About this stretch of coast
Rostrevor sits at the foot of Slieve Martin on the north shore of Carlingford Lough, about 7.5 miles south-east of Newry. The village name comes from the Irish 'ros', meaning a wood or wooded headland, joined to the surname of Sir Edward Trevor, a Welshman who settled here in the early 17th century. Before that the spot was known as Caislean Ruaidhri, or Castle Rory, after a Magennis lord of Iveagh.
High on the slopes above the shore sits the Cloughmore Stone, a 50-tonne granite boulder around 1,000 feet up. Legend says the giant Finn McCool hurled it across the lough from the Cooley Mountains to trap a rival giant. Down in the village, the Kilbroney River runs through the Fairy Glen, said to be named for the fairies thought to live along its banks, and a granite obelisk raised in 1826 honours Major General Robert Ross, born in Rostrevor.
The lough itself is a sea inlet shared between Northern Ireland and the Republic, which is why mountains rise on both sides of the water. The shallows and mudflats draw wading birds and wildfowl, and the changing tide reshapes the shore through the day, making the same walk look different every time you come.