Stretching South along the East Coast from Belfast to Northern Ireland's border with the Republic of Ireland, County Down has lots of castles, churches, megalithic monuments and grand houses with gardens.
One of the founding fathers of Christianity in Ireland, Saint Patrick, first came ashore near Downpatrick, where he is also reputed to be buried. The massive granite crags of the Mourne Mountains in the south are the County's greatest draw for sightseers, walkers and climbers. A large number of seaside towns of varying size and appeal rest in rocky and sandy bays as you head east from Belfast along the Ards Peninsula.
The peninsula is like a finger crooked protectively around Strangford Lough, which is linked to the sea by a thin passage, crossed by the Strangford to Portaferry.
