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Donaghadee is about 18 miles from Belfast. On the Ards Peninsula and about five miles south east of Bangor

The town is probably best known for its lighthouse and harbour, there''s been a harbour at Donaghadee since at least the 17th century. The current harbour began life in 1821, the harbour was designed to be deep enough for the ships crossing of the Irish Sea to Portpatrick in south-west Scotland. The Moat in Donaghadee was built to house the explosives for this blasting. The harbour is now used mostly by pleasure craft but is also home to Donaghadee RNLI Lifeboat Station.
Grace Neills, in the centre of Donaghadee, is according to the Guinness Book of Records, Ireland''s oldest public house opened in 1611 as the ''King''s Arms''. It is fantastic pub with an amazing atmosphere though the food can be "variable" in quality. the town has grown considerably in recent years with commuters traveling to the greater Belfast area. Good local retail trade is boulstered by some excellent craft shops, art galleries and antique shops. I remember as a child stopping here often to paddle in the large harbour pools on good summer days where we also took the odd boat trip round the local coastline and still running today. Donaghadee is hardly the most happening place on the planet but then that is its charm.