Overview
Ardglass Golf Club plays out of a clubhouse that was a fortified merchant’s warehouse before Columbus sailed: Ardglass Castle dates to no later than 1405, which makes it one of the oldest buildings anywhere still in use as a golf clubhouse. The castle stands on Ringfad (Irish: An Rinn Fhada, ‘the long headland’), a 225.8-acre townland in the civil parish of Ardglass that curves into the Irish Sea between the port of Ardglass and the village of Killough, forming the southern edge of Coney Island Bay. Most of the interior is the golf course; the reason for non-golfers to come is the shore path and, on a clear day, the Mournes across the water.
Coastal walks & scenery
The shore path links Ardglass Harbour to Ringfad Point and carries on south toward Killough, on a mix of paved track and natural ground that most walkers manage comfortably. Head out toward the point and the view opens across the water, with the Mourne Mountains filling the horizon on a clear day and the shoreline breaking down into rocky platforms and tidal pools. It’s at its best at low tide, when the exposed rock and the quiet coves become reachable – check the tide table before you set out, because that timing is the difference between a good walk and a wet scramble.
Ardglass Golf Club
Ardglass Golf Club was founded in 1896 as a modest seven-hole layout and has since grown into an 18-hole links running across the dunes to the headland, with several holes played hard along the shoreline and direct sea views throughout. The clubhouse in Ardglass Castle is the draw even if you never lift a club: a stone-walled fortified warehouse still doing daily work more than 600 years on.
One honest caveat: much of the peninsula’s interior is the golf course, and walking on the fairways depends on play being quiet and the club’s goodwill. Keep to the shore side of the course, give golfers right of way, and don’t count on crossing the fairways at a busy weekend.
Maritime history & local lore
Ringfad Point has a hard record with ships. In 1827 the Enterprise of Lynn, carrying indigo, cotton and hides, was wrecked on the rocks here; eleven people died, including the captain’s own family, and the loss was set down in a folk ballad, ‘The Wreck of the Enterprise’. In 1941 the steamer Bereby – built in 1919 as the War Raven – ran onto the same rocks on 24 September while sailing from Liverpool to the Gold Coast; this time no lives were lost and the cargo was salvaged, and there was no formal inquiry. As recently as 2006 the fishing vessel Greenhill sank nearby with the loss of two crew. It’s a quiet stretch of coast, but not a gentle one.
Practical information for visitors
- Access & parking – Reached via the A25 from Ardglass. Free parking at the golf club car park and near Ardglass Harbour; the shore path begins from there.
- Facilities – None on Ringfad itself. The nearest pubs, tea rooms and shops are in Ardglass, roughly two kilometres away.
- Accessibility – The access points and the first sections of the path are manageable for most, including wheelchairs and pushchairs, but the ground turns uneven and rocky toward the point.
- Best time to visit – Open year-round; summer for long light and calm seas, autumn and winter for dramatic skies and fewer people. Always check tide tables first.
- Safety – Rocks and low cliffs get slippery after rain. Keep back from the edges and watch the weather.
Exploring the wider area
A short drive inland brings you to the Ballynoe Stone Circle, a prehistoric monument in open fields. Ardglass itself has a working fishing fleet and a medieval castle, and further afield the Slieve Donard and Strangford Lough areas add more walking and watersports across County Down. Just inland, Lough Money is a small freshwater lake worth a detour for birdwatchers; the Lough Money Loop picks up a section of the Lecale Way, the 75 km route from Downpatrick to Newcastle.
Visiting with families & wildlife
The open ground and gentle first stretch of path make Ringfad an easy family outing, with tidal pools and shells to keep children busy on the lower shore. Lough Money draws herons, ducks and wading birds, while the dunes and cliffs give nesting cover to gulls and terns – bring binoculars and a quiet approach.
Set aside a couple of hours to walk out to the point, then head back into Ardglass for a coffee before the afternoon wind gets up off the sea.