5 Historical Sites to Visit when staying at Rostrevor Holidays

All within 30 minutes drive from Rostrevor Holidays:

• Silent Valley and The Mourne Wall
• Ross’s Monument
• Old Kilbroney Graveyard
• Carlingford Village
• Bagenal’s Castle

Silent Valley and The Mourne Wall

“The Silent Valley Reservoir was built to gather water from the Mourne Mountains and is the main water supply source for most of County Down and a large part of Belfast.

Ringed by mountains, ‘The Valley’, located within the Mourne Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, houses beautiful parkland, lakes and a pond. It attracts around 50,000 visitors per year most of whom come to enjoy the peace and solitude of this mountain area with its unique landscapes and varied wildlife.

The famous Mourne Wall was constructed to enclose the reservoir’s catchment area, built between 1904 and 1922 by the Belfast Water Commissioners.

The wall was crafted from natural granite stone using traditional dry stone walling techniques. On average the wall is about 1.5 metres high and 0.8 to 0.9  metres thick. It is 22 miles (35 km) long and passes over fifteen of the Mourne’s summits.”

Taken from Discover Northern Ireland’s website http://www.discovernorthernireland.com/The-Silent-Valley-and-Mourne-Wall-Kilkeel-Newry-P16373

Ross’ Monument

At the edge of the village on the road to Warrenpoint stands Ross’s Monument, a towering structure built in 1826 to commemorate the military exploits of local man Major General Robert Ross in Europe and the American War of Independence. In particular it celebrates his victory over the American forces at Bladensburg in 1814 and his entry into Washington on the same day. He is reputed to have burnt down the White House. Ross was fatally wounded at the Battle of Baltimore a short time later. Gerard Fay, a Rostrevor architect, travelled to Bladensburg to do some research on the incident, and to his surprise found a monument built over there, dedicated to the two soldiers that shot Major General Robert Ross!

Old Kilbroney Graveyard

Nearby Kilbroney graveyard on the Hilltown Road is especially interesting. Here may be seen the ruins of the church of St. Bronagh dating from the 15th century. Close at hand stands a huge pre-Norman granite cross.. Here too is the grave of Giant Murphy, a local man who was reputed to have been over 8ft. in height. He travelled the world displaying his enormous frame and came back to die and be buried in Rostrevor. The graveyard is also the site of the recovery of an ancient St. Bronagh’s Bell, lost for centuries and probably connected with the ancient church of St. Bronagh.

A strange story attaches to the bell. It is a genuine example of the earliest Christian bells known in Ireland and was the gift of Fergus, a young chieftain. The bell had been hung in the fork of a young oak tree near the convent. The convent was subsequently destroyed but the bell remained hidden. For several centuries it was heard to toll through the valley on certain nights and this was explained by many stories of banshees and leprechuans. Then it became silent.

In 1888 a giant oak fell in Kilbroney churchyard and when it was cut up the bell was found in the hollow trunk. It has been restored and is in use as an altar bell in Rostrevor Catholic Church. Some antiquarians declare its value to be priceless.

Carlingford Village

Carlingford is a magical village, full of character and is one of the best preserved medieval villages in Ireland. Raided by the Vikings in the 8th & 9th Centuries, historical records show that the Vikings occupied Carlingford Lough.  They may have used the sheltered harbour as a temporary base, though, this is unclear as no factual evidence, apart from the name Carlingford has been recorded.

Taken from www.Carlingford.ie

Bagenal’s Castle

Rediscovered in 1996, Bagenal’s Castle survived enveloped in the premises of the former McCann’s Bakery on Abbey Way.

The building is of significant historical interest as original plans and elevations of the building still survive in the National Archives of the United Kingdom. It was also built in the environs of the site of the Newry Cistercian Abbey founded in the 12th Century.  It has been restored and developed as a Museum and Tourist Information Centre

http://www.discovernorthernireland.com/Bagenals-Castle-and-Newry-and-Mourne-Museum-Newry-P1108

EDIT: The Old School House Cafe Rostrevor’s Phone number is 028 4173 8211. Please do not phone Rostrevor Holidays, as we are accommodation providers and not great chefs! 

With the mountain biking trail centre soon to open in Rostrevor, different businesses have been springing up in preparation for the influx of visitors.  One such venture is The Old School House Cafe Rostrevor and although it is nearing a full year of business, the owner says he is looking forward to welcoming in the hungry mountain bikers! They wont be disappointed with what is on offer when they arrive.

Open from 9am for breakfast, with a full lunch menu served from 12pm, The Old School House offers a tempting choice of good food. The specials menu can be found on their facebook page every day http://www.facebook.com/TheOldSchoolHouseCafe  - although I would advise you not to have this on your news feed… it is hard to resist the temptation!

For those looking for an afternoon catchup with friends, I can recommend the coffee and cake option.

Best of all, the staff are friendly and helpful, and the cafe has that nice mix of locals and visitors, so the atmosphere is one of a warm welcome, but with a buzz of something happening.

It may not result in treasure that will make you rich, but kids will love searching the beach at low tide for this type of bounty.

I was out for a walk on Cranfield Beach yesterday at low tide and was surprised at the number of families with children searching the rock pools. As I had my camera with me, I decided to join in to see what could be found. Within a couple of minutes I came across some beautiful starfish. So I thought I’d share with you some of the most common seaside treasures I came across yesterday.

Seaweed on Cranfield Beach with Lighthouse in background.

1. Seaweed

It provides that distinct smell of the sea, but is the best place to start looking. Supporting life for insects, this in

turn is a popular place for coastal birds.  If you wish to identify the different types you find, The Natural History Museum has a fantastic guide to the most commonly found types of seaweed.

Starfish on Cranfield Beach

2. Starfish

The UK is resident to over 30 different types of starfish including brittlestars, cushion stars and sea stars. After storms, you might find the beach is covered with mass starfish beachings, but if you search in the rockpools at the shoreline, you should find some healthy living starfish.

Periwinkle on Seaweed, Cranfield Beac

3. Periwinkles

The periwinkle is a species of edible sea snails.

I was surprised by the vivid colour of these orange type that were in abundance on the seaweed at Cranfield.

4. The Sea Potato 

Sea Potato, Cranfield Beach

I had seen plenty of these heart shaped urchins washed up on the shore, but then found one that still had its fine beige spines, which gave it the rather hairy appearance, and didn’t know what I had found! Apparently the spines trap air to prevent asphyxiation for the buried urchin (which can be up to 200m deep in sand).

Sea Potato, with spiny fibres intact

Please remember: Before you head out beachcombing, please make sure to be prepared. Know the Tides and Know the Weather. We have two high tides and two low tides every day. When the tide turns it can be fast coming in, so you need to be very careful not to get cut-off. You can check tide times here  The best beach walking is an hour before and after the lowest time. Bring warm clothes, and a pair of welly-boots is most useful!