriking views, interesting though not extensive stone ruins (perhaps dating back to the 5th Century) and a small information centre providing a full history of Nendrum. Fascinating and definitely worth a visit, especially for history and archaeology enthusiasts.

This old Monastic Site is a delight to behold and on a bright sunny day can be a wonderful place to…read moreenjoy a picnic or a Sunday stroll. The ruins are from the original pre-Norman buildings. There are the ruins of a round tower, which you can climb although you are not supposed to. There are the remains of a church, a sundial and a graveyard. The setting is outstanding - once you climb up the hill you can look out over Strangford Lough and you will see lots of other islands, sea life and birds - the place is beautiful. There is also a little visitors office that used to be a little house - you can call in there to learn more about the area and the site, which has also been associated with our very own St. Patrick! The drive out here is outstanding and the whole area is well worth exploring. Beautiful.

We came to see the 'Game of Thrones' film set for 'Winterfell' located on the beautiful Castle Ward…read moreestate along the sea in Northern Ireland... Castle Ward is an 18th-century National Trust property located near the village of Strangford, in County Down, Northern Ireland. It's open to the public and includes 820 acres of landscaped gardens! a fortified tower house, Victorian laundry, theatre, restaurant, shop, saw mill and a working corn mill. It has a shore on Strangford Lough... and we even 'glamped' in their forest there overnight by the shore via their Caravan Park! (Go check out all the fun you can have these days with GOT & Outlander film sets in the UK!)

Such a breathtaking location just 2 hours north of Dublin. Castle is beautiful and full of…read morehistory. This was one of the game of throne locations where Winterfell was filmed. People can walk around, explore and/or do the other activities offered such as archery. I highly recommend people to visit this place. I crossed this off my bucket list!!!

Belfast City Hall is the city center district and located in a business area, but with expanding…read moreresidential and entertainment. Plenty of shops, restaurants, bars, churches, and historical locations surrounding the city hall. Inside is very beautiful layout architecture with a beautiful dome plus plenty of glass windows artwork. Inside the surrounding garden within, there are: Titanic Memorial Garden, Korea War Memorial, Victoria Memorial, Boer War Memorial Royal Irish Riffles, and couple statues on the other side plus city ground for you to seat and admire the city hall.

This was a beautiful building, inside and out. I loved the stained glass windows and…read morearchitecture! There were many different rooms to explore, with museum-like pictures and information to view. The toilets are free!

After waking up with a stinking hangover the last thing I wanted to do was leave the house but…read moreafter much convincing we decided to go and explore Mount Stewart with my sister and my lovely nieces. I hadn't been to Mount Stewart for years and wasn't really sure what to expect. Being a National Trust site i knew it would be well maintained but I was shocked at the level of beauty of the grounds. There's lakes, forests, trees to climb and plenty to see including a statue of a white stag and a historic walled garden. The walled garden is pretty much as it was - any history enthusiasts will love it's authentic state. Since my last visit facilities have been upgraded. There's a lovely wee café serving coffee and cakes. They even serve coffee in takeaway cups so you can get a £2 filter coffee for your journey round the grounds, as I did. You can also bring dogs as long as they are kept on the lead. Handily there's loads of water points for your four legged friends too. This school trip favourite really is a gem, well worth a visit!

Super place to spend a lovely sunny afternoon and because it is owned by the Trust, it is…read moreimmaculately kept. Great walks of the lake where red squirrels can be seen and the formal grounds of the house itself are brilliant. £8 entry but get money back if join the National trust as a member...! Always things going on too, this weekend there is a craft fair and jazz festival and be on look out in August for outdoor showing of Jurassic park...

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.

My beloved Scrabo has been part of my life since I was dragged up to it on a school trip, I…read moreremember being able to actually run up the hill to the tower in my youth, but years of kebabs mean I take a slower pace these days, the view from the hill and the Tower itself is pretty spectacular, if you can avoid looking down at West Winds, mind you, you can always pretend you're looking down from the Enola Gay. The forest park is pretty spectacular, a nature lovers dream, certainly a nature minded friend was in his element describing all that he saw with great gusto. The only downside, is that the car park at the top of the hill can be full on busy days, and crossing the road can be dangerous as you get ignorant twats from the golf club trying to run you over.

Helen's Tower is a local attraction and a bit of a Newtownards landmark. Situated way up high in…read morethe dark, vast, Clandeboye forest this tower is majestic and unfolds from the landscape looking almost ghostly. The walk up to Helen's tower starts out easy. Park at the corner on the main road (careful now!) and walk through the turn style onto the path. Simply follow your nose and you will come to a large green area, which quickly transforms into a very large pond with lots of ducks and swans - very pretty. If you keep walking for another while you will come to a crossroads and if you go right you will begin the uphill climb to the tower. The track isn't so clear from now on and you will need to stop every so often to put your head up in order to see the top of the tower and plan your path. The tower was commissioned by Lord Dufferin of Clandeboye , designed by Scottish architect William Burn and completed in October 1861. The tower was named in honour of Dufferin's mother, Helen Selina Blackwood, the Lady Dufferin. As I was writing this review my fiancé was yelling at me to mention THIEPVAL, so here goes - A close replica of Helen's Tower, the Ulster Tower, was built at Thiepval in 1921 to honour the men of the 36th (Ulster) Division who fell at the Battle of the Somme. A nice day out but you can't actually get into the tower itself and bring water; I was blooming knackered after the hike.

The Wikipedia entry for this place reads as follows -…read more "Helen's Tower lies in the woods of the Clandeboye Estate in Bangor, Northern Ireland. The tower was commissioned by Lord Dufferin of Clandeboye, designed by Scottish architect William Burn and completed in October 1861. The tower was named in honour of Dufferin's mother, Helen Selina Blackwood, the Lady Dufferin. A close replica of Helen's Tower, the Ulster Tower, was built at Thiepval in 1921 to honour the men of the 36th (Ulster) Division who fell at the Battle of the Somme. Clandeboye Estate was used for army training by the 36th (Ulster) Division during the First World War." This pretty much sums this place up, but it really is a nice wee walk and a nice way to spend a sunny afternoon. My lady loves these types of places and we have checked out Helen's Tower a couple of times and enjoyed it each time. A lovely part of North Down and well worth a look.

Loved my visit to Castle Espie, a Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) conservation park - fantastic…read moreway to spend a day. Consists of both wetland and wooded areas throughout, with various viewing observatories, lots of birds, rabbits, butterflies and insects to spot. Bring binoculars, a camera and walking shoes and make sure you purchase a bag of bird-seed on entrance as a real highlight is feeding the ducks. There's a small art gallery and café onsite so it's possible to spend nearly a full day in Espie. Has a hefty enough entrance fee (£9.00 per adult with Gift Aid, as at September 2018), but well worth it for a day out if you like nature, and of course the money goes towards saving the wetlands and associated wildlife.

So much more than your average duck pond!…read more I used to come here as a child and loved it, so it was with delight that I finally got to bring my nephew here. Being 4, he told me he did not want to go as he had seen ducks before. He quickly changed his mind on the way round it, constantly in awe saying 'morrrreee ducks!'. And he would be right, there are a LOT of ducks and the space just keeps opening up into more areas and things to see/do. For a small fee you can buy some bird seed to feed the ducks. If like me you like to ration your seed - don't. Most of the ducks are in the paddock at the start and the rest are too far away to feed. So I ended up with lots left at the end! There's a great play park for the kids further round the trail, although it can be a little muddy if it has been raining. After our trek we got lunch in the café. If you re lucky enough to get a window seat the views are absolutely breath-taking over the lough. Also, look out for special events. When we were there they were hosting the NI puddle jumping competitions which was great fun for all the kids (and some adults too). There's also a lego completion on currently, where you have to find the giant lego birds and fill in your sheet to win a prize.

I have lived most of my life close to Stormont but it's only since I had children and dogs of my…read moreown that I have really discovered what a great place this is. Stormont Estate is a huge expanse of grass and trees, making it perfect for somewhere to go to let off steam and get some fresh air. You can walk the dogs, play football, go for a run and let's not forget that you can fit in a bit of culture by walking up to look at Carson's statue and the Parliament Buildings, where our very own assembly sits. It's exactly one mile from the main gates to the statue so you can congratulate yourself afterwards on how far you have walked. There is a fantastic play park with the grounds which is one of the best in Northern Ireland and there are toilet facilities there as well as in the estate itself. These things are important when you have small kids. Bring a picnic and make a day of it in summer and in winter bring your sled/tray and join the crowds screaming their way up and down the slopes. Stormont is also popular with cyclists and even though it's used for so many different activities, I've never seen a collision yet. Just a couple of pieces of advice - at 5pm ish, watch out for traffic on the road which goes through the middle of the estate as all those over-worked civil servants race home. On second thoughts, make that 4pm. Also, the area just inside the gates is a minefield of dog poo so don't let the kids go unsupervised until you are well inside the gates.

Beautiful. Didn't…read moreget to go on a tour of Stormont, but it was incredible to see from the outside. We did a hop on hop off tour and had a lot of fun. Really recommend it.