Mount Stewart sits on the Ards Peninsula shore of Strangford Lough, where Edith, Lady Londonderry laid out Italian, Spanish and Shamrock garden rooms from 1915 and used the mild lough climate for subtropical planting. Across the water at Comber, Castle Espie has turned old industrial quarries into a 60-acre wetland reserve with hides looking over the same lough. Scrabo Country Park above Newtownards and the Quoile reserves outside Downpatrick finish that circuit.
The other cluster sits under the Mournes. Castlewellan Forest Park wraps a baronial castle and a lake in 450 hectares of woodland, and holds both the Peace Maze and the National Arboretum’s champion trees; walking or cycling in is free, while parking a car costs £5. Murlough’s 6,000-year-old dunes run out to a four-mile beach with the mountains on the skyline, Donard Park in Newcastle is the trailhead for the Glen River route up Slieve Donard, and Silent Valley has seven graded trails around the reservoir.
Kilbroney Park at Rostrevor stands apart in the far south, on Carlingford Lough, with its Narnia trail and the Cloughmore Stone on the hill above. Pickie Fun Park is on Bangor seafront and works for children up to about 12, and Hillsborough Forest has three flat waymarked loops around a lake. Spring brings bluebells to Killynether at Scrabo; winter is the season for wildfowl on the Quoile.
Garden rooms laid out from 1915 by Edith, Lady Londonderry, using the mild Strangford climate for subtropical planting, with 12 km of estate trails beyond.
Sixty acres of former quarry turned to tidal lagoon and reed bed, with hides over Strangford Lough and play zones for children.
Four hundred and fifty hectares of woodland under the Mournes, holding a lake, a champion-tree arboretum and the 3,147m yew Peace Maze.
Ninety-seven acres on Carlingford Lough at Rostrevor, with a Narnia trail, 500-year-old oaks and the Cloughmore Stone on the slope above.
Ireland's first nature reserve, where boardwalks cross 6,000-year-old dunes to a four-mile Blue Flag beach under the Mourne skyline.
15 of 15 shown — tap a pin for the place.
Portaferry Road, down
Mount Stewart's gardens were laid out from 1915 by Edith, Lady Londonderry, who used the mild Strangford Lough climate to grow subtropical planting in Italian, Spanish and Shamrock garden rooms. The neoclassical house was a Londonderry political base, home to Lord Castlereagh, and the estate runs to 12 km of trails on the Ards Peninsula.
Comber, down
Former industrial quarries have been transformed into a thriving 60-acre wetland reserve at Castle Espie, where tidal lagoons and reed beds attract a remarkable array of waterfowl. Families can explore sensory gardens and adventure play zones, while birdwatchers enjoy hides overlooking Strangford Lough and a world-class aviary.
Castlewellan, down
Under the Mourne Mountains, Castlewellan Forest Park wraps a baronial castle and a lake in 450 hectares of woodland. The signature draw is the Peace Maze, 3,147m of yew hedge and one of the world's largest, alongside a champion-tree arboretum and 27km of mountain-bike trails. Entry on foot or bike is free; you pay £5 to park a car.
Rostrevor, down
Kilbroney Park spreads over 97 acres on the shore of Carlingford Lough at Rostrevor, an old Bowes-Lyon estate now run by the council. It has a half-mile Narnia trail through woods said to have helped inspire C.S. Lewis, a two-mile tree trail past 500-year-old oaks, and some of Ireland's best downhill mountain biking. Above it sits the Cloughmore Stone, a 30-tonne glacial boulder local legend credits to the giant Finn Mac Cool.
Keel Point, down
Murlough was Ireland's first nature reserve, set aside in 1967, and its dune system is around 6,000 years old. Boardwalks cross the dunes to a four-mile Blue Flag beach where common and grey seals haul out, while the heath behind holds the rare Marsh Fritillary butterfly and the Mourne Mountains fill the skyline. Entry is free, but parking is £5 unless you're a National Trust member.
Castlewellan, down
Started in 1740, this is one of the finest tree collections in Ireland — more than 30 champion trees, giant sequoias planted in the 1850s, and the birthplace of the golden Leyland cypress 'Castlewellan Gold'. It sits inside Castlewellan Forest Park, alongside the Peace Maze and a lake under the Mournes. Free to walk in; £5 to bring a car.
Bangor, down
Pickie Fun Park runs along Bangor's seafront on the site of the old Pickie Pool, where generations learned to swim. Entry is free; you pay for the Pickie Puffer steam train, the giant pedal swans, the splash pads and an 18-hole nautical mini-golf. It's best for children up to about 12.
Newcastle, down
Downpatrick, down
Royal Hillsborough, down
Quoile Countryside Centre, down
Downpatrick, down
Newtownards, down
Head Road, down
Hamilton Road, down
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