Shorelife Celebration at Mount Stewart

Saturday 5 October | 10am – 5pm
Mount Stewart, Newtownards

FREE admission for all

(Opening Times - House: 11am – last entry at 4pm | Shop: 10am – 4.45pm | Tea-Room: 10am-4.30pm | Trails: 10am – 5pm)

Part of the Shorelife Celebration.

Join us at National Trust Mount Stewart on Saturday 5 October, for a vibrant celebration of all that is wonderful about our shore. This free-entry event promises a day filled with fun activities, engaging talks and tours, live music, and delicious local food and drink.

Admission is free for all, members and non-members. No booking necessary. 
Explore the natural beauty of our shoreline while enjoying a variety of activities designed for all ages.

Event Highlights

•    Fun Activities: Enjoy plant and play gardening workshops and crafts and outdoor games. Keep an eye out for themed characters who will be exploring Mount Stewart, and listen to some storytelling - why not bring and old book and swap for another at the Book Nook?
•    Engaging Talks and Tours: Learn about the local wildlife, conservation efforts, and the history of Mount Stewart through guided tours and expert talks.
•    Live Music: Enjoy performances from local musicians throughout the day and quench your thirst at the pop-up bar.

• Ards CCE | 10:30 – 12:00 | Ards CCÉ Entertainment Group are a troupe of extremely talented traditional musicians and dancers from Bangor, County Down and includes many All Ireland Champions & Medallists. 
• Joseph JR Afrifa |12:30 – 2.30 | Junior can often be seen around NI playing live as part of his many groups, his expansive blend of musical projects explore genres from Funk to Heavy Metal.
• The Bilen Farren Classical Guitar Duo | 1:30 – 3:30 | Hailing from both Northern Ireland and Istanbul Turkey the Bilen Farren Guitar Duo play an exciting mix of instrumental Spanish, Latin American and popular classics.
• Matthew Malcolm | 3:00 – 5:00 | Based in Newtownards, and has been described by BBC Radio Ulster’s Across The Line as 'acoustic mastery.’ As a contemporary acoustic guitarist his music has a strong instrumental, melodic focus typified by alternative tunings with percussive elements.

•    Food and Drink: Pop up Bar - Horatio Todds | Tapitas - paella and tapas | The Griddle - burgers | Pizza Street - Pizzas and cones of chips | Hup Street Food - hot dogs, chicken wings and crepes.

Find the Butterflies

Find the butterflies hidden around the venue and claim a small prize from the Ards and North Down Borough Council Visitor Information Centre caravan, located beside the house. (Prizes are subject to availability).

Special Guests

•    Hear from representatives from the National Trust and local environmental organisations who will be sharing their insights and answering your questions. This is a unique opportunity to learn more about appreciating and protecting our beautiful shoreline.

Creative Peninsula Artists 

We welcome Creative Peninsula artists to the Shorelife Celebration. The Creative Peninsula is Northern Ireland's premier celebration of professional Art and Craft, find out more. These artists will showcase their works, and provide demonstrations and workshops for visitors to enjoy.

Jenni Robinson | Jenni’s studio work is created primarily from sketches made plein air in the coastal areas. At Mount Stewart watch Jenni as she sketches, working up an idea from blank page to various composition options, both of vistas and abstract crops found within the bigger drawings. 

Rosy Ennis | Rosy’s work is inspired by biodiversity and the views around our beautiful peninsula. Rosy will demonstrate how she creates relief prints, using dried materials and paper shapes. Images will be printed on paper and greetings cards. 

Craig Sands | Craig 20 years’ experience in green woodwork and has been a long-time member of the Green Woodwork Club. He will be working with unseasoned wood. You start with a fresh log and end up with something usable and beautiful. Craig Sands will be demonstrating how to split a log and get it ready to work on the pole lathe. You can see how he uses an axe, draw knife and shave horse and then the ancient technology of the foot powered lathe. 

Owen Crawford | Owen has been creating wooden sculptures for thirty-five years, he has worked with large totems, to tiny ornate jewels, from structural timbers to robust furniture. Creating alternative, useful repurposing to off-cuts and misshapes, drives his imagination. During Shorelife he will be carving a head from an off-cut of clearance timber from Movilla area in Newtownards.

Get creative, and close to nature

•    Enjoy free entertainment and creative activities for all ages, live music and a few surprises as you explore the stunning gardens, and lake walk and estate grounds. 

•   Kids can get creative at themed craft stations - make your very own kite or goose wings and take it home with you as a memento of the day. 

•    Mini beasts backpacks - borrow a mini beast backpack, perfect for budding wildlife explorers. Kids can use their very own magnifying bug collector and binoculars to take a closer look at all kinds of wildlife and bugs. 

•   Learn about native marine species with Exploris Aquarium's touch tank - a favourite for all ages!

Let’s celebrate the beauty and rich biodiversity of our stunning coastline. 

Make a break of it

Stay a while and take a break on our shores. Relax in the beauty of this place, offering everything from 5 star luxury to cosy guest houses or unique self-catering options, maybe camping and caravanning is more your thing, let us help you plan your perfect getaway. 

Find out more and Plan Your Trip to Ards and North Down.

Plan Your Trip to the Shorelife Celebration

The Shorelife Celebration takes place mainly outdoors and with Northern’s Ireland changeable weather please come prepared, raincoats and wellies advised. To make your day out as enjoyable as possible, please use this section to plan your trip.

Free Pre-bookable Event Shuttle Bus 

**Please note booking close at 3.30pm on Friday 4 October.**

Dundonald Park and Ride – Newtownards Bus Centre – Mount Stewart and Castle Espie. This service will run on a rotational service all day.

This is a hop on hop off bus for customers to enjoy both Mount Stewart and Castle Espie and the host of activities in both locations.

Parking 

Please note that parking at both sites is limited, and we strongly recommend using public transport to attend the event - public buses or via the free pre-bookable event buses.

For more information on bus routes and timetables please check the Translink website.

Mount Stewart Facilities and Accessibility Information

For information about the event site including accessibility and facilities click here. Further accessbiliy information is available at AccessAble.

Mount Stewart Mobility Scooter & Wheelchair Access Route - Gardens & Trails 

Accessible route map are available at Visitor Reception.

Recycling 

When disposing of rubbish please use the recycling stations when on-site, located at the front of the house. 

First Aid 

St John's Ambulance will be in attendance.

Dogs 

Dogs on leads permitted across the estate and there is an off-lead dog exercise area located next to our Shepherd's Hut. This is for Members and paying visitors and we ask that all dogs using this area are well behaved with good recall. Please note: assistance dogs only in house & indoor area of tearoom.

Toilet Facilities 

There are a number of toilets available across the site. These are located in Car Park 1, Courtyard, Visitor Reception and adjacent to Temple of the Winds. Each location has baby-changing and accessible toilet facilities. There is a Changing Places facility to the rear of the toilet block in Car Park 1, accessed using RADAR key (available from Reception). There will be two additional accessible toilets as well as the above.

Sustainability

We encourage visitors to travel via public transport and buses provided. Please bring reusable bags to pick up goodies at the event. Read more about Sustainability.

Shorelife Celebration is brought to you by Ards and North Down Borough Council in partnership with WWT Castle Espie and National Trust - Mount Stewart

Please note:

• Shorelife Celebration at Mount Stewart event is a free to attend event, however charges apply to some event activities and purchases at the event.
• Some activity will be ticketed and must be pre-booked in advance. Ts and Cs apply to ticketed activity.
• Online booking fees apply where relevant. None when booking in person or by phone via our Visitor Information Centres.

•    Event details are subject to change.
•    Further detail to follow - Keep checking the website, follow our facebook page or sign up to our ezine for updates.
•    This event is being photographed/filmed. Images may be used in Ards and North Down Borough Council promotional material. If you do not want your image to be used, please inform our event staff.
•     This event is a no drone zone. Only official event drones authorised by the event organisers are permitted.
•    For more information on safe alcohol consumption, visit the Drink Aware website.