In the quaint little village of Crawfordsburn, 3km west of Bangor on the B20, the 1614-established Old Inn claims to be Ireland’s oldest hotel. Its original thatched cottage (now the bar, with log fires and low ceilings) is flanked by 18th-century additions. Character-filled rooms have Arts and Crafts–style wallpaper and mahogany.
The inn was once a resting place on the coach route between Belfast and Donaghadee (formerly the main ferry port for mainland Britain). As a result, it has been patronised by many famous names, including a young Peter the Great (tsar of Russia), Dick Turpin (highwayman), former US president George HW Bush, and a roll call of literary figures, including Swift, Tennyson, Thackeray, Dickens, Trollope and CS Lewis.
