Newtownards
Newtownards is a large town, townland and civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is at the most northern part of Strangford Lough, 10 miles (16 km) east of Belfast, around the Ards Peninsula. Newtownards is the biggest town in the Borough of Ards. Based on the 2001 Census, it features a populace of 27,821 people in 11,502 homes, placing it in the "large town" class. Around 86 percent of the populace is from a Protestant background and nine percent from a Catholic background. It is identified colloquially by local people as "Ards".