Ireland (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Fionn Davenport [533]
Hillsborough Courthouse ( 9268 9717; tic.hillsborough@lisburn.gov.uk; The Square; admission free; 9am-5.30pm Mon-Sat year-round, 2-6pm Sun Jul & Aug), a fine old Georgian building, houses various displays describing the working of the courts in the 18th and 19th centuries.
At the bottom of Main St is a statue of Arthur Hill, fourth Marquess of Downshire, opposite a tree-lined avenue leading to St Malachy’s Parish Church (Main St; admission free; 9am-5.30pm Mon-Sat), one of Ireland’s most splendid 18th-century churches, with twin towers at the ends of the transepts and a graceful spire at the western end.
Close to the church is Hillsborough Fort ( 9268 3285; Main St; admission free; 10am-7pm Tue-Sat, 2-7pm Sun Apr-Sep, 10am-4pm Tue-Sat, 2-4pm Sun Oct-Mar). It was built as an artillery fort by Colonel Hill in 1650 and remodelled as a Gothic-style tower house in 1758.
FESTIVALS
Each year in late August/early September, around 10,000 people – plus 6000 oysters from Dundrum Bay – converge on Hillsborough for a three-day Oyster Festival (www.hillsboroughoysterfestival.com), a celebration of local food, drink and general good fun, which includes an international oyster-eating competition.
SLEEPING & EATING
Hillsborough is a bit of a culinary hot spot, with several excellent restaurants. These are popular places, so book a table at weekends to avoid disappointment.
Fortwilliam Country House ( 9268 2255; www.fortwilliamcountryhouse.com; 210 Ballynahinch Rd; s/d £50/70; ) The Fortwilliam offers B&B in four luxurious rooms stuffed with period furniture – our favourite is the Victorian room, with its rose wallpaper, huge antique mahogany wardrobe and view over the garden. Your host’s hospitality knows no bounds, and breakfast includes fresh eggs from the chickens in the yard, with the smell of home-baked wheaten bread wafting from the Aga. Book well in advance.
Plough Inn ( 9268 2985; 3 The Square; mains bar £7-9, restaurant £13-18; bar lunches noon-2.30pm, restaurant 6-9.30pm) This fine old pub, with its maze of dark wood-panelled nooks and crannies, has been offering ‘beer and banter’ since 1758. It serves gourmet bar lunches – how about seared pheasant breast with mushroom mash and green peppercorn sauce? – and also offers fine dining in the restaurant around the back, where stone walls, low ceilings and a roaring fireplace make a cosy setting for an adventurous menu ranging from sushi to steak.
Hillside Bar & Restaurant ( 9268 2765; 21 Main St; bar meals £8-11, 3-course dinner £30; bar meals noon-2.30pm & 4.30-9pm, restaurant 7.30-9.30pm Fri & Sat) This is a homely pub serving real ale (and mulled wine beside the fireplace in winter), with live jazz Sunday evenings and a dinky wee beer garden in a cobbled courtyard out the back. The upstairs restaurant offers formal dining, with crisp white table linen and sparkling crystal, and a menu offering dishes such as lobster tart, roast quail, venison and steak.
GETTING THERE & AWAY
Goldline Express bus 238 from Belfast’s Europa BusCentre to Newry stops at Hillsborough (£3, 25 minutes, at least hourly Monday to Saturday, eight Sunday).
Banbridge & Around
Banbridge (Droíchead na Banna) is another handsome 18th-century town, whose fortunes were founded on the linen trade.
The tourist information office ( 4062 3322; tic@banbridge.gov.uk; 200 Newry Rd; 10am-5pm Mon-Sat & 1-5pm Sun Oct-May, to 6pm Jun-Sep) is in the new McWilliam Gallery on the southwest edge of town.
The town’s broad main drag, Bridge St, climbs a steep hill from the bridge across the River Bann (from which the town takes its name) to the unusual Downshire Bridge at the top of the hill. A cutting was made in the middle of the street in the 19th century to lower the crest of