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family · Thursday 23 July 2026 · 11:00am 
Mount Stewart Summer Family Activities
At Mount Stewart · Newtownards, Co. Down, BT22 2AD
At Mount Stewart · Newtownards, Co. Down, BT22 2AD
Mount Stewart is one of the finest National Trust properties on the island of Ireland, and each summer it turns its 98-acre gardens on the Ards Peninsula into a playground for families. Summer of Play 2026 runs from 23 July to 6 September, with Pokemon joining the programme this year, giving you the whole school holiday to visit without the pressure of a single date. If you have children who like to run, build, perform and poke around in nature, this is a day out that earns its admission fee.
Play takes over the front lawns for the full run, with activity zones that rotate through the summer alongside the new Pokemon-themed additions for 2026. Other dated strands include Textile Thursdays with the Children and Young People team, Nina’s Notes sensory music sessions, and Geoffinitely Maybe, a rotating music series, plus Sensory Saturdays and Animal Tuesdays. Local partners rotate in through the week, so a second visit will not feel like a repeat.
Beyond the programmed activities, the estate rewards explorers. The formal gardens were largely the creation of Lady Edith, who arrived in 1919 and shaped the grounds into distinct compartments over the following decades: an Italian garden, a Spanish garden, the Mairi garden, and the Shamrock garden with its topiary Red Hand of Ulster. At the lakeside, the Temple of the Winds (1780) looks out over Strangford Lough, with a natural play area and a wildlife lookout for spotting red squirrels, badgers and seabirds. The house holds over 2,500 artefacts, including George Stubbs’ Hambletonian, Rubbing Down.
Mount Stewart is on the eastern shore of the Ards Peninsula, about 5 miles south-east of Newtownards on the A20, and roughly 20 miles from Belfast via the A2 (35 to 40 minutes). There is a large free car park on site. Bus services run from Belfast to Newtownards, with local services covering the peninsula from there, though a car is easier given the rural setting.
Newtownards town itself is worth a stop: the 17th-century Market Cross, the old Dominican priory ruins, and Scrabo Tower on the hill above town give you a proper sense of place before or after your garden visit. There is more to see in Newtownards and across Co. Down.
Heading to Mount Stewart in Newtownards? Down has plenty more to see. Read the Newtownards area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.