Exploring in Bangor

Yesterday promised to have sun for most of the day.  So the kids and I caught the train to Bangor.  We have spent a day there before but only by the water.  We had missed a few historical sites.  This time I was determined to see something new before we hung out in the water.

Our first stop was the Bangor Castle.  Now, one of the Irish boys Steve works with has said, the Belfast Castle is not a castle it is a hotel.  He has a point they use it for weddings and other gatherings.  It does look like a castle though.  I am sure he would have something to say about the Bangor Castle.  "Completed in 1852 for the Hon. Robert Edward Ward, this imposing mansion in the Elizabethan-Jacobean revival style had no fewer than 35 bedrooms and incorporated a huge salon for musical recitals."    It is now home to the Bangor City Council.

Bangor Castle

From the Castle we walked through the forested yards to the Bangor Castle Walled Garden.  It was beautiful.  There is a profusion of flowers and a whole section of garden vegetables.  The fountain at the center was so neat.  Built in the 1840's by the Ward family.  The garden supplied flowers and food for the Big House.  After WWI the garden fell into disrepair as the family focused on their London properties.  In 1941 the city of Bangor bought the house and gardens for 35,000 pounds.  In 2005 restoration started on the gardens.

fountain

gardens

vegetable and fruit section

tree in the yard

Sarah, Samuel and Sabrina

The North Down Museum is housed in the old stables of the Bangor Castle.  It is a small museum but very well set up.  It covers the history of Bangor from the early Christian Monks to its development as a sea side town.

BC 500 Ballycroghan Swords
AD 55 Caesar invades Britain
   432 St Patrick arrives in Co. Down
   450 Romans leave Britain
   558 Bangor Abby founded
   810 Vikings raid Bangor
   1178 Carrickfergus Castle begun  
   1189 world event - Third Crusade
   1210 King John passes through Holywood, on the out skirts of Belfast
   1605 James Hamilton's Scots settle
   1789 world event - French Revolution
   1865 Railway reaches Bangor
   1987 Bangor sea front is developed

Early Christian settlement

monastery bell

Monks Cell

Viking village built on the bogs and walled for protection

Vikings, Samuel and Sabrina

   Next we headed to the Bangor Abbey.  The inside was not open, that was disappointing.  The Abbey was raided several times by the Vikings and fell into disrepair until the 12th century when it was partialy restored by Saint Malachy.  The main body of the Abbey dates to 1830's and 1840's but the tower is from the 15th century.

Bangor Abbey

After so much history it was time for some water.  We had lunch and then the kids floated on the Pickie Swans.

Samuel, Sabrina and Sarah

We then started on the Coastal Path a walkway that connects Bangor to Helen's Bay and Grey Point.  We walked about 3 miles to Grey Point and caught the train home.  The walkway has some sandy beaches so the walk took 5 1/2 hrs.  The kids loved the water and sand.  We brought home several more shells and a dead crab, ick.