Ward Park – Bangor's U-boat gun and aviary

Overview

Ward Park is 37 acres in the middle of Bangor, County Down – the town’s back garden, with lakes and an aviary at one end and tennis courts, bowling greens and pitches at the other. It is free, open all year, with parking, toilets and a café on site. It is a town park rather than a day out in itself, but the U-boat gun and the war memorial make it worth a detour if you are passing through Bangor.

History and heritage

The park’s odd centrepiece is a naval gun. During the 1916 Battle of Jutland, Commander the Hon. Edward Bingham of Bangor won the Victoria Cross, and the Admiralty marked it by giving the town the main deck gun from the German submarine U-19. It sits opposite the war memorial and cenotaph, which remembers Bangor’s dead from both world wars; a wreath is laid here every 11 November.

Close by, a public air-raid shelter still stands – a plain reminder of the Belfast Blitz, which reached this coast on the night of 15 April 1941. A shrapnel-scarred print of a Battle of the Somme painting, damaged in the same raid, hangs on at nearby Bangor Golf Club. The gun, the shelter and the memorial are all stops on the Great Wars Trail, a self-guided route linking the area’s conflict sites; there is a Second World War pillbox on the golf course too.

Wildlife and the aviary

The lakes hold a wildfowl sanctuary and a set of breeding pens, and you will usually see mallard, greylag geese, moorhens and the odd heron working the reeds. Signs ask you not to feed bread – birdseed or duck pellets are kinder to the birds and the water. Near the Hamilton Road side, an aviary keeps tropical birds, parrots and a resident peacock, set up for close viewing, which tends to win over younger visitors.

Walking and trails

Flat, paved paths loop the main lakes, easy enough for a buggy, a wheelchair or an evening jog. A parkrun sets off here every Saturday morning. The Great Wars Trail markers carry on beyond the gates if you want to stretch the walk into Bangor’s streets and its other memorials.

Sports and recreation

The sporting end is busy: ten tennis courts, all-weather hockey pitches, a cricket pitch, bowling greens, a putting green and a rugby pitch. Most run from Easter to September, and courts and pitches can be booked through the park office.

The newer, larger play park sits near the tennis courts, and there is a Dementia-Friendly Sensory Garden beside the library, with tactile, scented planting and quiet seating. Keep an eye out for the wooden habitat letters dotted about – oversized bug hotels that double as a photo stop.

Accessibility and family features

• Paved, level, wheelchair-accessible paths across the park.
• Sensory garden beside the library, built for visitors with dementia or sensory needs.
• Dogs welcome on a lead along the main paths and lakeside.
• Picnic tables and shaded benches on the central lawns, with a café on site.

Events and entertainment

The bandstand hosts free concerts every Sunday in July and August, 3pm to 5pm, as part of the Open House Festival. The park has form for bigger nights too – the Ward Arras open-air stage has drawn names as large as Snow Patrol.

Practical information

To reach the park by car, follow Main Street from Bangor town centre, turn right at the junction beside Boots and continue onto Hamilton Road; the main entrance and bandstand are signposted. The rear entrance off Castle Street passes Bangor Hospital and leads to the sports pitches.

Nearby attractions

• Bangor Abbey – A short walk north of the park, with early-Christian history, medieval ruins and quiet cloister gardens. (Bangor Abbey)
• Bangor Marina – Down on the coast, good for a seaside stroll or a harbour-side coffee after the park. (Bangor Marina)

For the best of it, come on a Sunday afternoon in July or August for the free bandstand concerts, or arrive before 9am on a weekday if you want a parking space before the tennis courts and parkrun fill it.