Helen's Tower – Clandeboye folly and walk

Overview

Helen’s Tower is a Victorian folly on the highest ground of the Clandeboye Estate, in mature woodland between Bangor and Newtownards. Lord Dufferin built it between 1848 and 1861 – the outside was up by 1850, but the interior took another decade – as a shrine for poems, starting with one by his mother. It began life, more prosaically, as a gamekeeper’s tower. Crow-stepped gables, pepper-pot turrets and dark greywacke stone give it a good sharp silhouette. Worth knowing before you set out: for most of the year the tower is locked, and the visit is really the woodland walk up to it rather than anything inside.

History & Literary Heritage

Frederick Temple-Blackwood, the 5th Lord Dufferin and Claneboye, commissioned the tower following his inheritance of the estate. Coming of age during the Great Famine, Lord Dufferin initiated extensive landscaping works to provide local employment, including the creation of artificial lakes and large-scale tree planting. The tower itself was designed by the prominent Edinburgh architect William Burn, whose Scottish-Baronial style reflected the family’s northern heritage.

The upper room was completed in 1861 to house a poem Helen wrote for her son’s 21st birthday. Over the following decades he invited some of the era’s best-known writers to add verses in her memory, and metal plates on the walls now carry work by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Robert Browning and Rudyard Kipling alongside Helen’s original. Tennyson’s own poem was later echoed at Thiepval in France, where the Ulster Tower – a memorial to the 36th (Ulster) Division – was modelled directly on Helen’s Tower, the ground the division had trained on. The building was listed Grade A in 1975. The Irish Landmark Trust now lets the interior as self-catering holiday accommodation for two, so the tower itself is only open on the occasional heritage open day; the surrounding estate paths are open year-round.

Walking the Route

The Helen’s Tower Walk is a well-maintained, 4.2 km out-and-back trail that winds through mixed deciduous woodland and open parkland. The path begins near a lay-by on Crawfordsburn Road and follows a gradual incline, gaining approximately 122 metres in elevation before reaching the tower. The route passes the tranquil Tower Lake, where reflections of the mature canopy create a peaceful atmosphere.

On the open days when the tower is unlocked, the internal spiral staircase climbs to a flat turreted roof that serves as a viewing platform, looking across Belfast Lough to the southern shore, with Bangor and the outline of Scrabo Hill on clear days – guests are said to make out the Scottish coast from the top. On any ordinary day, though, you reach the tower and no further, and the view from the clearing around it is reward enough. The trail suits families and casual walkers, taking roughly one to one and a half hours at an easy pace. Dogs are welcome but must be kept on a lead.

Practical Information

The trailhead is located on Crawfordsburn Road, approximately 2.2 miles north of Newtownards. A small lay-by provides free parking directly adjacent to the path entrance. The walk is accessible year-round, though the unroofed viewing platform can be exposed to wind and rain, so waterproof layers are advisable during cooler months.

There is no entry fee for the tower or the estate grounds. When the tower is open, the spiral staircase and roof platform are not wheelchair accessible, but the lower parkland paths are relatively level and suitable for pushchairs and mobility aids. For route enquiries or local guidance, the visitor information line can be reached at 028 9127 0371.

The trail surface consists mainly of compacted earth and gravel, so sturdy footwear is recommended, especially after wet weather. Photographers will find the tower’s greywacke stonework photographs best in the late afternoon when the light softens and the coastal backdrop is fully illuminated. Arriving before midday on weekends helps avoid peak visitor numbers at the parking lay-by.