The walk
Were it not for a single gift in 1953, this headland might be under caravans. The Kingan family of neighbouring Glenganagh handed Ballymacormick Point to the National Trust that year, and because the farmland above never went on the market, the point stayed wild – a strip of gorse, shingle and rocky shore on the edge of a city of 64,000 people. It’s since been designated an Area of Special Scientific Interest and made part of the Outer Ards Special Protection Area.
The walk is the North Down Coastal Path rounding the point between Ballyholme Bay and Groomsport, and it’s short: the National Trust gives it as 1.5 miles (2 km) one way, and the full there-and-back comes to about 2 miles (3.2 km). Start from the Banks Car Park at Ballyholme or from Groomsport Harbour; either way the path is an informal one, uneven, rocky in places and very muddy after rain. Wear boots with grip, not trainers.
If you do one thing, walk out to the tip on a clear day. The view swings north and west across Belfast Lough to Carrickfergus, and on a genuinely clear day reaches the Copeland Islands and the Mull of Galloway across the water in Scotland. The honest caveat: there’s nothing on the point itself – no toilets, no bins, no shelter – and it’s an exposed headland, so the wind off the Lough makes a mild day feel raw. Stock up in Groomsport first.
Wildlife
The birds are the reason to slow down. Shelduck and oystercatcher breed along the rocky shore, and in winter brent geese arrive from their breeding grounds in Arctic Canada to feed on the mudflats. Time it for low tide: the tidal range in Belfast Lough runs two to three metres, and when the water drops it exposes the mudflats and shingle ridges, which both widens the walking and brings the waders in closer. Seals haul out on the rocks offshore, and the gorse-and-grassland mix is good for foxes and flowers as well.
Just off the point, the National Trust’s Cockle Island holds a tern colony. You don’t have to set foot on it: cameras beam live footage from the island into the Cockle Row Seabird Centre in Groomsport, a joint project with the council and the British Trust for Ornithology, so you can watch the breeding season from dry land.
Getting there
The route can be started from either end – Banks Car Park at Ballyholme Bay or Groomsport Harbour. Parking at Banks is free but limited, so come early at busy times; Groomsport has street parking and a small harbour car park (sources disagree on whether charges apply, so check the signs). Translink buses link Bangor and Groomsport, and the path connects into the Ulster Way for anyone walking the longer coast. The shore path is uneven and not suitable for wheelchairs or pushchairs, though accessible parking and toilets are available over at Ballyholme.
For more on the point, the National Trust number is 028 4278 7769; the Cockle Row Seabird Centre is on 028 9127 0069. There’s archaeology along this coast too – traces of Vikings, smugglers and Second World War defences – but it’s the kind of place you come to for an hour by the water, not a guided history. Check the tide before you set out and aim for the ebb.