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Music & Guiness Pub – Portaferry
Portaferry – Strangford Lough
Strangford Lough is beautiful and our few days there were spent in glorious weather, although the easterly wind got up at times. The surrounding countryside is low, green and rolling but there is a distant view of the Mountains of Mourne (sweeping down to the sea, of course!). The sailing directions warn of potential danger on leaving the lough with an onshore wind against outgoing tide, but there was no sign of a change in the continuing easterly. We went to Portaferry at the head of the narrows and consulted the harbourmaster for local advice as the sailing directions and cruising almanac offer differing advice as to timing an exit. When we left next morning, we found no difficulty, but the seas were confused for a couple of miles off the entrance. The SE 4/5 occasionally 6 gave us a fine sail up the coast, through the Copeland Pass and into Belfast Lough, where we paid a return visit to Bangor with its welcome facilities of showers, supermarket and diesel supply.