Newtownards
Newtownards is regarded as a big town, townland and civil parish inside County Down, Northern Ireland. It is situated at the most northern tip of Strangford Lough, 10 miles (16 km) east of Belfast, on the Ards Peninsula. Newtownards is the largest town inside the Borough of Ards. As reported by the 2001 Census, it features a populace of 27,821 people within 11,502 households, positioning it in the "large town" class. Around 86 percent of the populace is from a Protestant history and nine percent from a Catholic background. It is recognised colloquially by locals as "Ards".