Built by Norman knight John de Courcy for the Cistercians in 1180 on an earlier Irish monastic site, Inch Abbey is visible across the river from Down Cathedral – and yes, it's another Game of Thrones filming location. Most of the ruins are just foundations and low walls; the atmospheric setting beside the marshes of the River Quoile is its most attractive feature.

Inch Abbey is off the A7 Belfast Rd just across the river, north of Downpatrick.

John de Courcy commissioned one of the monks at Inch Abbey to rewrite the legends of St Patrick; it's possible that the story of St Patrick banishing the snakes from Ireland was written here.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Down County Museum

0.67 MILES

Downpatrick's 18th-century jail now houses the county museum. In a former cell block at the back are models of some of the prisoners once incarcerated…

2. Down Cathedral

0.69 MILES

According to legend, St Patrick died in Saul, where angels told his followers to place his body on a cart drawn by two untamed oxen, and to bury the saint…

3. St Patrick Centre

0.75 MILES

This magnificent glass-and-timber heritage centre houses a multimedia exhibition called 'Ego Patricius', charting the life and legacy of Ireland's patron…

4. Downpatrick & County Down Railway

0.8 MILES

From mid-June to mid-September, plus December, St Patrick’s Day, Easter, May Day and Halloween, this working railway museum runs steam-hauled trains over…

5. Saul Church

2.07 MILES

At the supposed site of the first church in Ireland, founded by St Patrick in 432, you'll find a replica 10th-century church and round tower, built in…

6. Struell Wells

2.22 MILES

These supposedly curative spring waters are traditionally associated with St Patrick – it is said he scourged himself here, spending much of the night…

8. Castle Ward Estate

6.39 MILES

Famed for its role as Winterfell in Game of Thrones, 1760s-built Castle Ward House has a superb setting overlooking the bay west of Strangford. The estate…