Kilkeel: Harbour, History and Golf

Harbour and maritime history

Kilkeel is a destination for travellers who want to include maritime history, exploring the town on foot or golf in their plans. If you’re looking for a hotel for a trip to Kilkeel, choosing a clear focus can help shape the character of your stay. The Mourne Maritime Visitor Centre documents the history of the local harbour, as well as the development of fishing and maritime connections over the years. It is located in the Nautilus Centre and overlooks Kilkeel Harbour.

At the Centre, children can visit the wheelhouse and try steering a boat into Kilkeel Harbour. The interactive experience offers a hands-on introduction to the harbour and complements the historical overview with the perspective of steering a boat. For travellers with children who are interested in maritime life, it’s a specific activity alongside the historical displays.

Explore the town on foot

The Kilkeel Walking & Heritage Trail is a designated route for exploring the town on foot. This gives walking around Kilkeel its own place in your plans, separate from visiting any one house or centre. Another historical landmark is the Old Church of St Colman, which dates back to the 14th century. The church provides a specific, dated reference point in the town’s history, while the Mourne Maritime Visitor Centre focuses on the harbour, fishing and maritime connections. If you’d like to combine history and walking, you can choose between a designated town route and a visit focused on maritime heritage.

Golf in the Mourne Mountains landscape

Kilkeel Golf Club is a 6,700-yard championship parkland course designed by Eddie Hackett. Its length, course classification and designer give golfers specific details to help them assess the course: its length is given in yards, the designation identifies the type of course, and Eddie Hackett is credited with its design. The club is set amid the landscape of the Mourne Mountains, an area of outstanding natural beauty. For choosing a destination, golf here goes hand in hand with a clearly identified landscape setting. This can help with your planning if you’d like to make the golf course the starting point for your stay.

Food by the harbour

The harbour is also a specific destination for food: the Mourne Seafood Cookery School is located in the Nautilus Centre at Kilkeel Harbour. It offers a “catch-to-cook” experience featuring locally caught fish and seafood, as well as artisan products. The phrase describes a culinary approach that brings catching and cooking together; alongside fish and seafood, it also includes artisan products. The Mourne Maritime Visitor Centre and the Cookery School are both in the Nautilus Centre, but each has a different focus: the Centre highlights the history of the harbour, fishing and maritime connections, while the School offers the “catch-to-cook” experience. This lets you consider the maritime and culinary experiences separately, even though both are based in the same place.

Discover more destinations: Warrenpoint, Newry, Crossmaglen, Hilltown

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