The ruins of Armagh Friary , founded by the Franciscans in 1263 , lie just of the appropriately named “Friary Road” , near the grounds of the old Archbishop’s Palace.

There is also the Palace Stables Heritage Centre which has interesting exhibits depicting the 1770’s period.

This can allbe accessed on our extended Belfast tours if you are in a local hotel or visiting on a cruise ship.

Armagh as a destination can be built into our tours of Ireland by request.

We are here to create tours of Ireland that suit your tastes and requirements.

The village is built around an abbey founded in 1193 by Affreca. She was the daughter of Godred , King of Man , and the wife of John De Courcey. It was founded as a thanksgiving for having made a safe sea crossing during a terrible storm.

The setting of the abbey is barely disturbed and reasonably complete. Its a great place to sit and take in the amazing history of Ireland. It really is beautiful.

The abbey shows Gothic features when Romanesque building was work was still common.

The village itself has a few great antique shops for those quality momentos to remember tours of Ireland.

It is accessible on our extended Belfast tours from your hotel , or cruise ship visiting Belfast

Its main street has a chintzy , middle English ambience re-inforced by a sprinkling of tea rooms and Antique shops. There are also some great pubs and restaurants , such as “the Plough”

You get the best of Hillsborough by folowing a route that starts from the war memorial and heads up the magnificent approach to the eighteenth century Gothic parish church.

There is also an elegant but ruined fort in Hillsborough which was constructed in 1650.

There is Hillsborough lake which is stocked with brown and rainbow trout…simply magnificent.

Perhaps the best known building is Hillsborough Castle , which is a mansion dating from 1797 , which is used to house visiting diplomats and royalty.

Hillsborough can be reached on our extended Belfast tours even from the cruise ships.

But on tours of Ireland it can be included while travelling between Belfast and Dublin.

Just down the bay itself , a walking path leads east to Grey Point Fort , positioned to command the mouth of Belfast Lough , along with its sister fort at Kilroot on the other side. 

The fort has what you’d expect by way of quarters and stores , as well as an impressive battery of gun emplacements , ready to challenge the shipping that entered the lough during the two world wars.

It sits in a lovely forested area with a neat little beach nearby.

In the little village of Crawfordsburn is the thatched Crawfordsburn Inn which is lovely to stay in and great for lunch.

These areas are accessible on our extended Belgast tours if you are visiting on a cruise ship , and nice to take in on tours of Ireland.

This is a real hidden gem on Ireland tours.

The chuch is the chief burial place of  the MacDonnells , which originally dates from the thirteenth century. In fact the local historical society has published a catalogue of the gravestones in the church. This in itself is an interesting read.

Nearby is Ossian’s Grave which despite the mixture of legends is actually a Neolithic Court Grave !! The view itself will enhance any tous of Ireland.

Sights such as these on the Nort Coast can be seen on our extended Belfast tours from hotels and visiting cruise ships.

This was a delightful party of people from a cruise ship that visited Belfast and took one of our extended Belfast tours.