The best road cycling routes around Orlock

Great carrot cake!

Burr Point marks the most easterly point on the island of Ireland. The spot is marked by a coastal sculpture by artist Ned Jackson Smyth. You can rest up in the sheltered cove which has a well-kept toilet and changing facilities close by.

In September 2024 opening hours Wed-Sat 10-4

Simple sandwiches, paninies and drinks. outdoor seating or in a covered space.

Helen's Bay Beach is one of two excellent beaches found in Crawfordsburn Country Park. These beautiful sandy beaches are by far the best within the Belfast area and as such are exceptionally popular and well used. Helen's Bay Beach is gently shelving and has excellent water quality making it ideal for bathing. The country park provides an excellent back drop to the beach, with wooded headlands, meadows, quality walks and good facilities. There are disabled toilets and disabled parking a short distance from the beach. A path suitable for wheelchair users leads from the car park to a path running adjacent to it. Nearby Crawfordsburn Country Park has a Cafe / Restaurant, Car Parking, Picnic Sites,Toilets, and a Visitor Centre.

From Donaghadee visitors can enjoy spectacular views across the Irish Sea, where on a clear day you can see all the way to Scotland, only 20 miles away by sea. It was the province’s principle port before Belfast developed. The Harbour was built in 1820's to the design of John Rennie and is part built of limestone from Wales known as "Anglesea marble". On the harbour is Donaghadee's impressive lighthouse, which was built in 1836 and was the first lighthouse in Ireland to be lit by electricity. Sit and rest in the harbour with a bag of chips from Rainy's on the High Street ( on the hill as you roll in to town from Millisle ) Best fryers in the town. Perfect recovery after a long cycle, Irelands oldest Pub - Grace Neills, is only around the corner.

Movilla was associated with Saint Finian in the 6th-century. As with many early monasteries, it was plundered by Vikings in the 9th century, but was refounded as an Augustinian abbey in the Norman 12th century and survived until the suppression of religious houses in the 1540s. It has the best collection of 13th Century coffin lids with foliate crosses in the Province. These are built into the inside north wall. Only one stone from the Pre-Norman period survives; it is marked with “Or do Dertrend”, “pray for Dertrend”. Later structures include the ruins of a 13th century church which was rebuilt in the 15th-century. A really fascinating stop.

Ballycopeland Windmill is the only remaining working windmill in East Down. It was built in the late 18th or early 19th century and was worked until the First World War when it fell into disrepair. It was gradually restored between 1950 and 1978 to full working order.