Is Rough Island safe to visit?
Rough Island is only an island for part of the day. A causeway links it to the mainland at the top of Strangford Lough, near Comber, and when the tide rises the sea covers the crossing and the island is cut off. That is the one thing that can go wrong here. The RNLI has rescued people who were cut off when the causeway became submerged.
The simplest way to enjoy it is to view the island from the mainland at Island Hill. Keep off the causeway when the tide is rising or conditions are unclear, and if the weather closes in, stay ashore. If anyone does get stranded, call 999 or 112 and ask for the Coastguard. Leave shore habitats and access gates undisturbed, and do not park informally on the approach.
What you see
The mudflats and salt marsh around the island draw wildfowl and waders, with ducks, geese and curlews in numbers on a good morning. Oystercatchers and ringed plovers nest on the ground around the shore in spring and summer, which is another reason to leave the shoreline alone. On a clear day the lough views take in Scrabo Tower, the Mourne Mountains and the Ards Peninsula.
History
For such a small patch of ground, Rough Island has been in use a long time. In 1936 a team of Harvard archaeologists excavated it and found shell middens and flint tools pointing to Mesolithic and Neolithic occupation, some of it around 7000 BC. Much later it was farmed and lived on until the 1950s, and a few bricks, a low wall and the outline of an old orchard are all that survive of that. The name is generally taken to describe the rocky, shell-strewn shore rather than the going underfoot.
Practical information
- Admission – no ticket or booking is needed to look at the island from the shore.
- Tide – never rely on a remembered crossing time. Rising water can cover the causeway quickly, so keep off it when the tide is coming in.
- Public transport – Translink buses serve nearby Comber and Newtownards; check the route and your return time before travelling.
- Best time to visit – a clear day with decent light. Spring brings the most bird activity.
Nearby
Scrabo Tower stands on its hill a short drive off, with its own long views over the lough. Further round the shore, the Nendrum monastic site keeps an early-medieval round-tower stump and the remains of a monastery, and the Mount Stewart estate nearby is worth a half-day for its gardens alone. Any of them pairs well with a short stop at Island Hill.