The best MTB trails around Ballykeel

Nendrum Monastery was a Christian monastery founded in the 5th century. The monastery finished somewhere between 974 and 1178, but the church survived until the 15th century. You can visit the ruins if you're riding past.

Beautiful castle with great hiking tours

This is the best example in Northern Ireland of a pre Norman ecclesiastical enclosure with its buildings. Nendrum is associated with St Mochaoi who died at the end of the 5th century, and is linked with St Patrick in a much later source. Notices of Nendrum clergy, including three bishops, begin in the 7th century and the excavation of a sophisticated tide mill on the shore near the site has shown that the mill was active in the early 7th century, which underlines the early importance of Nendrum. References continue until a fire in 976, perhaps a Viking raid, when the head of the church (erenagh) was burned in his house. In the late 12th century a small Benedictine monastic cell was founded on the site, but by 1302–1306 this was the parish church, abandoned for Tullynakill on the mainland in the 15th century. H.C. Lawlor excavated the site from 1922 to 1924, when enclosure walls, church and round tower were restored. The glacial hill is crowned with three concentric walled enclosures, irregularly oval in plan. Little is known of the outer cashel, only partly in state care. In the middle cashel on the south-west side are circular platforms for huts, which excavation suggested were craft workshops, and a rectangular building known as the ‘schoolhouse’, also a workshop. In the inner cashel were the most important buildings, including the church with its graveyard and the base of a round tower north-west of the church. The west wall of the church was rebuilt in the 1920s, incorporating a reconstructed sundial at the south-west corner. Finds from the 1920s excavation, including the well-known bell of Nendrum, are in the Ulster Museum and Down Museum at Downpatrick. Underwater archaeological work in the 1990s showed that there is a stone jetty south-east of the enclosure, now inundated in the lough, and medieval pottery was found close by. ( source: department of communities )

Love spending time here. There is a park bench to the far east corner, and to the left of that hosts one of the best views of the Lough. When tides out you can see traces of the old Salmon fisheries. Its so quiet, and there is a picnic area just to the side of the visitors centre. The site also boasts fragments of an early Sun Dial that have been placed by the entrance to the Church.

Lock Keeper's Cottage and Lock Keeper's Inn coffee shop is a perfect spot to take a breather and rehydrate and refuel. The coffee shop is situated in a beautiful riverside setting and will be serving up delicious food and drinks daily between 9am-4pm.

Take a breather from your walk and stop at The Lock Keeper's Inn, a lovely cafe situated in a beautiful riverside setting up delicious food and drink between 9am-4pm every day. You can also discover the old Lock Keeper's Cottage here, historically used as a home for the 'lock keeper' who would be in charge of taking toll monies and the opening and closing of the gates.

Magnificent castle built in the 1860s and one of the city's most famous landmarks. The castle is situated on the lower slopes of the Cave Hill Country Park and is surrounded by lush greenery and mixed woodland. The castle is open to explore everyday between 9am-6pm, parking and admission is free.

Best example of a pre-Norman monastic site in Northern Ireland. From around the 5th century, it's a stunning location nestled on the islands jutting into Strangford Lough.