Holywood
Holywood is a town in the city of Belfast in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is a civil parish and townland consisting of 755 acres lying on the coast of Belfast Lough, in between Belfast and Bangor. Holywood Urban Area is classified as a medium town within the Belfast Metropolitan Urban Area (BMUA) by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, with the 2001 Census recording a permanent population of 12037. Within this population, around 20 percent are aged under 16 years of age and 21 per cent were aged 60 and over. 50.6 percent of the population is male and 49.4 per cent is female. The railway line from Belfast to Holywood arrived in 1848, and this brought on swift progression. This growth, in conjunction with that of neighboring towns and villages along the coastal strip to Bangor, necessitated the construction of the Holywood Bypass in the early 1970s. The town is a popular suburb and is noted for its trendy shops, boutiques, arts and crafts. Holywood is most well-known for its maypole at the crossroads in the centre of town. Its origin remains rather vague, but, according to regional legend, it derives from 1700, when a Dutch ship is alleged to have run aground on the shore close by, and the crew erected the damaged mast to show their gratitude of the assistance used to them by the townsfolk. The maypole continues to be in routine use for dancing at the annual May Day fair. The town also holds an annual jazz and blues festival. There are a number of sporting possibilities in Holywood, being the home of football clubs, golf clubs, cricket clubs and an athletics association. For all your home upgrades, make certain to make use of trustworthy specialists in Holywood to make certain of quality.
