Windmill Hill

The walk up Windmill Hill rewards you with proper views across Ards and North Down - the kind of panorama that makes you understand why someone planted a windmill up here in the first place. It's not a dramatic peak, but it's high enough to matter, and the climb from Newtownards takes the better part of an hour depending on your pace and how many times you stop to look back.

You get a genuine sense of the landscape from the top - the peninsula rolling away beneath you, the lough visible on clear days. The windmill itself is long gone, but the site's got that quiet, purposeful feel that old viewpoints tend to have. Walkers will find it satisfying without being knackering; families with decent-aged kids won't struggle, though toddlers might need carrying on the steeper bits.

There's nothing fancy up there - no café, no visitor centre, no admission charge. Just the walk, the air, and the view. Allow a couple of hours there and back from town if you're taking it leisurely. Winter's actually decent for it because the views aren't hampered by heat haze, and you won't be melting on the climb.

If you're based at Springvale Holiday Park or Silverbay Caravan Park, both within a few miles, this makes an excellent morning out before heading to Newtownards for lunch. It's the kind of place that slots naturally into a park holiday without needing to plan around opening times or queues.