GREAT DRIVES NEWRY TO STRANGFORD:COASTAL ROADS tend to be spectacular as they follow the dramatic course of coastlines. Highway One, along the western coast of the US, is one of the best-known examples, but here in Ireland, surprisingly, there are fewer good coastal drives than one might expect in a country endowed with such a variety of landscape. There is one part of our island, however, that is well provided for in this respect.
In the North it is possible to drive the coastline from Newry to Strangford, go slightly inland via Downpatrick and Comber to Newtownards, then follow the northern shore of Strangford Lough to Portaferry and shortly afterwards rejoin the coast at Cloghy and continue beside the sea as far as Belfast. To the north of Belfast, through Carrickfergus and Larne, is the spectacular Antrim Coast Road. At Glenariff, the road once more dives inland before finding the sea again at Ballycastle. Thereafter, it continues to Portrush and Coleraine, before going on to Derry via Portstewart.
For today’s final article in this year’s series, we drove the section from Newry to Strangford, a journey of great variety. In fact, the spectacle began straight away as we travelled out of Newry to Warrenpoint by the attractive upper reaches of Carlingford Lough, with the heavily wooded Cooley Mountains falling to the sea on the opposite shore. At Warrenpoint the lough opens up, but it is almost enclosed by Greenore to the south and Cranfield Point on the northern shore. Shortly afterwards the road runs inland to Kilkeel before returning to the seashore as far as Newcastle.
All along this section the Mourne Mountains rise spectacularly to the left of the road, their surprisingly jagged shapes providing a constantly changing backdrop. Slieve Binnian (744m), Slieve Lamagan (704m) and, highest of all, Slieve Donard (853m), are to the fore. Newcastle is soon reached, and here one should follow the signs for Belfast and the A2, as the signage to Clough is poor.
The road to Clough goes through Dundrum and along Dundrum Inner Bay. At the entrance to Clough, swing right on the road signposted for Killough. A short way along this road is Blackstaff Bridge, a narrow bridge across the Blackstaff River, where there are magnificent views back towards the Mournes.
The road soon rejoins the seashore and runs alongside Tyrella Beach before making a short hop inland to the pretty seaside village of Killough.
Our route runs around Killough Bay and then into Ardglass, from where it runs parallel to the sea until a few kilometres from our destination, Strangford, when it once more runs closely along the water’s edge.
This last section from Ardglass to Strangford is in contrast to the landscape already covered. It is more barren and windswept, and, unless my imagination deceives me, it has more examples of deserted and ruined dwellings dotting the landscape than any other section of our journey. At Ringawaddy is the disused airfield that is home to the Bishopscourt motorcycle-racing and rallying circuit.
As with our last exploration, when we drove from Virginia to Mullingar, our route was not one that obviously suggested itself, but it was full of interest, with a number of excursions to be made on the side. All in all, the constantly changing landscape and seascape, particularly impressive on those stretches that have the backdrop of the Mourne Mountains, made this an appropriate place to end this season’s journey. Safe motoring this winter.