STRANGFORD LOUGH
Quaint anchorages, memorable wildlife and a warm welcome await visitors to Strangford Lough, Brian Black reveals the pick of his home cruising ground
Explore Northern Ireland’s hidden world of islands and anchorages with Brian Black
With its quiet W anchorages, historic sites, stunning scenery and endearing wildlife, Strangford Lough is undoubtedly one of the most sheltered cruising grounds in Northern Ireland. I might be biased, as I live opposite Angus Rock and keep my Seastream 34, Pavane, nearby, but the fact is that each year after a long cruise when I turn into the Narrows leading to the lough itself, I wonder why I ever left there to go voyaging in the first place.
For first-time visitors, getting into Strangford Lough might seem a challenge, but it is well worth it to explore the 58 square miles of inland waterway.
The first marker for the approach to Strangford Lough is The Whistler, the landfall buoy off the County Down coast, followed one mile to landward by the Bar Pladdy, known as Bar Buoy. Leave that to starboard and, assuming you’ve got the tidal calculations right, you will soon be sailing, possibly at a surprising speed, into a place of such beauty and tranquility that you will be open-mouthed with delight. The tides in the Strangford Narrows can run up to 6 knots at springs, with an irregular seabed that produces some impressive ‘swirlies’, in particular the Routen Wheel. If your timing is less than perfect then you may find yourself going nowhere, or even backwards, for a while.
You will pass several markers on the way in – Dogtail Point and Gowlands to starboard, the Salt Rock beacon to port. Tides permitting, you should have a fairly easy approach to either Strangford village, with visitors’ moorings and a small yacht pontoon on your port bow, or Portaferry, with a larger marina directly opposite. Again, you need to be
alert as you approach either port, for the tide could sweep you past very quickly and there are swirls, back-eddies and unexpected slack areas, plus a ferry plying between the two every 15 minutes. Locals find it wise to keep engines in gear and have warps and fenders already made up.
Strangford, with its rows of stone cottages and quaint, sheltered harbour with a visitors’ pontoon, is a good base for those wanting to travel inland to explore the National Trust property at Castle Ward, with its miles of parkland. It is perhaps better known as the location of the ancestral castle Winterfell, from the TV series Game of Thrones.
Across the Narrows is Portaferry, linked to Strangford by a ferry that runs every half hour, with its award-winning Exploris aquarium, a must for children of all ages.
A NEW WORLD
For me, the real beauty is to be found once you leave the Narrows and enter Strangford Lough itself. Here, a wonderful new world opens up: much less tidal, mostly well sheltered and an internationally renowned nature reserve where bird life abounds, seals haul out to watch you pass and every tack reveals a new scenic delight.
Just round from Strangford village you can get a real sense of the area’s history. On a recent cruise we picked up a mooring beneath the stark brooding presence of Audley’s Castle, which gave its name to the anchorage in Audley’s Roads. The castle was established back in the 12th Century by Norman adventurer John de Courcy, and makes for a stunning backdrop to your first night. You need to check with Strangford Sailing Club if a mooring is available, or alternatively you can always anchor at the approach to the bay in mud. Just round the corner is the Slaney River, reputedly the spot where St Patrick landed when he returned to Ireland to drive out the snakes, though not reachable by yacht. The many islands in the lough were created as the glaciers of the last Ice Age retreated leaving behind regular rounded hills known as drumlins with the local name ‘basket of eggs’.
Bird life abounds, seals haul out to watch you pass and every tack reveals a new scenic delight
We were up early the next morning to start our navigation into the inner reaches of the lough, which requires caution and care. It abounds with pladdies (skerries or reefs) and not all are marked with poles so if you have doubts about your pilotage skills it’s best to progress carefully on a rising tide. All the hazards are clearly marked on charts and plotters and there are navigation beacons lit at night to guide you into the main anchorages.
The tortuous channel up to Quoile Yacht Club requires careful pilotage. It is important to stay in the navigable water clearly marked on your chartplotter: any digression could have you on the mud. With a backdrop of the Mourne Mountains, this makes for a picture-perfect lunch spot on board. After that it was back down the channel, where we enjoyed the scenery as we sailed on towards Killyleagh. Before long, the turrets of its stunning 17th Century plantation castle broke the skyline, and tempting though it was to linger, we pushed on towards East Down Yacht Club. Like the other clubs in the lough, its friendly and informal members soon sorted a temporary mooring for us.
TALES AND TERNS
An alternative is to anchor off the nearby Dunnyneil, a small, almost conical island with a big history, especially in folklore. It was thought that an Irish chieftain, Niall, held his nine hostages there. Archaeological evidence suggests Dunnyneil was a trading centre in medieval times for goods from as far away as Russia and Iceland. As well as its historical importance, the island is also a vital nesting site for terns. Obey the warning signs about disturbance and take great care if going ashore during the bird-nesting season between March and August.
Around the corner Ringhaddy Sound is crowded with moored boats but it was well worth the effort of threading our way through to get to Whiterock Bay, the home of Strangford Lough Yacht Club, and just a short dinghy trip from the family-run watering hole known as Daft Eddy’s, which offers fresh fish and seafood as well as fine panoramic views across the lough.
The next morning we chose to ride the rising tide through the channel to Ballydorn and the lightship Petrel, which once marked the dangers close to Skullmartin off the County Down coast and some of the main sandbanks off County Wexford. It is now the headquarters of Down Cruising Club and, after finding a space on the pontoon alongside, we made our way to the club’s bar, for a warm and friendly welcome with plenty of craic.
Strangford Lough has a multitude of varied sights and experiences to offer, certainly more than you can absorb in just one long weekend. My best advice is don’t rush it and come back for more.
You will soon be sailing into a place of such beauty and tranquility that you will be open-mouthed with delight