Brigid Watson

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Slow down, connect with nature, landscapes and local people on a guided, coastal walk or coach tour with local tour guide, Brigid Watson. Looking for a relaxing and restorative experience? Immerse yourself in nature and the heritage and culture of this ancient eastern coastal area near Belfast for a memorable experience.

You will journey to areas off the beaten track to places which most tourists never see and spend time in places where there are few people. Smell the wild roses, have a go at identifying wildflowers, butterflies or birds. Help with identification is at hand. In spring get your photograph taken with a newborn lamb! Look out for seals on the coastline.

The walks and tours are designed for people who enjoy a good story and enjoy learning about the landscape and heritage.

The walks are at a relaxed pace over flat terrain to suit the needs of the group. Alternatively you can travel around by mini-coach. Our group sizes are small so you can be sure of personal attention from Brigid Watson who leads all tours. We welcome groups of all ages including family groups, intergenerational family groups and seniors.  Bespoke tours are available. Your health and safety is our priority and all tours are conducted in accordance with government health and safety guidance.

I enjoy travel and am an advocate of sustainable tourism. I like visiting a small geographical area and exploring it in depth either on foot, bike or by public transport. This is a much more fulfilling and rewarding experience and has a much lower carbon footprint than travelling hundreds of miles between major cities. So why not slow down, reconnect with nature and take time to appreciate the beauty of nature which is all around you.

  • Coach Tours (step-on guide)
  • Walking Tours

Ancient Ways tour (monastic sites):

Thank you very much for a most memorable day, which transported us so vividly back in time and captured the essence of this ancient land. The lives of the Irish monks of long ago were opened to us, and we shared the bread and fruit which they would have eaten. We rate the experience as excellent and we would recommend the tour to others.

“Hi Brigid Thanks so much for the really interesting walks over the last 5 weeks. Having only lived in Northern Ireland for 2 years now, I thought your walks would give me some valuable insight into the history of this area. Wow – that really is the case. From the geology of the area to the glaciers and the formation of the drumlins to coastal erosion and nature conservation. From the ships wrecked off the coast of Cloughey to the visible wreck of the Dunkirk ship off Ballyhenry Island. From the allocation of townlands and the building up of the area since the very early days of the Vikings and Celts. The original wealth of Portaferry with one of the oldest ferries in the world. I could go on and on. Really interesting stuff. Thank you so much, I will definitely recommend these walks to everyone I know.”

I recently went on a walking tour around the shore from Portaferry with Brigid and was delighted with the whole experience. She has a great knowledge of the geography and history and is very engaging in her presentation. Her knowledge of flora and fauna made the tour so interesting. Highly recommended.

Two hour walking tour around Portaferry town on Ards Peninsula, Co Down, Northern Ireland.

The tour guide was the very professional Brigid Watson. There were 6 of us – We were school classmates although we are all now over 70. We go on a different outing each month. We all liked Brigid and all enjoyed the tour. We asked questions and she had all the answers. We had asked for a general tour which is what we got. It covered history, architecture, graveyards, ferries, churches, buildings, tidal generators of electricity, castles, windmills, and that’s just what I remember eg. The history went from Mesolithic to Neolithic to Celtic to St Patrick to Vikings to Anglo-Normans to Plantation to 1798 Rebellion to smuggling to seaweed production to thriving commerce, and that’s just the history I remember. Great tour, delightfully done. Good day out!