The best cycling routes around Drumhirk

Here, in the middle of the city, the characters from The Chronicles of Narnia come to life in the form of impressive bronze sculptures. As a cyclist, you pass right by the square and can pause for a moment to immerse yourself in this fantastic world. The sculptures of Aslan, the mighty lion, and the White Witch's throne in particular attract attention. The details of the figures are impressive and give the characters a special presence. The square is not only a place for literature lovers, but also an interesting work of art in the open air - a change from the usual sights. CS Lewis, the famous writer and son of the city, is omnipresent here and also makes this place a small piece of Belfast history.

Nendrum Monastery was a Christian monastery founded in the 5th century. The monastery finished somewhere between 974 and 1178, but the church survived until the 15th century. You can visit the ruins if you're riding past.

A pathway along the lake allows for closer inspection of the birds. For example, swans, mallards, little grebe, moorhens, and coots are usually present. There is an observation area to view the birds and other wildlife. Parking is available. In July 2000, Kiltonga Nature Reserve became the first site in the UK to be awarded BT Millennium Miles status.

Always worth the ascent. If only for the view towards Sliev Croob and the Mournes. Beautiful patch work of swollen hills, cut by colourful fields, that meander all the way to the shore of Strangford Lough below. There are several interesting woodland gravel trails in the woods, connecting to Scrabo, and Ards. Twilight is magic up here. Smooth tarmac Decent down to Ards via Scrabo Road is a joy, with the tower on your left, and the sprawling Lough, and Newtownards to your right.

This is the best example in Northern Ireland of a pre Norman ecclesiastical enclosure with its buildings. Nendrum is associated with St Mochaoi who died at the end of the 5th century, and is linked with St Patrick in a much later source. Notices of Nendrum clergy, including three bishops, begin in the 7th century and the excavation of a sophisticated tide mill on the shore near the site has shown that the mill was active in the early 7th century, which underlines the early importance of Nendrum. References continue until a fire in 976, perhaps a Viking raid, when the head of the church (erenagh) was burned in his house. In the late 12th century a small Benedictine monastic cell was founded on the site, but by 1302–1306 this was the parish church, abandoned for Tullynakill on the mainland in the 15th century. H.C. Lawlor excavated the site from 1922 to 1924, when enclosure walls, church and round tower were restored. The glacial hill is crowned with three concentric walled enclosures, irregularly oval in plan. Little is known of the outer cashel, only partly in state care. In the middle cashel on the south-west side are circular platforms for huts, which excavation suggested were craft workshops, and a rectangular building known as the ‘schoolhouse’, also a workshop. In the inner cashel were the most important buildings, including the church with its graveyard and the base of a round tower north-west of the church. The west wall of the church was rebuilt in the 1920s, incorporating a reconstructed sundial at the south-west corner. Finds from the 1920s excavation, including the well-known bell of Nendrum, are in the Ulster Museum and Down Museum at Downpatrick. Underwater archaeological work in the 1990s showed that there is a stone jetty south-east of the enclosure, now inundated in the lough, and medieval pottery was found close by. ( source: department of communities )

There is a decent sized network of Woodland Gravel trails in Killynether that connect to the old Quarry Path, and Scrabo Tower.

Love spending time here. There is a park bench to the far east corner, and to the left of that hosts one of the best views of the Lough. When tides out you can see traces of the old Salmon fisheries. Its so quiet, and there is a picnic area just to the side of the visitors centre. The site also boasts fragments of an early Sun Dial that have been placed by the entrance to the Church.

Picturesque rolling trail through Barley fields, and vistas of the beautiful Strangford Lough always present. Hosts great views of Scrabo Tower in the distance, and if you catch this trail at twilight on a clear summers eve, you will be rewarded with such magnificent colours. Strangford Lough is also a designated 'Dark Skies' area for you star gazers.