Launches Little

Launches Little is a small island in Strangford Lough, County Down, about 2.8 kilometres from Killyleagh, in the southern part of the lough. It covers about 9 acres.

Landscape

Like most of the lough’s larger islands, it is a drumlin, a smooth, rounded hill of clay left by the ice sheets of the last Ice Age and later surrounded by the rising sea. The southern part of the lough narrows towards the Narrows between Strangford and Portaferry, where the whole tide of the lough pours in and out, and towards Killyleagh and the mouth of the Quoile River. Its nearest neighbours include Launches Long, Shark Island and Green Island, Killyleagh.

Visiting

There is no public access to Launches Little, but it can be seen from the shore and from boats and kayaks on the lough. The tides run fast and the mud can be soft, so take local advice before heading out on the water, and keep clear of seals and nesting birds. You can collect Launches Little as a sighting in your Island Passport.

Wildlife and area

Strangford Lough is a Marine Nature Reserve and one of the richest wildlife sites in Ireland. Around this part of the lough look out for Harbour Seal, Grey Seal, Sandwich terns, Common Eider and Black Guillemot. In winter around three quarters of the world’s pale-bellied brent geese feed on the lough’s mudflats.