Castle Ward is an 18th-century mansion above Strangford Lough in County Down, built in the 1760s for Bernard Ward and his wife Lady Anne Bligh, who could not agree on a style: his side is classical Palladian, hers is Gothic, and the split runs right through the interiors. The 820-acre estate has 21 miles of multi-use trails, from the short accessible Shore Trail to the eight-mile Boundary Trail past Audley's Castle, a working watermill near the shore and a sunken Victorian garden restored to Mary Ward's 1864 painting of it. The Georgian farmyard stood in for Winterfell in Game of Thrones, and families get woodland and adventure playparks and bike hire. Dogs on leads are welcome across the estate and in the stableyard tea-room but not in the house. Reviewers praise the knowledgeable guides and their tales of a servants' tunnel. Tips from regulars: follow the map closely where trails cross, and check which days the house opens for free-flow visiting rather than guided tours.
