The two-faced mansion
Classical on one side, Gothic on the other, and the split carries on through the rooms inside.
A married couple who could not agree on what their house should look like, so it got two faces: a sober classical front with columns towards the drive, and a Gothic one with pointed windows towards the water. That is Castle Ward's mansion, built between 1762 and 1772. Bernard Ward, later Lord Bangor, wanted classical Palladian, his wife Anne wanted Gothic, each got half, and the marriage did not long survive the building. The split runs right through the interior too, so you step from a restrained hall into a room whose ceiling billows like a cathedral vault. The 'castle' is not a fortress but a sprawling National Trust estate of roughly 820 acres on the shore of Strangford Lough, a tidal sea lough. It holds an early 17th-century tower house, a Victorian laundry kept as it was, a working corn mill, formal gardens and a web of shoreline walking and cycling trails, most of them fine with a pushchair. The old stone farmyard down by the water stood in for Winterfell in the first season of Game of Thrones, and that is what pulls in a large share of visitors. Be honest with yourself, though: the Winterfell yard is a small farm courtyard, and anyone who has not watched the series will walk through it in three minutes. The archery, costume and cycle-to-the-locations experiences are run by an independent operator inside the estate, priced separately from admission and best booked ahead in summer. What justifies the hour's drive from Belfast is the whole package: the lough, the woods, the two-faced house, and children running in open space that seems to have no edge. Adult admission is £15, a family ticket for two adults and up to three children £37.50, bought at reception on arrival with no need to book. The price drops to £12 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays only while the house is closed, chiefly November to March. The grounds open daily 10:00-17:00 all year; the mansion opens seasonally from spring to autumn (guided tours noon to 16:00 on weekdays, free-flow 11:00-16:00 at weekends, closed Tuesdays) and shuts from November to March. Winter walks are still possible but daylight is short and the paths muddy. Realistically you come by car: around 50 km and an hour from Belfast via Downpatrick, with parking inside the estate. There is no direct bus from Belfast; take the bus to Downpatrick and change to the local Strangford bus, which stops at the estate gates but runs infrequently, or take a taxi from Downpatrick.
Classical on one side, Gothic on the other, and the split carries on through the rooms inside.
The old farmyard where season one of Game of Thrones was filmed, small but instantly familiar to fans.
Shoreline walking and cycling paths between woods and water, good for families and pushchairs.
Strangford, Downpatrick, County Down BT30 7BA
Yes, but for a different reason: the estate, the lough and the two-faced house are the real pleasure, while the Winterfell yard is a small courtyard you finish in minutes. If you have only one day out of Belfast, the north coast and the Giant's Causeway deserve it more.
The grounds and trails take pushchairs, the old farmyard has a play area and animals, and there is a tea-room in the stableyard. But the visit is almost entirely outdoors; in steady rain, save it for a clear day or stick to the house if it is open.