Overview
The peach-coloured stone in half the Victorian buildings of north Down came out of the ground here. Scrabo Country Park wraps around a hill 540 feet above sea level, just outside Newtownards in County Down, and its old quarries are the reason geologists keep coming back. From the open summit you look east over the tidal waters of Strangford Lough, across to the Ards Peninsula, and on a clear day south to the Mournes. Access is free and the gates never close.
If you’ve time for one thing, walk up to the base of the tower for the Strangford view – that’s the payoff, and it’s ten minutes from the car park. If you’re here in late April or early May, go for the bluebells at Killynether instead.
The tower and the geology
Scrabo Tower, the landmark at the top, is a 135-foot (41 m) lookout tower built as the Londonderry Monument – a memorial to the 3rd Marquess of Londonderry. It was designed by the Belfast partnership Lanyon and Lynn in a Scottish Baronial Revival style, and it has 122 steps to the viewing platform. The catch for visitors: it’s usually closed. When it does open it’s typically the first Saturday of the month, July to September, with interpretive displays inside – so treat an open tower as a bonus, not the reason you came. The tower is in the care of the Department for Communities; the park itself is run by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency.
The hill is capped with hard dolerite, which is what saved it while glaciers wore down the softer sandstone around it. The quarry faces lay the story bare: vertical ‘dykes’ where molten rock forced up through the sandstone, and horizontal ‘sills’ where it leaked sideways into the weak seams, all of it cooling to dolerite. Interpretive signage along the way explains it, which makes the site an easy stop for schools.
Walking, woodland and wildlife
Two walks anchor the park. The Quarry Walk is the steep, rocky one that gets you up among the exposed faces; Killynether Wood is the gentler option, beech and hazel with a floor that carpets over in bluebells and wood anemones from late March into May. Neither is paved, both turn muddy after rain, and sturdy footwear earns its keep. Dogs are welcome, but keep them close to the quarry edges.
The cliffs make good raptor country. Ravens and jackdaws are about all year, and kestrels and peregrine falcons breed in the quarries and hunt off the vertical rock. Early morning is the best window, when the updrafts bring them out over the valley. The park and Killynether Wood also had a turn on screen, standing in as locations for Universal’s Dracula Untold.
Practical information
Opening and access Pedestrian access and both car parks are open 24 hours, all year. The public toilets by the main car park run 10:00–16:00. Access to the North Quarry is currently closed until replacement steps are installed.
Facilities Parking is free at two car parks, with accessible spaces marked, and there are picnic areas. There’s the honest catch: no café and no shop on site, so bring a flask and something to eat if you plan to linger.
Getting there The entrance is at 203A Scrabo Road, Newtownards, signposted from the town. On public transport, alight at Newtownards bus station and follow Scrabo Road uphill – roughly 15 minutes to the lower car park.
Nearby The park sits right beside Scrabo Golf Club, and within about 1.5 miles you’ll find Newtownards Priory, Kiltonga Nature Reserve and the Ards Arts Centre.
Contact Northern Ireland Environment Agency, +44 (0) 28 9181 1491, nieainfo@daera-ni.gov.uk. Come early: the morning light is kinder on the summit than the midday glare, and you’ve a better chance of catching the falcons over the quarry.