Ireland (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Fionn Davenport [545]
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GUITAR MAKER TO THE GREATS
Belfast-born George Lowden has been creating guitars in Northern Ireland since the 1970s, and his hand-built instruments have gained a worldwide reputation for excellence – satisfied Lowden owners include Eric Clapton, Van Morrison, Richard Thompson, Mark Knopfler and the Edge. If you’re interested in buying one, you can get a tour of the workshop at Lowden Guitars ( 4461 9161; www.georgelowden.com; 34 Down Business Park, Belfast Rd, Downpatrick; by prior arrangement Mon-Fri). However, be prepared to shell out upwards of £4000.
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Getting There & Away
Downpatrick is 32km southeast of Belfast. Buses 15, 15A and 515 depart from the Europa BusCentre in Belfast for Downpatrick (£5, one hour, at least hourly Monday to Saturday, six Sunday). There’s also the Goldline Express bus 215 (50 minutes, hourly Monday to Saturday).
Goldline Express bus 240 runs from Downpatrick to Newry (£5, 1¼ hours, six daily Monday to Saturday, two Sunday) via Dundrum, Newcastle, Castlewellan and Hilltown.
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AROUND DOWNPATRICK
According to popular tradition, the young St Patrick was kidnapped from Britain by Irish pirates and spent six years as a slave tending sheep (possibly on Slemish, Click here) before escaping back home to his family. After religious training, he returned to Ireland to spread the faith and is said to have landed on the shores of Strangford Lough near Saul, northeast of Downpatrick. He preached his first sermon in a nearby barn, and eventually retired to Saul after some 30 years of evangelising.
Saul
On landing near this spot in AD 432, St Patrick made his first convert: Díchú, the local chieftain, gave the holy man a sheep barn (sabhal in Gaelic, pronounced sawl) in which to preach. West of Saul village is the supposed site of the sabhal, with a replica 10th-century church and round tower built in 1932 to mark the 1500th anniversary of his arrival.
East of the village is the small hill of Slieve Patrick (120m), with stations of the cross along the path to the top and a massive 10m-high statue of St Patrick, also dating from 1932, on the summit. The hill is the object of a popular pilgrimage on St Patrick’s Day.
Saul is 3km northeast of Downpatrick off the A2 Strangford road.
Struell Wells
These supposedly curative spring waters are traditionally associated with St Patrick – it is said he scourged himself here, spending ‘a great part of the night, stark naked and singing psalms’ immersed in what is now the Drinking Well. He must have been a hardy soul – the well-preserved but chilly 17th-century bathhouses here look more likely to induce ill health than cure it! The site has been venerated for centuries, although the buildings are all post-1600. Between the bathhouses and the ruined chapel stands the Eye Well, whose waters are said to cure eye ailments.
The wells are in a scenic, secluded glen 2km east of Downpatrick. Take the B1 road towards Ardglass, and turn left after passing the hospital.
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LECALE PENINSULA
The low-lying Lecale Peninsula is situated east of Downpatrick, isolated by the sea and Strangford Lough to the north, south and east, and the marshes of the Quoile and Blackstaff Rivers to the west. In Irish it’s called Leath Chathail (lay-ca-hal), meaning ‘the territory of Cathal’ (an 8th-century prince), and is a region of fertile farmland that is fringed by fishing harbours, rocky bluffs and sandy beaches.
Lecale is a place of pilgrimage for Van Morrison fans – Coney Island, immortalised in his song of the same name, is between Ardglass and Killough in the south of the peninsula.
Strangford
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The picturesque fishing village of Strangford (Baile Loch Cuan) is dominated by Strangford Castle ( 9181 1491; Castle St), a 16th-century tower house (not open to the public) that faces its