Explore Louth, Monaghan and Cavan
To the west of Cavan town lies the assortment of various-sized lakes that forms the system known as Lough Oughter, through which the River Erne contrives to manage a pathway to Upper Lough Erne. Roads are few and landmarks limited to the occasional small hill, while the rush-fringed lakes lure many anglers. The land gradually assumes dominance over water west of the hillside town of Belturbet. Waterside Ballyconnell supplies the best base for exploration, beyond which the inhospitable and bleak strip doglegs beyond between counties Fermanagh and Leitrim, becoming ever craggier as it rises through wild, boggy hills. At the county’s northwestern tip, the Cavan Way terminates at the tiny border village of Blacklion.
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Belturbet and around
Belturbet and around
One of the most pleasant bases for exploring the lough is BELTURBET, some 18km north of Cavan town, a hillside village rising steeply from the River Erne. Very popular with anglers, the village is also a base to explore the Shannon–Erne Waterway by renting a cabin cruiser from Emerald Star Line (wwww.emeraldstar.ie); these can be dropped off in Carrick-on-Shannon.
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The Cavan Way
The Cavan Way
The county’s northwestern reaches provide superb walking terrain, best accessed via the signposted 25km Cavan Way, which runs through jagged landscapes from Dowra in County Leitrim to Blacklion where it joins the Ulster Way. The hills above Blacklion command dramatic views across Lough Macnean east to Fermanagh’s lakelands and west to the mountains of Sligo and Leitrim. About halfway along the route is the Shannon Pot, the veritable source of Ireland’s longest river but a mere trickle here.
