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Today's local tide estimates
Low water: 05:08,
High water: 11:27
Low water: 17:25,
High water: 23:43
Local weather
ENE Force 5, Patchy light drizzle, 7°C
Swell today
Direction S, height 0.1 metres, period 8.9 seconds, significant wave height of 0.9 metres.
Summary* Restrictions apply
A good location with straightforward access.
LWS draught
Shelter See it »
Sheltered: N, S, SW, W, NW
Unprotected: NE, E, SE
Nature (summary)
Anchorage, sailing club, urban, drying.
Facilities (summary)
Gas, fuel by jerry can, slipway, waste disposal, laundry, supermarket, extensive shopping, toilets, showers, hot food, public houses, cashpoint, post office, doctor, pharmacy, bus, tourist information, walks, family recreation.
Haven position? See it »
54° 11.892' N, 005° 53.100' W
Where is that position? See it »
This is the position of the light set on the head of the north (or inner) pier inside the entrance. Fl R WG Red 232° to 240°, White 228° to 232°, Green 180° to 228°.
What is the initial fix? See it »
The following Dundrum Bay Initial Fix waypoint will set up a final approach:
54° 11.570' N, 005° 46.630' W
This waypoint is approximately 3 miles out from the shoreline. It is set on the 330°(T) line of bearing of Dundrum Castle and situated where it transects the outer 064° white sector limit of the Saint John's Point auxiliary light ( Fl WR 3s 14m W15 R11M. Shore to Red 078°, white 078°W to 064°). A bearing of 275°(T) from here for three and a half miles leads into the harbour.
Why visit here?
Newcastle, or an Caisleán Nua in Irish, derives its name from a late 16th century castle that was built by Felix Magennis, of Mourne, which stood at the mouth of the Shimna River. Although the castle was subsequently demolished in the 19th century the name it generated for the area remained.
The harbour to the south of the town was created in the 1820s as a loading point for the world famous Mourne Mountain granite. Situated alongside the wilder granite topography of the Mournes the stone was extracted from the overlooking hills and shipped worldwide. Mourne blocks were used to create Belfast and Liverpool docks, paving stones in many cities that include London and New York and they helped construct the Albert memorial in London. Indeed Mourne granite is still being used today and was called upon to create the base for the 9/11 memorial in New York.
Today the harbour is much quieter playing host to some small fishing and pleasure craft for water sports. Yet Newcastle continues to derive its trade from the Mournes and the pleasant stretch of sandy beach that fronts the town. It has become the largest seaside resort in County Down that attracts droves of trippers from Belfast on bank holidays and summer weekends. This custom unfortunately casts upon Newcastle an aspect of a soulless amusement arcade, fast-food outlet and souvenir-store strip. For the cruising family this has its advantages. The Newcastle Centre and Tropicana Complex on the promenade offer indoor activities with swimming pools, water slides and playgrounds to cater for an inevitable rainy day. But this seaside arcade characteristic is more than overpowered by the mighty Slieve Donard and the Mournes visibly rising up behind the town. For this proximity to this magnificent range makes Newcastle the ideal point of departure for any serious mountain walking or climbing.
The Mournes offer some beautiful walks. Indeed close to the town there are plenty of straightforward hikes that require no special equipment and have obvious tracks that lead to the more scenic parts. Plus for those who want more serious walking or climbing a wide range of further opportunities are dispersed throughout the range. A visit to the Newcastle tourist office, or the Mourne Countryside Centre, will provide excellent information on walks, access, the local ecology along with pony trekking and fishing options on the river.
The obvious climbing choice immediately to hand is Slieve Donard. At 848 metres it is both the highest peak in the Mournes and all of Ulster yet the ascent is a relatively easy on a well-marked trail. The mountain is named after Saint Donard, a follower of Saint Patrick and founded a monastery at Maghera, north of Newcastle. According to tradition he was appointed by Saint Patrick to guard the surrounding countryside from the mountain summit. He is supposed not to have died, but to have become a "perpetual guardian". At the summit there is a cairn and a small stone tower, which was built as a shelter along the Mourne Wall that passes over the mountain's southern and western shoulders. The Mourne Wall crosses some of the highest mountain peaks of the Mournes creating water catchment areas for reservoirs. Running for 22 miles, with an average width of three feet and standing of eight feet, the structure took 18 years to build and is an engineering phenomenon in itself. Those who want to scale the mountain should take the Annalong road to the Bloody Bridge from which the trail ascends to small stone tower at the summit. Climbers will find the views across the mountain landscape and Dundrum Bay quite spectacular.
For those more inclined towards gentler local walking, there are several pleasant parks in the vicinity of the town. There is the Mourne Coastal Footpath along the shoreline that is deservedly popular. Donard Park is a pretty public park situated at the foot of Slieve Donard next to the Glen River. Indeed it is a nice walk from Newcastle town centre to the park along the pathways that surround the River Glen. Two miles inland from Newcastle, along the Bryansford Road, is Tollymore Forest Park. This 630 hectares park with the Shimna River flowing through it, offers a variety of trails with pleasant scenery.
Golfing enthusiasts may be tempted by Newcastle's Royal County Down championship golf course, which has a reputation as one of the most challenging links worldwide. Amateurs might prefer to take advantage of the golf driving range at Donard Park, which also provides a number of sports pitches.
Finally it is through Percy French’s very famous ballad ‘The Mountains of Mourne’ that Newcastle has its anthem.
Oh Mary this London's a wonderful sight
With people here workin' by day and by night
They don't sow potatoes, nor barley, nor wheat
But there's gangs of them diggin' for gold in the street
At least when I asked them that's what I was told
So I just took a hand at this diggin' for gold
But for all that I found there I might as well be
Where the Mountains of Mourne sweep down to the sea.
A fountain on the promenade commemorates the popular Irish songwriter who composed the ballad along with many other comic songs.
How to get in?
From the Dundrum Bay initial fix, track in on a bearing of 275°(T) for just over three and a half miles to the west side of Dundrum Bay.
The approach passes close to the south-eastern most Ballykinlar firing range buoy (yellow oval, marked "DZ" FL.Y.5s) that is moored approximately a mile and a half offshore abreast the range. These are shown on Admiralty Chart SC 44 ‘Nose of Howth to Ballyquintin Point’.
The harbour is a small artificial harbour to the south of the town protected by two breakwaters. The entrance is located between the heads of the north and south breakwaters facing north.
Approach the entrance from the north staying well clear of the south pier. Rock armour, that covers at high water, extends 15 metres out from the head of the south pier and continues around its sea facing aspect. Immediately southeast of the harbour there is a sewage works with an outfall that should also be avoided. This extends out 240 metres to the east of the harbour and is scarcely covered at low water.
Once inside the best berth is at the outer end of the north pier - between the steps and the head of the pier. Here 2.7 metres of high water neaps can be found. Those who plan to dry out should seek local advice.
Please note wind from west or northwest make approaches subject to sudden heavy squalls from the Mourne Mountains.
What are the tides here?
Today's local tide estimates are based on High Water Belfast +0012
Today's Belfast tides — High water: 11:15, 23:31, Low water: 04:56, 17:13
Today's Dover tides — High water: 11:14, 23:30, Low water: 06:06, 18:22 (From Tide Times)
High Water Dover +0015
MHWS 5.1m MHWN 4.1m MLWN 1.5m MLWS 0.5m
What facilities are available?
The town of Newcastle stretches along the shore to the north of the harbour. With a population of almost seven and a half thousand there is a wide selection of shopping restaurants, pubs and cafes available. Hence most all provisions and necessities are immediately available including fuel and a post office.
The harbour has facilities for toilets, waste disposal and a harbour master is available between April and September. The Newcastle Sailing Club clubhouse and dinghy park is situated beside the harbour on the main road to Killkeel. The clubhouse itself is normally only open during racing or club events. It also has premises beside the RNLI house where there is a concrete slip for launching dinghies at high water plus showers when open. There is another small launching slip 200 metres north of the harbour.
Newcastle is located approximately 30 miles from Belfast, along the A24 road, and approximately 85 miles from Dublin. Downpatrick is about 12 miles away. The town has its own Coach/Bus Station (+44 28 4372 2296) on Railway Street at the eastern end of Main Street - a couple of hundred yards east of the promenade. The very helpful tourist office is close by at 10-14 Central Promenade (July & Aug Mon-Sat 10am-7pm, Sun 2-7pm; rest of year Mon-Sat 10am-5pm; +44 28 4372 2222). The nearest major railway Station is in Newry just over 20 miles away. Newcastle is about 30 miles from Belfast International and over 85 miles from Dublin Airport, taking approximately 2 hours' travelling time.
What emergency contacts are there?
Belfast Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC). Operational Area: Northern Ireland/ Irish Republic Border, Lough Foyle to Northern/Irish Republic Border Carlingford Lough. Belfast Coastguard (MRSC) VHF Ch 16, liaises closely with IRCG. Emergencies are worked on 16, 67 and working channel.
Alternatively, or if ashore, phone 999 and 112 and ask for ‘Marine Rescue’. Police, Fire and Rescue are also available on this number. Belfast (MRSC) may be contacted directly on +44 2891 463 933. There is an auxiliary coastguard station at Newcastle featuring an all-weather lifeboat, a summer inshore lifeboat and coast rescue equipment. Nearby Kilkeel lifeboat station operates an inshore B class Atlantic 21 lifeboat.
Other useful contacts in this area:
Local doctor & surgery Tel. +44 28437 23221
or Causeway Surgery Tel: +4428 4372 3438
Dental Practice Tel: +44 284372 2302
Police Station Tel. +44 28437 23583
Pharmacy Tel: 028 4372 191050.
or Gordons Chemist, Tel: 028 4066 9000.
Newcastle Sailing Club e:mail nycltd@hotmail.co.uk
Any security concerns?
Never an issue know to have occurred in Newcastle Harbour. However in an open harbour normal security provisions should be adhered to.
What navigational resources are available for this area?
British Admiralty 1411 ‘Irish Sea - Western Part’, Scale of 200,000:1, SC 44 ‘Nose of Howth to Ballyquintin Point’ scale of 1:100,000. Imray chart C62 – ‘Irish Sea’ plus Discoverer Maps for Northern Ireland; Sheet No 29 – ‘The Mournes’ scale of 1:50 000 also cover this area.
With thanks to:
Fred Curran, Custodian of Ardglass Marina
Please note inyourfootsteps.com makes no guarantee of the validity of this information, we have not visited this haven and do not have first-hand experience to qualify the data. Although the contributors are vetted by peer review as practised authorities, they are in no way, whatsoever, responsible for the accuracy of their contributions. It is essential that you thoroughly check the accuracy and suitability for your vessel of any waypoints offered in any context plus the precision of your GPS. Any data provided on this page is entirely used at your own risk and you must read our legal page if you view data on this site.