Bangor (Northern Ireland) Voyage Tips and guide

Bangor is a town on the south shore of Belfast Lough, in County Down. It was a holiday resort from the mid-19th to the mid-20th century but is now chiefly a commuter town for Belfast. In 2021 it had a population of 64,000.

Bangor in Irish is Beannchor, a horned or peaked curve, referring to the shape of its bay. In the 6th and 7th centuries its monastery rivalled Armagh as the religious and cultural centre of Ireland, but Viking raids finished it off, and its Norman revival under St Malachy was never so important. It remained a small place until the Ulster Plantations of the 17th century, when it grew as a port. Over the next 200 years a major linen industry developed across Ireland, however Bangor's speciality was cotton, with steam-driven mills lining the sea front. But as the scale of production processes grew, Bangor couldn't compete with the Lancashire mill towns and this industry faded. The railway arrived in 1865 and the town morphed into a seaside resort and commuter town for Belfast, acquiring its Victorian architecture.

It remained a tourist resort into the 1960s, but its cool climate and bracing sea temperatures were no match for the Med. "The Troubles" then set in: there were murderous bomb attacks in Bangor but the town escaped more lightly than most, though it suffered from the blight that descended on Belfast. Conversely, it benefited from the revival following the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. The six counties of Northern Ireland are no longer units of governance; since 2015 Bangor has been the administrative centre of Ards and North Down Borough, so local government is a significant local employer.

Visitor information is based in the old market house at 77 Main St, open M-Sa 9:30AM-5PM.

54°39′36″N 5°40′12″W

Map of Bangor (Northern Ireland)

Most long-distance routes are via Belfast. One exception is George Best City Airport: you walk or take the free shuttle bus to Sydenham station for the Bangor train, and don't travel via the city.

By road from Belfast follow A2.

Trains from Belfast Grand Central run every 20 min and take 40 min via City Hospital, Botanic (for Queen's University), Lanyon Place, Titanic, Sydenham (for City Airport), Holywood, Marino, Cultra (for Transport and Folk Museums), Seahill, Helen's Bay (for Crawfordsburn), Carnalea and Bangor West.

54.6585-5.67251 Bangor railway station is on Abbey St. It has a staffed ticket office and machines, and step-free access to the platforms.

Ulsterbus 1 & 2 run from Belfast Laganside, taking 50 min via Lanyon Place, Holywood, Cultra, Kilcooley and Crawfordsburn; they don't serve Belfast Grand Central. They're hourly M-Sa but only four on Sunday. Bangor Buscentre is south side of the railway station.

A fast hydrofoil ferry from Belfast was due to start in autumn 2025 but didn't.

Bus 6 runs south past the Somme Museum to Newtownards. Change there for Bus 9 / 10 down the Ards Peninsula to Mount Stewart, Portaferry, and the ferry to Strangford.

Bus 3 runs hourly east along the coast to Donaghadee.

Taxi firms are Bangor Cabs (+44 28 9145 6456), Quik Cabs (+44 28 9127 1000) and Call-a-Cab (+44 28 9181 1111).

National Cycleway 93 / 99 runs from Bangor down the peninsula to Newtownards, Portaferry, Strangford, Downpatrick and Newcastle. It's all on-road. You can also cycle to Downpatrick by hugging the west bank of Strangford Lough.

• 54.6642-5.671391 Bangor Marina is the attractive centrepiece of town. It has 530 berths and is navigable at all tides with at least 2.2 m depth. If you're meeting someone in Bangor, the standard rendezvous is the McKee Clock, built 1915, at the foot of High Street.
• 54.6557-5.67472 Bangor Abbey, Newtownards Rd BT20 4JF, ☏ +44 28 9145 1087. Su 10:30AM-noon. This was founded by St Comgall in 558 AD, and became a great centre of scholarship until destroyed by the Vikings. Prayers and hymns were chanted non-stop. (One of its priors, St Mirin, founded the abbey in Paisley and gives his name to that town's football club.) The remarkable Antiphony of Bangor was written here in the 7th century, a collection of prayers, hymns and sacred readings: it was sent to Bobbio Abbey in the hills above Piacenza, and is now in the Ambrosian Museum in Milan. St Malachy rebuilt the abbey from 1121 but it was never so important as before. It passed to the Franciscans then the Dominicans until the dissolution. Only one wall has survived, incorporated into the later church, which is mostly from 17th century and is Church of Ireland (Anglican). Free. (updated Oct 2025)
• 54.6563-5.66923 North Down Museum (Bangor Castle), Town Hall BT20 4BT, ☏ +44 28 9127 1200. Tu-Sa 10AM-4PM, Su noon-4PM. The "castle" is a mansion built in 1852 in the grounds of the former abbey, which in the 1940s became the Town Hall. The museum displays local history and culture. To the south is attractive parkland and a walled garden. Free. (updated Oct 2025)
• 54.6763-5.74114 Grey Point Fort, Helen's Bay BT19 1PU. Sa Su 10AM-4PM. This battery was built 1904-07 to defend Belfast Lough; the guns were never fired in anger. The fort was disarmed in 1954 but in the 1990s similar guns were obtained from County Cork and re-mounted. There's now a small volunteer-run museum. Free. (updated Oct 2025)
• Crawfordsburn is an attractive little village west of Bangor, where the main attraction is The Old Inn, see Sleep. There's a beach, and a pleasant forested country park, bounded by an impressive railway viaduct. Trains stop nearby at Helen's Bay, while buses run through Crawfordsburn.
• 54.623-5.6945 Helen's Tower: see Newtownards for this Victorian Folly, approached by a woodland walk.
• 54.609-5.6816 Somme Museum: see Newtownards for this museum of World War I.
• 54.63-5.537 Donaghadee is a small port which in the 17th century became the main route to Great Britain as ships outgrew the channel and harbour at Belfast. It was popular with couples eloping to Scotland in the 18th century, when Ireland had the same restrictive marriage laws as England: you could sail to Portpatrick, get hitched, and return to Ireland same day. The town acquired its fine harbour and lighthouse in the 19th century, and the Moat or Motte was built as a mock-castle to store explosives used in constructing the harbour.
• 54.675-5.5298 Copeland Islands were inhabited until their lighthouses were automated. They're now a birdlife reserve, reached by boat trips from Donaghadee.

• Beaches: closest is Ballyholme, a long sandy expanse east edge of town. Others are Helen's Bay and Crawfordsburn.
• Pickie Funpark, Marine Gardens BT20 5AG, ☏ +44 28 9145 0746. Amusement park for younger children, no white-knuckle rides. Genteel attractions are the miniature railway, adventure playgrounds, paddling pool and swan-shaped pedalos. Adult or child £15. (updated Oct 2025)
• Omniplex Cinema is east side of Castle Park on Valentine Rd.
• Golf: Bangor GC is east side of town on Broadway. White tees 6423 yards, par 71.
• The Coastal Path stretches west to Holywood and east to Orlock. From Bangor marina:

- west: pass Pickie Funpark, Jenny Watt's Cove, Smelt Mill Bay (for Strickland Glen), Carnalea (trains), Crawfordsburn (for beach, Old Inn and country park), Helen's Bay, Grey Point Fort, Royal Belfast Golf Club, Cultra (museums, trains) and so to Holywood.

- east: to Ballyholme Bay, Ballymacormick Point and Groomsport to Orlock Point where you join the main road. You can follow it into Donaghadee or catch a bus back to Bangor.

• Football: Bangor FC play soccer in the NIFL Championship, Northern Ireland's second tier. Their home ground Clandeboyne Park (capacity 1900) is a mile southwest of town centre.
• Aurora Leisure Complex on Castle Park only has memberships of 12 months, no walk-up facilities.

• Asda is at 89 Main St near the station. It's open M-Sa 8AM-10PM, Su 1-6PM and has fuel.
• Edge of town on the ring road are Springhill Retail Park to the west, and Bloomfields to the south.

• Wolsey's, 26 High St BT20 5AY, ☏ +44 28 9146 0495. M-Sa 11:30AM-1AM, Su 12:30PM-midnight. Hearty pub grub in a lively restaurant and bar. (updated Oct 2025)
• The Nines (formerly Salty Dog), 10 Seacliff Rd BT20 5EY, ☏ +44 28 9127 0696. Food daily 7AM-10PM. Dog-friendly hotel and restaurant east side of marina. Cuisine is a mix of traditional Irish and modern. B&B double £100. (updated Oct 2025)
• Jamaica Inn, 188 Seacliff Rd BT20 5HA, ☏ +44 28 9147 1610. M-Sa noon-1AM, Su noon-midnight. Good seafood at this beachfront cafe, dog-friendly. (updated Oct 2025)
• Tom's Dining Rooms, 7 Hamilton St BT20 4JP, ☏ +44 28 9146 1529. M, Th-Sa noon-0PM, Su 1-7PM. American-style diner, cuisine is nominally New Orleans but with all the US favourites. (updated Oct 2025)
• Star of Bengal, 108 Abbey St BT20 4JB, ☏ +44 28 9146 3271. Daily 5-11PM. Reliable Indian restaurant and takeaway next to the Abbey. Unlicensed so BYOB, no corkage charge. (updated Oct 2025)
• Bokhara, 2A King St BT20 3AH, ☏ +44 28 9145 2439. Daily 3-11PM. Popular Indian restaurant with all the standard offerings. All food is halal. (updated Oct 2025)
• Donegans, 37 High St BT20 5BE, ☏ +44 28 9146 3928. W-Sa 11:30AM-1AM, Su 12:30-7:30PM. Irish restaurant with trad offerings. (updated Oct 2025)
• Coq & Bull, 10 Estate Rd (at Clandeboye Lodge), ☏ +44 28 9185 2500, [email protected]. Daily noon-9:30PM. Good honest food. (updated Oct 2025)

• Jenny Watts, 41 High St BT20 5BE, ☏ +44 28 9127 0401. M-Sa noon-1AM, Su 12:30PM-midnight. Bangor's oldest pub, established 1780. Downstairs is traditional décor and occasionally live music, with a small beer garden to the rear. Upstairs is a modern lounge with a dance floor and cocktails. (updated Oct 2025)
• Hop House is at 44 High St opposite Jenny Watts.
• Fealty's, 35 High St BT20 5BE, ☏ +44 28 9146 0088. Su M 2-7PM, Tu-Th 2-11PM, F Sa noon-1midnight. Highly regarded trad pub with classic and modern beers. (updated Oct 2025)
• The Grand Social is at 17 High St.
• Rose & Chandlers is at 2 High St.
• King's Quay is at 11 King St.
• Imperial Bar is at 4 Central Ave.
• Ava Winebar is at 132 Main St by the station.
• Distilleries: Copeland in Donaghadee makes whisky, rum and gin; and Echlinville Distillery, 10 miles south of Newtownards, produces whiskey and gin. Both offer tours.

• 54.6612-5.67481 Ennislare House, 7 Princetown Road BT20 3TA, ☏ +44 7759 168577. Smart welcoming B&B in a Victorian house with 10 rooms en suite. B&B double £90. (updated Oct 2025)
• Shelleven House is a B&B 100 yards north of Ennislare House, at 61 Princetown Rd.
• Astala Lodge is a B&B by the marina at 46 Queen's Parade.
• Loughview is a B&B northeast end of the marina at 20 Seacliff Rd.
• Marine Court Hotel, 24 Quay Street BT20 5ED. This now houses refugees. (updated Oct 2025)
• 54.6581-5.66822 Premier Inn, Castle Ave BT20 4TH, ☏ +44 871 527 8000. Reliable budget chain hotel near the railway station. B&B double £65. (updated Oct 2025)
• 54.6653-5.65383 Cairn Bay Lodge, 278 Seacliff Rd BT20 5HS, ☏ +44 7889 598721. Quirky comfy B&B in Edwardian villa, with five rooms en suite and cafe. B&B double £180. (updated Oct 2025)
• 54.6355-5.71994 Clandeboye Lodge, 10 Estate Road BT19 1UR, ☏ +44 28 9185 2500, [email protected]. 4-star hotel in extensive grounds, comfy and good service. Helen's Tower is a mile south. B&B double £160. (updated Oct 2025)
• 54.6588-5.72875 The Old Inn, 15 Main St, Crawfordsburn BT19 1JH, ☏ +44 28 9185 3255. Atmospheric coaching inn dating from 1614. It was where the stagecoach from Belfast changed horses on the way to Donaghadee ferry port, so many famous periwigged or petticoated gentry broke their journey here, including Peter the Great of Russia, Charles Dickens, and George H Bush. It gets great reviews for room comfort and dining. Assistance dogs only. B&B double £260. (updated Oct 2025)

Usual advice about road safety, care of valuables, and avoiding antisocial drunks around the pubs.

As of Oct 2025, Bangor and its approach roads have 4G from EE, Three and Vodafone, and 5G from O2.

• Belfast is only 40 min by train, but deserves several days to explore.
• Holywood has the Ulster Folk Museum and Transport Museum side by side. By bus or train, get off at Cultra.
• Newtownards has the lavish house and gardens of Mount Stewart. Continue down the Ards peninsula to Portaferry, which has a car ferry to Strangford.