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Newcastle
County Down, voted Northern Ireland’s best kept town a few
years ago, Newcastle offers activities to interest all ages.
Steeped in history, Newcastle has for many years been one
of the most popular resorts in the country, below are just
some of the major highlights which any visitor should experience
during a stay at this special and lively town.
Click
here for the latest info on the Pomenade
 The
Mourne Mountains are one of the most scenic areas of Northern
Ireland, attracting tens of thousands of hill walkers every
year. Their natural beauty inspired the great 19th century
entertainer Percy French to pen the famous ballad Where
the Mountains of Mourne Sweep Down to the Sea.
The tallest peak and Northern
Ireland’s highest mountain, Slieve Donard (850m, 2,796
feet) rises majestically to the south of the seaside resort
of Newcastle.
Following a fundraising campaign
in 1991 the National Trust was able to purchase around 1,300
acres (526ha) of the Mournes, including Slieve Donard and
neighbouring peak Slieve Commedagh. The mountains can be freely
enjoyed by all.
Since 1993, a dedicated team
of volunteers have been creating a network of natural stone
paths to help prevent damage caused by the erosion of vegetation
along main walking routes.
Newcastle Tourist Information
Centre can provide information about walking in the Mournes
or follow a waymarked path beginning at Donard Car Park at
the southern end of Newcastle.
Ice house
Look out for the 19th century ice house beside the Glen River
path. The ice house was used to keep meat and provisions cold
for the local landowners, the Annesley family.
The Mourne Wall
Part of the Mourne Wall runs between Slieve Donard and Slieve
Commedagh. The wall was crafted from natural stone using traditional
dry stone walling techniques. It passes over 15 summits, is
22 miles long and took 12 years to complete. It was built
between 1910 and 1922 by the Belfast Water Commissioners to
enclose the water catchment in the Mournes.
 Spectacular
views
Walkers who make it to the top of Donard will be rewarded
with spectacular views over the surrounding countryside and
across the Irish Sea to the Isle of Man.
Prehistoric remains
Prehistoric burial cairns are located near the summits of
both mountains.
Hermit
Slieve Donard derives its name from Saint Domangard, a disciple
of Saint Patrick, who is said to have lived as a hermit on
the mountain, reportedly in one of the prehistoric burial
cairns.
Wildlife and environment
The vegetation in the Mournes is principally dry heath, which
is rare in a European context.
The mountains are home to ravens, red grouse and peregrine
falcons, as well as the Irish Hare. Spring sees the arrival
of wheatear and the ring ouzel, which is particularly scarce
in Northern Ireland.
Wet springs and flushes are home to some unusual invertebrates,
including the keeled skimmer, a nationally scarce dragonfly.
The summit heath vegetation includes some interesting species
such as dwarf willow and woolly fringe moss, and is the only
known site in Northern Ireland for two species of ground beetle
and a saw fly.
The Mournes are a proposed Special Area of Conservation and
an Area of Special Scientific Interest.
Donard Park
This
is often used by ramblers as their starting point for treks
to the Mourne peaks. The park itself boasts an extensive car
park and picnic facilities, but its main attraction is the
various pitches where soccer and hockey matches are played,
but also where many families play during the summer, whilst
working off the effects of a day at the seaside and an ice
cream too many. Also beside the park is a golf driving range
where visitors are made most welcome. Glen River runs along
one side of the park, and this is used as a walkway to many
sign-posted treks, including the most famous trek of all,
to Slieve Donard itself, king of the Mourne peaks.
 Newcastle
Harbour
In
the 1820’s Lord Annesley created a new pier here primarily
to function as a loading point for the famous Mourne granite,
which was extracted from the overlooking hills. Blocks of
this granite were used to build docks in Belfast and Liverpool,
as well as help construct the Albert memorial in London.
Today
the harbour still holds some fishing boats and also has pleasure
crafts for water sports.
The
Granite Trail - Newcastle
Starting from Newcastle Harbour, the Granite Trail leads off
to Bogie Hill and up onto King Street. Here sees the start
of the olf Bogie Line, a cleared strip of forest on a 1 in
3 incline up towards Millstone Mountain Quarry. The mature
woods and forest either side of your path are full of interest,
flora and fauna with views over the harbour and Dundrum Bay.
At the top of Donard Wood and over the stile follow the path
past Millstone Mountain Quarry and on to the viewpoint at
Thomas's Mountain Quarry. For maps of route telephone Newcastle
Tourist Information Centre: 028 4372 2222
Click Here
to Download Granite Trail Brochure
St.
Patrick’s Stream
This
stream has great importance as it marks the boundary of the
ancient kingdom of Mourne. According to legend, a rock on
the stream’s banks is hewn with the impression of St. Patrick’s
hand, which the saint made when he bent down to drink the
water.
Armours
Hole
An isolated
cleft in the cliffs above Dundrum bay provide the rugged backdrop
to a murder centuries old. It is believed that a man called
Armour murdered his father after a row over a young girl on
the way to the fair at Downpatrick. When the man returned
home he claimed he had left his father behind in Downpatrick,
but the fathers body was washed up at nearby St.Johns Point
and the son later admitted to killing him and flinging the
body into the sea at the spot now known as Armours Hole after
this grisly tale.
The
Bloody Bridge
Although
the name evokes images of battles fought on this site, it
is not known from where exactly this beautiful yet wild coastal
area derived its poignant name, although the 1641 rebellion
is often thought to be the impetus. What is certain is that
it’s beauty is widely appreciated by tourists who flock to
see the old ‘Brandy Pad’, called after the trade of illegal
brandy which was smuggled down this route and from there onwards
at the dead of night to Hilltown. The remains of an ancient
church and the old bridge which once carried the coast road
has made the bloody bridge a must see area.
Bloody Bridge and the Mourne Coastal Footpath can be found
along a scenic stretch of the Co Down coastline, bordered
on one side by the Irish Sea, and on the other by the foothills
of the Mourne Mountains.
Located about three miles south
of Newcastle, beside the Annalong road, and marks the beginning
of one of the most popular access routes into the Mournes
for hill walkers. It was declared an Area of Special Scientific
Interest in 1995.
Newry and Mourne District Council
has provided a car park, picnic tables and toilet facilities
adjacent to the site.
Alternatively for those not wishing
to walk into the mountains the Mourne Coastal Footpath (1.6
miles long) provides access to secluded areas of coastline
ideal for picnics. Excellent views can be had across Dundrum
Bay and, on a clear day, to the Isle of Man. The name Bloody
Bridge refers to a massacre at the site in 1641.
The Brandy Pad
The track leading through Bloody Bridge is the start of the
Brandy Pad, an old smugglers’ route. Brandy and other
spirits, wine, spices, tobacco, tea, coffee, sugar and silk
made their way to the secluded coves of the Mourne coast via
the Isle of Man, which was outside the control of Customs
and Excise at that time. The contraband was unloaded from
ships and carried on ponies through the mountains to the village
of Hilltown.
The Shepherd’s Pass
Bloody Bridge is located in the parish of Ballaghanery Upper.
Balaghanery means the shepherd’s pass.
Ancient church ruins
The ruins of St Mary’s Church can be found along the
route of the Mourne Coastal Footpath. The church is reputed
to have been one of the first Christian churches in Northern
Ireland. All that remains today are the foundations of a nave
and a small chancel.
Plants and wildlife
Fulmars and black guillemots both breed at sites along the
Mournes coast and Manx shearwater and gannets can be observed
fishing out to sea. The common lizard, the only reptile native
to Ireland, has been observed at both sites.
Several noteworthy butterfly species have also been recorded,
including the green hairstreak, the dark green fritillary
and the grayling.
The area’s dry heath habitat of western gorse and bell
heather is recognised as being of European importance.
Tipperary
Woods
If you
cross the Tipperary bridge(or mile bridge) you will come to
the Tipperary woods. This is part of the Ulster Way long distance
footpath and unsurprisingly is a very popular walkway.
 Royal
County Down Golf Club
Newcastle
can lay claim to a course which many believe to be among the
most beautiful and the most competitive courses in the whole
world, indeed many professional players have included it as
among their top ten courses in the globe. With this in mind
it is obvious why the golf club continues to be a prominent
attraction for visitors to Newcastle.
Newcastle-
A Natural Beauty
Despite
the above information, there is little doubt that the greatest
attraction of Newcastle is not the history, nor the various
arcades or parks, or even the golf club. Rather, it is the
unique natural beauty of the town which makes it stand out
as a jewel in the prize winning coast of Down. Various wildlife
including the mysterious raven and Peregraine Falcon are found
in the nearby slopes and on the slopes themselves many beautiful
plants vie for attention with the more rugged heather and
bog.
The
combination of a long, clean, tidy beach to one side and the
magnificent mountains of Mourne to the other gives the place
a special feeling which many poets and artists have tried
to convey in word and painting. However you can only truly
appreciate the unparalleled beauty of the town by experiencing
it first hand. Newcastle remains peerless as a busy coastal
resort blessed with the brooding mountains of Mourne still
sweeping down to the sea.
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Sporting
Activities in the Newcastle area:
- Golf
at Royal Co. Down Golf Club
- Horse-riding
- Angling
- Swimming
- Mountain
Climbing
- Cycling
- Hill
walking
- Fishing
- Tennis
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Areas
of Local Interest:
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NEWCASTLE
Chamber of Commerce’s unique Places That Time Forgot
project was officially launched
Mountains
of Mourne, By Percy French. Click here to listen to the music! (Midi file)
William
Percy French, celebrated poet, painter and composer must surely
have had the picturesque town of Newcastle in mind when he
penned his celebrated verse of exile ‘where the Mountains
of Mourne sweep down to the sea’. The imposing presence
of the purple peaked Mournes looms large over the town and
provides a breathtaking background to this bustling Capital
of the coast.
 Oh
Mary this London's a wonderful sight
With people here workin' by day and by night
They don't sow potatoes, nor barley, nor wheat
But there's gangs of them diggin' for gold in the street
At least when I asked them that's what I was told
So I just to a hand at this diggin' for gold
But for all that I found there I might as well be
Where the Mountains of Mourne sweep down to the sea.
I believe that when writin' a wish you expressed
As to how the fine ladies in London were dressed
Well if you'll believe me, when asked to a ball
They don't wear no top to their dresses at all
Oh I've seen them meself and you could not in truth
Say that if they were bound for a ball or a bath
Don't be startin' them fashions, now Mary McCree
Where the Mountains of Mourne sweep down to the sea.
There's beautiful girls here, oh never you mind
With beautiful shapes nature never designed
And lovely complexions all roses and cream
But let me remark with regard to the same
That if that those roses you venture to sip
The colors might all come away on your lip
So I'll wait for the wild rose that's waitin' for me
In the place where the dark Mourne sweeps down to the sea.
Click
here for local events
Sunday
Church Services:
Our
Lady of Assumption, Roman Catholic
Services
- Saturday 7.3Opm Sunday 8.20am, 10am,11.30 am and 10am at
St. Patrick's, Bryansford
Presbyterian,
Main Street, Newcastle
Services
- Sunday (10am June - August) 11.30am & 7.00pm
St.
John's Church of Ireland -The Rock, Central Promenade
Services
- Sunday 8.3Oam Holy Communion 11.00am Morning Prayer (2nd,
4th & 5th Sunday) 6.00pm Evening Prayer
Baptist
- Bryansford Road, Newcastle
Services
- Sunday 11.00am & 6.30pm
Useful
Telephone numbers
- Local
doctor & surgery Tel. 028437 23221
- Police
Station Tel. 028437 23583
- First
Trust Bank Tel. 028437 23476
- Northern
Bank Tel. 028437 23226
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