Down contains two significant
peninsulas:
Ards Peninsula and
Lecale peninsula. The county has a coastline along
Belfast Lough to the north and
Carlingford Lough to the south (both of which have access to the sea).
Strangford Lough lies between the Ards Peninsula and the mainland. Down also contains part of the shore of
Lough Neagh. Smaller loughs include
Lough Island Reavy and Castlewellan Lake near Castlewellan, Clea Lough near Killyleagh, Lough Money and Loughinisland near Downpatrick and, within the
Mourne Mountains,
Silent Valley Reservoir, Ben Crom Reservoir, Spelga Dam and Lough Shannagh. The
River Lagan forms most of the border with County Antrim. The
River Bann also flows through the southwestern areas of the county. Other rivers include the
Clanrye and
Quoile. There are several islands off the Down coast: Mew Island, Light House Island and the
Copeland Islands, all of which lie to the north of the Ards Peninsula. Gunn Island lies off the Lecale coast. There are at least seventy islands, several inhabited, and many islets – or pladdies – in Strangford Lough. Folk tradition says there are 365 islands in Strangford Lough, one for every day of the year. County Down is where, in the words of the song by
Percy French, "
The mountains of Mourne sweep down to the sea", and the area around the
granite Mourne Mountains continues to be known for its scenery.
Slieve Donard, at , is the highest peak in the Mournes, in Northern Ireland and in the province of Ulster. Another important peak is
Slieve Croob, at , the source of the River Lagan.
Places of interest . •
Saint Patrick is reputed to be buried at
Down Cathedral in
Downpatrick, reputedly alongside
St. Brigid and
St. Columcille. •
Saul, County Down (from the Irish: Sabhall meaning "Barn") – where Saint Patrick said his first eucharist in Ireland • The city of
Newry in the south of the county contains St Patrick's (
Church of Ireland, 1578), overlooking the city centre from Church street, on the east side of the city, which is considered to be Ireland's first ever
Protestant church. The
Newry Canal is also the first summit-level canal ever to be built in the
British Isles. •
Castlewellan Forest Park. •
Cloughmore (The Big Stone), a 30-ton Granite boulder lies on the Slieve Martin Mountain Ridge approximately 1000 ft. above
Rostrevor village in
Kilbroney Park. •
Royal County Down Golf Club is located in
Newcastle,
Newry, Mourne and Down. Golf Digest ranked it Number 1 on its 2024 World's 100 Greatest Courses list. •
Ballynoe stone circle is an ancient site dating back approximately 5,000 years to the late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age. • Down is also home to
Exploris, the Northern Ireland Aquarium, located in
Portaferry, on the shores of Strangford Lough, on the Ards Peninsula. • The Old Inn in
Crawfordsburn is one of Ireland's oldest hostelries, with records dating back to 1614. It is predated however by Donaghadee's Grace Neill's which was opened in 1611. The Old inn claims that people who have stayed there include
Jonathan Swift,
Dick Turpin,
Peter the Great,
Lord Tennyson,
Charles Dickens,
Anthony Trollope, former US president
George H. W. Bush, and
C. S. Lewis, who honeymooned there. •
Tollymore Forest Park between
Castlewellan and
Newcastle. •
Scrabo Tower, in
Newtownards, was built as a memorial to
Charles Stewart, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry. • An area of County Down is known as the Brontë Homeland (situated between
Rathfriland and
Banbridge, where
Patrick Brontë had his church.) Patrick Brontë (originally Brunty), father of
Anne,
Charlotte,
Emily and
Branwell, was born in this region.
Subdivisions Baronies • Ards Lower (from the ) • Ards Upper • Castlereagh Lower • Castlereagh Upper • Dufferin (from the ) • Iveagh Lower, Lower Half (from the ) • Iveagh Lower, Upper Half • Iveagh Upper, Lower Half • Iveagh Upper, Upper Half • Kinelarty (from the ) • Lecale Lower (from the ) • Lecale Upper •
Lordship of Newry • Mourne (from the )
Parishes Townlands Settlements }}
Cities (population of 75,000 or more at 2001 Census) •
Bangor •
Belfast – the eastern suburbs of the city lie partly in County Down but mainly in
County Antrim •
Lisburn – the eastern suburbs of the city lie partly in County Down but mainly in County Antrim •
Newry – in counties Armagh and Down, divided by the
Clanrye River Large towns (population of 18,000 or more and under 75,000 at 2001 Census) •
Dundonald •
Newtownards Medium towns (Population of 10,000 or more and under 18,000 at 2001 Census)
Small towns (Population of 4,500 or more and under 10,000 at 2001 Census)
Intermediate settlements (Population of 2,250 or more and under 4,500 at 2001 Census)
Villages (Population of 1,000 or more and under 2,250 at 2001 Census)
Small villages or hamlets (Population of less than 1,000 at 2001 Census) ==Demography==