Ulster Tatler – August 2019

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Banbridge

B

anbridge (having derived its name from the fact it is located on a bridge crossing the river Bann) is

a town located in County Down, Northern Ireland. It hosts a wide range of hotels, restaurants, shops

and parks. If the shops within the town don’t satisfy all your needs, Banbridge is a short 5-minute drive

away from Ireland’s largest dedicated outlet, The Boulevard (formally known as The Outlet) and just 24 miles

from Belfast. One of the town’s most noticeable landmarks is the bridge through the middle of the town.

The steep hill the main street climbs over caused problems for horse drawn carriages so an underpass was

cut out of the hill and a bridge built over it. Officially known as ‘Downshire Bridge’, it is nicknamed ‘The Cut’

by locals. Another large landmark of Banbridge is a statue of British Naval Officer, Captain Francis Crozier

who was a leading explorer in the Arctic and Antarctic.