Ballycam

Ballycam is a townland, south of Downpatrick in County Down, Northern Ireland. The townland is approximately in area. It is situated in the civil parish of Bright and the historic barony of Lecale Upper.

Name

Although a historical record from 1637 refers to it as "Ballyvickany", this spelling may be an error, as it does not match other historical versions of the name.
Ballycam, derived from the Irish An Baile Cam meaning 'the crooked townland', may derive from the shape of the townland. It has an irregular outline that extends from Rossglass Road, west of Killough, to the coastline just north of Saint John's Point.

Habitat and biodiversity

Ballycam ASSI is a designated protected habitat. The site features a variety of fen communities, including the only known example in Northern Ireland of a fen type typically restricted to lowland areas of England and Wales. The habitat is characterised by the dominance of black bog-rush and blunt-flowered rush, alongside swamp areas dominated by common reed and fen zones featuring bottle sedge and marsh cinquefoil. These wetland communities transition into mesotrophic grasslands around the site's margins, often incorporating fen species.

Geography

Townlands that border Ballycam include:

Ballylig to the north
Commonreagh to the west
Crolly's Quarter to the west
Kilbride to the east
Killough to the north
Rossglass to the west
Saint Johns Point to the south