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.
Strangford Lough is a large sea lough or inlet in County Down, in the east of Northern Ireland. It is the largest inlet in Ireland and the wider British Isles, covering 150 km (58 sq mi). The lough is almost fully enclosed by the Ards Peninsula and is linked to the Irish Sea by a long narrow channel at its southeastern edge. The main body of the lough has at least seventy islands along with many islets (pladdies), bays, coves, headlands and mudflats. It is part of the Strangford and Lecale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Strangford Lough was designated as Northern Ireland's first Marine Conservation Zone in 2013, and has been designated a Special Area of Conservation for its important wildlife.
Strangford Lough is a popular tourist destination noted for its fishing and scenery. Towns and villages around the lough include Killyleagh, Comber, Newtownards, Portaferry and Strangford. The latter two straddle either shore of the narrow Strangford channel, and are connected by a car ferry.
Lecale (leh-KAHL, from Irish Leath Cathail 'Cathal's half') is a peninsula in the east of County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies between Strangford Lough and Dundrum Bay. In the Middle Ages it was a district or túath in the Gaelic Irish kingdom of Ulaid, then became a county in the Anglo-Norman Earldom of Ulster. Later it became a barony, which was split into Lecale Lower and Lecale Upper by 1851. Its largest settlement is the town of Downpatrick. Other settlements include Ardglass, Killough and Strangford. The peninsula has a high concentration of tower houses. Much of it is part of the 'Strangford and Lecale' Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
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. The town is located within the Barony of Ards Upper.
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. The town is also home to a research centre for Swedish tidal-kite developer Minesto. The lough is one of the world's most important marine sites with over 2,000 marine species.
The Portaferry–Strangford ferry service crosses Strangford Lough in Northern Ireland at its narrowest point, close to where the lough joins the Irish Sea. The ferry links the two disconnected sections of the A2 road, Muff to Portaferry and Strangford to Newry. There has been a ferry service between Portaferry and Strangford for four centuries without a break. The alternative road journey is 47 miles (76 km), while the ferry crosses the 0.6 nautical miles (0.69 mi; 1.1 km) in 8 minutes.
Down District Council was a Local Council in County Down in Northern Ireland. It merged with Newry and Mourne District Council in April 2015 under local government reorganisation in Northern Ireland to become Newry, Mourne and Down District Council.
The council was headquartered in Downpatrick. Other towns in the Council area were Ardglass, Ballynahinch, Castlewellan, Clough, Crossgar, Dundrum, Killough, Killyleagh, Newcastle, Saintfield, Seaforde and Strangford.