Newtownards Area GuideIt is known colloquially by locals as 'Ards'

Newtownards is a market town which lies at the most northern tip of Strangford Lough, 10 miles (16 km) east of Belfast, on the Ards Peninsula. It is known colloquially by locals as 'Ards'. It is overlooked by the 100-foot (30m) high Scrabo Tower which was built in 1857. Official records show the town was established in 1606.

It had a population of 28,039 people in the 2011 Census.

Local Schools include Regent House Grammar School, The Model, Castle Gardens, Victoria, Abbey West Winds and Londonderry Primary Schools and Movilla High School.