Driving north from Killard Point along the road known as
Shore Road the route more or less hugs the shore of Strangford Lough, offering lovely
views of this large body of water. At
the point where Shore Road joins the A2 is Kilclief Castle, a tower-house
castle built in the first half of the 15th century by Bishop of Down
John Sely. However, the Bishop’s
residency at the castle came to an ignominious end when he was ejected and
stripped of his office for living with a married woman.
Strangford village is located at the mouth of the main part
of Strangord Lough. The name derives
from the name given to the inlet by the Vikings: “Strang Fjörthr” meaning
“Strong Fjord”. The first notable
building you will come across at this end of the village is the romantically
named “St Mary Star of the Sea Church”, built on land donated by Lord Henry
Fitzgerald. Sadly, the church was badly
damaged by fire in 1930, but it was rebuilt as the Stella Maris Church, although
it is still shown on maps with the original name. From the attractive waterfront in the centre
of the village there is access to a car ferry service to Portaferry on the
opposite shore of the lough.
Strangford lies on a small peninsula to the east of an 'inlet-within-an-inlet', and on the other side of this inlet are a couple of further places of interest. Like Kilclief Castle, Audley's Castle is another 15th century tower house named after one of its owners, John Audley. The castle, along with the adjoining Audley's Field, was used in the filming of Game of Thrones. A short distance from the shore is the National Trust owned Castle Ward, a somewhat misleading name as it is actually an 18th century mansion. This was also used in Game of Thrones, in which the historic farmyard featured as Winterfell, the backdrop for the series pilot.
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| Strangford Harbour front - geograph.org.uk - 69647. Photo by Rogere, via Wikimedia Commons. |
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