Have you been into our little ‘Castle on a Hill’…
Call into The Moat and learn of its history and see the only public Camera Obscura on the island of Ireland! This optical device lets light in through a small opening on one side and projects a reversed and inverted image.
Come along and take a tour across the roof tops of Donaghadee through this amazing invention!
Open: Saturdays and Sundays | 10am – 4pm, until the end of September
Admission: Free
Donaghadee Motte
Known locally as The Moat
Donaghadee Motte was constructed by the Anglo-Normans in the late 12th century. Circa 1821 a picturesque castle, the Gunpowder Store, was built on top of the Motte to store explosives during the building of the ‘new’
harbour. Both are owned by Ards and North Down Borough Council and are protected heritage assets: the Motte and surrounding ground are Scheduled Monument, and the Gunpowder Store is a Listed Building.
Housed within the Moat is the only public Camera Obscura on the island of Ireland, meaning “dark room” in Latin, this optical device lets light in through a small opening on one side and projects a reversed and invested image.
Come along and take a tour across the roof tops of Donaghadee through this amazing invention!
Gunpowder Store
In 2021 the Gunpowder Store was conserved and restored under the Donaghadee Townscape Heritage Initiative funded by National Heritage Lottery Fund and Ards and North Down Borough Council.
The Motte is one of the largest in Ulster.
The Gunpowder Store is now home to the only accessible Camera Obscura on the island of Ireland. Camera Obscura is an ancient optical device, it lets light in through a small opening on one side and projects a reversed and invested image on the other.
Opening Times
May to September, Saturdays and Sundays, 10am-4pm
1 May 2022 – 30 Sept 2022
* Or by appointment via
visitardsandnorthdown.com/things-to-do/donaghadee-moat-and-camera-obscura-p788121
For further information contact Ards Visitor Information Centre on 028 9182 6846
Please note access is via steps only. Unfenced areas, steep, sudden drop. Children to be supervised by an adult at all times. There are no toilet facilities available.
