Portaferry Castle

Portaferry (from Irish Port an Pheire 'landing place of the ferry') is a small town in County Down, Northern Ireland, at the southern end of the Ards Peninsula, near the Narrows at the entrance to Strangford Lough. It is home to the Exploris aquarium and is well known for the annual Gala Week Float Parade. It hosts its own small Marina, the Portaferry Marina. The Portaferry – Strangford Ferry service operates daily at 30-minute intervals (7.45 am to 10.45 pm) between the villages of Portaferry and Strangford, less than 1500 metres apart, conveying about 500,000 passengers per annum. It had a population of 2,514 people in the 2011 Census.Pot fishing, mainly for prawns and crabs and licensed shellfish farming takes place within Strangford Lough. Queen's University of Belfast have a Marine Research Laboratory on the shorefront and currently the town is also home to a tidal energy research project the Minesto Sea Kite. The lough is one of the world's most important marine sites with over 2,000 marine species. There are fine Georgian buildings in the town square, including a Market House, now used as a community centre. Portaferry Lifeboat is an essential lifeline for local fishermen and yachtsmen. The Atlantic 75 is the fastest seagoing lifeboat in the RNLI's fleet and is capable of speeds up to 34 knots.

Portaferry Lifeboat Station is located directly opposite the slipway for the Portaferry–Strangford ferry on The Strand, in Portaferry, a town located at the southern end of the Ards Peninsula, at the entrance to Strangford Lough, in County Down, Northern Ireland. A lifeboat was first stationed at Portaferry in 1980 by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI). The station currently operates the B-class (Atlantic 85) Inshore lifeboat, Blue Peter V (B-833), on station since 2009.

Exploris is a public aquarium situated in Portaferry, Northern Ireland. The facility is the only public aquarium in Northern Ireland and it is located on the shores of the Marine Nature reserve of Strangford Lough, which is an important winter migration destination for many wading and sea birds. The lough is home to almost 75% of the marine species found in Northern Ireland, including common seals, basking sharks and brent geese. Three quarters of the world population of pale bellied brent geese spend winter in the lough area. Exploris illustrates and exhibits the large variety of animals that live in Strangford Lough.Exploris was closed in late 2014 for refurbishment. It reopened in August 2016 following an investment of close to £1.5m in refurbishment works by the operators, Crumlin Road Gaol Ltd., but also with the help of the Department of the Environment.

Portaferry Marina is situated in Portaferry, on the east shore of The Narrows (separating Portaferry and Strangford villages), the gateway to Strangford Lough, County Down, Northern Ireland. It is owned and managed by Portaferry Regeneration, is sited 100 metres south of the ferry slipway in Portaferry and can accommodate up to 50 boats. Some 12 berths are reserved purely for visitor use and there is on-site water and electricity. Portaferry village centre is two minutes from the marina. The marina pontoon is chain fixed and provides good shelter, although the current can reach up to 11 knots.

Strangford (from Old Norse Strangr fjörðr, meaning "strong sea-inlet") is a small village at the mouth of Strangford Lough, on the Lecale peninsula in County Down, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 475 at the 2001 Census. On the other side of the lough is Portaferry on the Ards Peninsula, and there is a ferry service between the two villages. The village has a small harbour, which is overlooked by rows of 19th-century cottages and a fine Georgian terrace.

SeaGen was the world's first large scale commercial tidal stream generator. It was four times more powerful than any other tidal stream generator in the world at the time of installation. It was decommissioned by SIMEC Atlantis Energy Limited in summer 2019, having exported 11.6GWh to the grid since 2008.The first SeaGen generator was installed in Strangford Narrows between Strangford and Portaferry in Northern Ireland. Strangford Lough was also the site of the first known tide mill in the world, the Nendrum Monastery mill where remains dating from 787 have been excavated.

Evopod is a unique tidal energy device being developed by a UK-based company Oceanflow Energy Ltd for generating electricity from tidal streams and ocean currents. It can operate in exposed deep water sites where severe wind and waves also make up the environment.

Portaferry GAC (Irish: Port An Pheire) is a GAA club in the east of County Down in the Ards Peninsula. It is one of three Senior Hurling Clubs in Down, the other two being Ballygalget GAA and Ballycran GAA.

Ballyhenry (from Irish Baile Héinrí 'Henry’s townland') is a rural townland in County Down, Northern Ireland. It has an area of 214.5 acres (0.868 km2). It is situated in the civil parish of Ardquin and the historic barony of Ards Upper, located 1.3 miles north-west of Portaferry. It lies within the Ards and North Down Borough Council.

Audley's Castle is a 15th-century castle located 1 mile (1.6 km) north-east of Strangford, County Down, Northern Ireland, on a rocky height overlooking Strangford Lough. It is a three-storey Tower house named after its 16th century owner, John Audley. Audley's Castle tower house and bawn is a State Care Historic Monument in the townland of Castleward, in Down District Council area, at grid ref: J5781 5058.There are thousands of small stone towers similar to Audley's Castle in the Irish countryside. They are one of the commonest of archaeological sites, which indicates these were not buildings put up for the higher aristocracy, but for lesser lords and gentry. Most were built in the late Middle Ages (roughly 1350–1550). Audley's was built towards the end of this period.

Ardquin is a civil parish and townland (of 190 acres) in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is situated in the historic barony of Ards Upper. It lies within the Ards and North Down Borough Council.

Castle Ward is an 18th-century National Trust property located near the village of Strangford, in County Down, Northern Ireland, in the townland of the same name. It overlooks Strangford Lough and is 7 miles from Downpatrick and 1.5 miles from Strangford. Castle Ward is open to the public and includes 332 hectares (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. From 1985 to 2010 it has also hosted Castleward Opera, an annual summer opera festival.