Castle Ward - National Trust

National Trust properties come in all shapes and sizes from sprawling stately homes to wide open moorlands. Castle Ward fits nicely into the mould with its extensive parkland and compact but attractive house. Actually what's nice about the house is that there's plenty to see but the ten or so rooms won't take all day. It's definitely worth looking inside though as the rooms are nicely decorated and contain some interesting family history. Outside the grounds are lovely in the sunshine with views down to the lough. There are many paths to enjoy and it's worth heading down towards the farm. If you're lucky the watermill will be running which is always fun. All in all then Castle Ward has something for everyone. It's a great entry into the National Trust handbook.

Castle Ward is a fabulous day out for the family. In addition to the house tour with its splendid architecture and story, the grounds and walks are lovely. Enjoy the stable square for coffee and bites to eat.

Castle Ward offers a fascinating look at the opulent lifestyle of Ireland’s upper class over the past few centuries. While the beautifully preserved upstairs rooms give a strong sense of grandeur, I found myself wishing we could also explore the downstairs quarters, where the servants and working staff once lived and labored. Unfortunately, that part of the estate is currently closed to visitors. The true highlight of the visit was the volunteers. Warm, knowledgeable, and passionate, they bring the history of Castle Ward to life—and often without the recognition they deserve. If you visit, take a moment to thank them. They do this out of genuine love for the place, and it shows.

Castle Ward is a great National Trust property by Strangford Lough. The grounds weave around the Lough edge, the house is very unique with it's two very different facades. Well worth popping into the house, walking around the stable courtyard and then visiting the Game of Thrones filming location by the waters edge.

The day we visited there was a medieval event on. Some great things for kids. The house was lovely to see and the staff were really helpful and knowledgeable. The courtyard cafe, bookshop and gift shop were all great too. Lots to see and do, a great day out.

Great National Trust place to visit lots of really great walks and a good cafe.

The best playgrounds, beautiful landscapes, tour the big house or just have a picnic. Visit the GoT scenes and have a go at archery or sculpting. Makes the national trust subscription worthwhile.

Lots of trails to follow around this estate. We just done the 3km one as we'd got there later in the day. Beautiful view across Strangford lough over to Portaferry. Easy trail, mainly flat. Would return again. As its a National Trust property you have to pay to get in and it's per person not per car the way it used to be so maybe an expensive day for families

We came to see the 'Game of Thrones' film set for 'Winterfell' located on the beautiful Castle Ward estate along the sea in Northern Ireland... Castle Ward is an 18th-century National Trust property located near the village of Strangford, in County Down, Northern Ireland. It's open to the public and includes 820 acres of landscaped gardens! a fortified tower house, Victorian laundry, theatre, restaurant, shop, saw mill and a working corn mill. It has a shore on Strangford Lough... and we even 'glamped' in their forest there overnight by the shore via their Caravan Park! (Go check out all the fun you can have these days with GOT & Outlander film sets in the UK!)

Such a breathtaking location just 2 hours north of Dublin. Castle is beautiful and full of history. This was one of the game of throne locations where Winterfell was filmed. People can walk around, explore and/or do the other activities offered such as archery. I highly recommend people to visit this place. I crossed this off my bucket list!!!

A truly lovely area. My wife and I stopped here along our path to the northern coast. Of course, the reason for the stop was because this is the filming location for Winterfell in Game of Thrones! Having been there, I wish that we had reserved more time for this visit. The grounds are beautiful and there was so much more to see, but we didn't have time. Check it out for yourself! Have fun!

Awesome location! You can stroll around the grounds and use different trails. The tour of the mansion with Barbara was just delightful and never boring. Often, when you take tours of this kind, your mind starts to wander after a while but this didn't happen here at all. Barbara told the stories and anecdotes of the house and family in a very funny and entertaining way. The mansion with it's two different styles is just unbelievable and definitely worth a tour. The Coach House is just lovely and cosy and we enjoyed a huge pot of tea with the homemade scones with cream and jam, which are all delicious. On the other hand: we came to this spot because it was mentioned as a filming location for Game of Thrones. At the entrance we were given a map of the grounds and shown, where the filming locations are and got the same information at the desk, where we got our tickets for the tour of the mansion. However, there is no free infomration about the castle being a film set. Of course you can book extra tours and do some archery but I think they're rather overpriced. Considering that they can now advertise being a filming location and, due to this, probably will get more visitors which pay the regular entrance fee as well, it would not be too much to ask for a leaflet with more information or some displayed signs.

I went to Castleward for the first time last weekend and it was lovely. It's not very far from Strangford Lough, so you can sit on the grass outside the house and just take in the most beautiful view of the water and the green around it. Beyond that, Castleward itself is a beautiful building that will please anyone with even a passing interest in history. If that's not your thing, there are several routes around the grounds that you can walk (they're miles and miles long though, so wear the right shoes!). We were lucky that we got the most beautiful day for it, but Castle Ward is definitely a place I'll be visiting again.

The front desk staff for the Winterfell Tours were incredibly rude. Ruined the whole experience for our group. Great tour guide, though!

Another property managed by the national trust. It's a strange property with a mixture of architectual styles. It's overlooking Strangford Lough and has some nice woodland walks closeby. They had advertised a market when we visited, which wasn't there. Maybe they had changed the dates. I would recommend checking their website first or giving them a call.

We had a lovely family day out here recently, though we were disappointed to have missed the tour of the house. We got there bang on the button but it had already left, I guess because it was full. We couldn't wait an hour for the next one as we had small kids with us, so we'll just have to go back. I'm only giving it 4 stars instead of 5 because the cafe was just appalling. The food was overpriced and barely edible, and the coffee was just rank. Next time, we'll bring our own food.