Strangford in running for Village of Year title

Strangford in running for Village of Year title

17 January 2018

GAME of Thrones, summer festivals, Georgian terraces and a picturesque ferry crossing — Strangford has been shortlisted for Channel 4’s Village of the Year award.

A last minute entry to the competition has come up trumps with the coastal village selected from 450 entries to be in with a chance to win a £10,000 cash prize.

After shortlisting Strangford, judges visited the village in the summer to get a flavour of what makes it special.

Film-makers captured the raft race, which is one of the highlights of the lively summer festival, spoke to talented craftspeople and interviewed historians about the village, which is based in the largest inlet in the British Isles.

The village will be showcased by presenter Penelope Keith on Channel 4 at 3pm on February 1, with the semi-finalists announced two days later.

The local entry was lodged by Jennifer O’Reilly just 15 minutes before the closing deadline.

Jennifer, who has lived in Strangford throughout her life and is passionate about its merits, admits she was shocked to receive confirmation that her entry had made the cut.

“I had heard the competition mentioned a few times but did not do anything about,” she said.

“When I realised we were going to miss the chance I decided to send something through, lodging the entry with just 15 minutes to spare before the midnight deadline.

“I was shocked to hear we had been shortlisted from 450 entries and would compete with around 70 villages across the UK for the award.”

Selling the village to judges, Jennifer said she highlighted what the village offered local people and visitors alike, speaking about the good community relations and successful summer festival and its busy children’s Cul Camp.

She said the judges arrived on a glorious summer day, seeing Strangford at its best and returning to film the August bank holiday festival, which includes the raft race, fancy dress, 10k runs exhibitions.

Although Jennifer does not know which villages Strangford will compete against in its heat, she said its inclusion in the Village of the Year programme would be a great publicity boost.

She admits she has tentative plans for the £10,000 prize, should it come to Strangford, and would be keen to create an aural record of the older generation to preserve for future generations.

Strangford will feature on The Village of the Year at 3pm on Wednesday, February 1.

News that Strangford is a strong contender in the competition has been welcomed by councillor Gareth Sharvin. He said the village featured in a number of national newspapers last week when it was listed as one of the leading contenders for the award.

He explained Channel Four has been “scouring the country” looking for flourishing communities and that over the next four weeks, villages will be judged on their appearance, history and heritage, village events, activities and visitor experience. 

“In Strangford, we have a traditional appearance, the village is full of history and proud of its heritage, with village events the backbone of the community,” he said. “Events are greatly supported by everyone and visitors are warmly welcomed, while the success of Games of Thrones has truly put Strangford on the map and indeed helped it grow.”

Councillor Sharvin said he and many others will be watching the Channel Four programme with great interest and also congratulated Jennifer O’Reilly for nominating the village for the competition.