The Great Wars Trail

Across Ards and North Down Borough there are many historic sites from WW1 and WW2

In the global world wars, Ards and North Down played no small part, from preparations for the D-Day landing and POW camps to Air Force airstrips.

Many of these sites are open and available to the public, however some remain off the beaten track, are inaccessible as on private land so please check access permissions and terrain before visiting.

• Ballyhalbert Airfield – An RAF Fighter Command base.
• Ballyrolly Farm – A Safe Haven for children escaping the war.
• Ballywalter Airfield – An RAF airstrip and aircraft storage.
• Bangor Castle – A military hospital and home of a local Ulster Homeguard.
• Clandeboye Estate – A training ground for the 36th Ulster Division.
• Comber Square – A memorial with the names of 426 local men who served in the Great War.
• Conway Square – Memorial to Lieutenant Colonel Blair Mayne.
• Court Square – A memorial to the lives lost in a Luftwaffe bombing.
• Crawfordsburn Country Park – A Temporary US Army camp.
• Donaghadee War Memorial – A memorial to the 61 men from the Donaghadee and Millisle districts who fell in the Great War.
• Grey Point Fort – Home to two large guns defending the entrance to Belfast Lough.
• Helen’s Tower – A training ground for the 36th Ulster Division.
• Holocaust Memorial Garden Millisle – A memorial to the holocaust, from the town that acted as a Safe Haven for children escaping the war.
• Mount Stewart – A military hospital and HQ of the Royal Engineers.
• Newtownards Airfield – An RAF airfield home to 231 squadron.
• Redburn Square – A memorial statue to the men of Holywood and District who gave their lives in the Great War.
• Seahill Army and POW Camp - A Second World War POW camp and American Army base.
• Ward Park – A former public air raid shelter and current home of a German U-boat gun.

For more information

Contact Bangor Visitor Information Centre or Ards Visitor Information Centre.