Holywood is a town in the cosmopolitan area of Belfast in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is a civil parish and townland comprising 755 acres lying on the shore of Belfast Lough, in between Belfast and Bangor. Holywood Urban Area is identified as a medium town within the Belfast Metropolitan Urban Area (BMUA) by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, with the 2001 Census noting a permanent population of 12037. Within this population, around 20 per cent are aged under 16 years of age and 21 percent were aged 60 and over. 50.6 percent of the population is male and 49.4 percent is female. The railway line from Belfast to Holywood arrived in 1848, and this triggered fast progression. This growth, in combination with that of neighboring towns and villages along the seaside strip to Bangor, required the development of the Holywood Bypass in the early 1970s. The town is a popular residential region and is noted for its fashionable shops, boutiques, arts and crafts. Holywood is most widely known for its maypole at the crossroads in the centre of town. Its origin remains rather uncertain, yet, in accordance with regional folklore, it comes from 1700, when a Dutch ship is said to have run aground on the coast nearby, and the crew put up the broken mast to display their appreciation of the help provided to them by the townsfolk. The maypole continues to be in regular use for dancing at the yearly May Day fair. The town also holds a yearly jazz and blues celebration. There are a lot of sporting opportunities in Holywood, being home to football clubs, golf clubs, cricket clubs and an athletics association. For all your home upgrades, make certain to make use of dependable specialists in Holywood to make certain of quality.
