Holywood Seafront Park & Seapark (Holywood)

A green strip, a beach and sixteen miles of coast

Holywood sits right on Belfast Lough, and its seafront is the town's best asset. A long, flat green runs between the shore and the town, with the Esplanade at one end and the Seapark recreation grounds at the other, and the whole of it looks straight out across the water to the Antrim coast.

Seapark is where the facilities are: an enclosed children's playground set in the parkland, tennis courts, a bowling green and a putting green — the courts and greens bookable through Bangor Sportsplex — with a free car park beside them. The playground being enclosed matters here, because you are a few metres from a beach and a road, and it means you can sit down.

The beach is a proper one, sand and shingle depending on the tide, and it gets busy on a warm day. It is a working sea lough rather than a bathing resort, so treat it as somewhere to paddle, dig and beachcomb.

The thing that makes this more than a town park is the path. The North Down Coastal Path starts at the Holywood Esplanade and runs sixteen miles east along the outer edge of the lough — past Seapark, on through Cultra and Craigavad, to Crawfordsburn, Bangor and eventually Orlock Point. The going is firm and the route is obvious. You can do half an hour of it and turn round, or you can commit. Either way, the beginning of it is here.

Free park and parking Enclosed play park Tennis, bowls and putting Beach on Belfast Lough Start of the North Down Coastal Path Train station in the town

Before you go:

Seapark and the play area are open all year, with a free car park on site. The tennis courts, bowling green and putting green are booked through Bangor Sportsplex. If you take the coastal path east, note that sections cross private roads and lanes — watch for traffic and be respectful of landowners.

What to wear & bring

🧥A coatWide open to Belfast Lough, so there is always weather moving across it. Wrapped up, that is the attraction.

🚲Bikes or scootersFlat, firm seafront the whole way, and a coastal path that keeps going.

🩴Something for the beachSand and shingle depending on the tide. Good for digging, paddling and beachcombing.

🧺A picnicGrass, benches and the whole lough in front of you. Holywood town centre is fifteen minutes' walk for the rest.

What's on at the seafront

Seapark and its play area are open all year with nothing to book. The tennis courts, bowling green and putting green are reserved through Bangor Sportsplex, and the council programmes events along the North Down seafront through the season.

The standing attraction is the North Down Coastal Path, which begins at the Holywood Esplanade and runs sixteen miles to Orlock Point via Bangor. It is one of the best long coastal walks in Northern Ireland and it starts at this car park.

Everything before you go

Cost

Free. Tennis, bowls and putting are bookable and charged through Bangor Sportsplex

Opening

Seapark and the play area are open all year

Best for ages

All ages — enclosed play park for younger children, courts and greens for everyone else

What's there

Linear seafront parkland and the Esplanade, Seapark recreation grounds, an enclosed children's playground, tennis courts, a bowling green, a putting green, a beach, and the start of the North Down Coastal Path

The coastal path

The North Down Coastal Path starts at the Holywood Esplanade and runs 16 miles east along Belfast Lough to Bangor and Orlock Point. Firm going and easy to follow; some sections cross private roads and lanes

Parking

Free car park on site at Seapark

Dogs

A popular seafront for dog walking — keep them under control and out of the enclosed play area

Accessibility

Flat, firm seafront paths — good for buggies and wheelchairs

How long to allow

One to two hours on the seafront; a full day on the coastal path

Food

Holywood town centre is roughly 15 minutes' walk with plenty of cafés

Getting there

Free car park on site; about 15 minutes on foot from the town centre; by train to Holywood or Marino

Bookings

Tennis, bowling and putting via Bangor Sportsplex

Address

Seapark, Holywood, Co Down

Questions

Before you go

Is it free?

Yes — the seafront, Seapark, the play area and the car park are all free. Only the courts and greens are charged, booked through Bangor Sportsplex.

Is there a play park?

Yes — an enclosed children's playground set in the parkland, which is exactly what you want a few metres from a beach and a road.

Where does the coastal path go?

The North Down Coastal Path starts at the Holywood Esplanade and runs sixteen miles east along Belfast Lough through Seapark, Cultra, Crawfordsburn and Bangor to Orlock Point.

Can we get there by train?

Yes — Holywood and Marino stations both serve the seafront, which makes this an easy car-free day out from Belfast.

Is the beach any good?

It is a real beach on a working sea lough — sand and shingle depending on the tide. Good for paddling, digging and beachcombing rather than a swimming resort.

Can we play tennis?

Yes, along with bowls and putting. All three are booked through Bangor Sportsplex rather than turning up.

Is it good for a buggy or a wheelchair?

Yes. The seafront is flat and firm the whole way along.

Can we bring the dog?

Yes — it is a well-used dog-walking seafront. Keep them under control and out of the enclosed play area.

Getting there

Holywood Seafront Park runs along Belfast Lough at Holywood, County Down, between the Esplanade and the Seapark recreation grounds. There is a free car park on site at Seapark; the seafront is about fifteen minutes' walk from the town centre, and Holywood and Marino railway stations both serve it. The North Down Coastal Path starts from the Esplanade.

Official website Directions on Google Maps See it on our map

Nearby

Make more of the day

North Down Coastal PathSixteen miles of coast starting right here Ulster Folk & Transport MuseumAt Cultra, ten minutes along the shore Redburn Country ParkWoodland and lough views above Holywood Crawfordsburn Country ParkBeach, glen and waterfall further along the coast

The story

About the seafront

Holywood grew up where it did because of the shore. The name comes from the old church — Sanctus Boscus, the holy wood — and the settlement has sat on this stretch of Belfast Lough for the better part of a thousand years.

What shaped the modern town was the railway. The Belfast and County Down line reached Holywood in the middle of the nineteenth century, and within a generation the place had become a commuter town and a seaside resort for Belfast — close enough to work in the city, far enough out to have a view. The seafront green, the promenade and the recreation grounds are the physical remains of that period, when a town of this kind was expected to provide somewhere to walk, somewhere to play bowls, and somewhere for children to be let loose.

The town's other famous survival is inland: Holywood has a maypole standing at the top of the main street, said to be the last permanent one in Ireland, and the town still dances round it. It is a short walk up from the seafront and worth the diversion.

The seafront itself has kept doing its job. Seapark still has its courts, its greens and its play park; the beach still fills on a warm Saturday; and the North Down Coastal Path — sixteen miles of it — still starts at the Esplanade and carries walkers all the way to Orlock Point.

Come for an hour with the children, or come with boots and don't come back until Bangor. Both are the right answer.