It is within the townland of Ballygrot (from Irish Baile gCrot 'settlement of hillocks'),[1] between Holywood, Crawfordsburn and Bangor.

[3] Crawfordsburn Country Park, on the southern shores of Belfast Lough, features 3.5 km (2 mi) of coastline and a small beach.

The Park also includes Grey Point Fort, a coastal battery and gun emplacement dating from 1904 and updated during World War II.

[6] Gray Point Fort, constructed in 1907, was the headquarters for the coastal defence of Northern Ireland during the Second World War.

[7][8] Helen's Bay is classified by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) as being within Belfast Metropolitan Urban Area (BMUA).