Historical Ballygraffan

Ballygraffan is a very special place. It is within Strangford Lough Conservation Area which is one of only three marine nature reserves in the UK and has been designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. When you walk the cross-country course, it has magnificent views across the lough to Mount Stewart. In the foreground, Scrabo Tower dominates the skyline. Castle Espie Wildfowl Trust is less than one mile away and many of the most rare native and migrating birds rest-over and feed in Ballygraffan fields and streams. Two mallard ducks visits the water jump daily and a heron lives in the stream beside fence 2. When the field where the cross-country starts was a stubble crop field, whole flocks of greylagged geese and swans would land on it and feed for several days. Last year we had a breeding pair of buzzards at the Old Mill, which produced several young, and a pair of ducks reared seven ducklings in the water jump.

Between the lorry park and the show jumping, there is a Neolithic burial mound called “Ballygraffan Dolmen” which has been dated between 4000-2500 BC. It is scheduled under the Historic Monuments Act and is one of three within one mile. The whole area is rich in archaeological artifacts and many spearheads and weapons discovered locally are now on display in the Ulster Museum. In particular, the hill that “Llama Leap” is constructed on has supplied many pieces from the Iron Age.

The large stone which can be seen from the main road is of no archaeological significance but has become a local landmark since it was dug up last November by Hugh Simpson which is why it is called “Hugh’s rock”. In addition to discovering this stone, Hugh excavated a quarry in the field beside the Saddle Horse fence which yielded 150 tonnes of stone which was used for building the stone bridge seen from the main road, the lane network throughout the site and for the many culverts required. Almost every field on the course is bounded on at least three sides by streams and these have been culverted in many locations. The advantage of so many streams is that the fields tend to drain very well, making the running of this event possible in the Spring.

Undoubtedly the prettiest and most atmospheric feature on the course is the Cullintraw Mill. This building belongs to local farmers Mr & Mrs William McKeag who have kindly given us permission to have access for our event. As yet we have been unable to date the mill but guesses lie around the 18th Century. It was a grain mill and had a stream running alongside the re-constructed Cullintraw Wall and into a water wheel. Please do not enter the mill as the structure is unsafe but the construction and architecture can be appreciated from the outside.