Ardglass offers several distinct starting points for a trip: 15th- and 16th-century tower houses, the history of St Nicholas Church, the Chronicles of Ardglass walking tour and golf on the rugged coast of County Down. If you are looking for a hotel in Ardglass, you can first decide what interests you most: architectural history, local history, a walking tour or golf each offer a different way to shape your stay.
Tower houses: two forms, different dates
Jordan's Castle is a four-storey tower house built around 1450. In the 1920s, antiquarian F. J. Biggar restored the building from a ruin. The building's history therefore spans two clearly separate periods: its approximate construction around 1450 and a restoration several centuries later. This later phase is part of the tower house's history, but should not be confused with its original construction date.
Cowd Castle is a small, roughly square tower dating from the 15th or 16th century, and is part of an important group of tower houses in Ardglass's medieval harbour. By comparison, Cowd Castle is on a different scale: a small tower within a broader historical context. The dates also differ in their degree of precision: Jordan's Castle dates from around 1450, while Cowd Castle is assigned to the 15th or 16th century. This comparison makes both the form and the date a useful way into Ardglass's architectural history.
St Nicholas Church and the historical timeline
St Nicholas Church was built in 1813 on the site of a Catholic church that had been a ruin since 1622. The dates have different roles: 1622 relates to the former Catholic church in its ruined state, while 1813 marks the construction of St Nicholas Church on the same site. This distinction separates the earlier church from the later church building. Together with the tower houses, this gives a timeline of different buildings and historical contexts, rather than assigning everything to a single building phase.
Walking tour and golf: different interests
For the 2026 season, Chronicles of Ardglass is a 1.5-mile walking tour that returns to its starting point; the tour takes 1.5 hours. Distance and duration answer different planning questions: the first describes the scope of the walk, the second its time frame. Returning to the starting point also shapes the route. The walk can therefore be considered as a distinct activity by its length, circular route and duration.
Ardglass Golf Club is an 18-hole links course on the rugged coast of County Down. Its layout is uniquely challenging. By comparison, the focus here is on the number of holes, course type and layout. Chronicles of Ardglass can be described by its distance, return to the starting point and duration; golf is defined by its 18 holes, links character and challenging layout. This lets you weigh up a tour with a set time frame against an interest in golf.
Discover more destinations: Rathfriland, Crawfordsburn, Killough, Downpatrick, Bangor, Ballynahinch, Banbridge, Dromore
For the broader travel overview: Down.
