Strangford Lough is a large sea loch in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is the largest inlet in the British Isles, almost totally enclosed by the Ards Peninsula and heads out to the mouth of the Irish Sea. The lough contains seventy islands along with many bays, coves, headlands and vast mudflats which provides a diverse ecosystem for wildlife and marine flora, recognised internationally for its great importance. Strangford Lough was designated as Northern Ireland’s first Marine Conservation Zone and is one of only three designated Marine Nature Reserves in the United Kingdom.

Strangford Lough is packed full of history, dating back thousands of years. Ancient communities would have lived on the abundant natural resources of the lough and its surrounding areas. The early inhabitants would have lived on a rich diet of fish, oysters, cockles, mussels and shellfish, seaweed, kelp and samphire.

Drinking in the mineral wealth of the ocean with each incoming tide, sea greens are richer in nutrients than any land-locked plant could hope to be. Sea oak, can be found anchored steadfastly to the tide-line, fanning its leather-brown fronds on to beaches and unfurling shiny ribbons over pebbles and rocks. Thanks to an amphibious design, sea oak can sunbathe when the tide is out and employ its air-filled bubbles when it flows in. Clinging vertiginously to the cliffs above, rock samphire sprouts along the coast like a miniature marine cactus, sinking its roots deep into rocky crevices. Left to its own devices, this fragrant sea vegetable never strays far from the briny breezes of the coast, which lends it a distinctive salty tang and considerable mineral riches.