Explore Tyrone and Fermanagh
The stretch of countryside on the western edge of the county offers some good walking opportunities, particularly in the hills to the south. The Ulster Way, which runs northwest from the Upper Lough and east towards Tyrone, makes the riches of the terrain easily accessible. This region also has two attractions that are well worth seeking out. The magnificent eighteenth-century Florence Court is the most assured achievement of the colonists, built 150 years after the initial defensive planters’ castles. If you have your own transport, a visit to the house can be combined with an hour or so at the Marble Arch Caves, the finest cave-system in Northern Ireland.
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Florence Court
Florence Court
The magnificent three-storey mansion of the National Trust–owned Florence Court, about eight miles southwest of Enniskillen, was commissioned by John Cole, one of the Earls of Enniskillen, and named after his wife. The house, completed around 1775, is notable for its restored rococo plasterwork and rare Irish furnishings; the dining room is especially lavish, its ceiling hosting a cloud of puffing cherubs with Jupiter disguised as an eagle in the centre, all flying out of a duck-egg-blue sky. Unfortunately, the top floor of the house was completely destroyed by a fire in 1955 and has never been renovated internally.
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The Marble Arch Caves and around
The Marble Arch Caves and around
Fermanagh’s caves are renowned, and while some are for experts only, the most spectacular system of all, the Marble Arch Caves, five miles west of Florence Court, is accessible to anyone of average fitness or above. A tour of the system lasts around an hour and a quarter, beginning with a boat journey along a subterranean river, then on through brilliantly lit chambers, calcite-walled and dripping with stalactites and fragile mineral veils. Tours of the caves are sometimes booked out by parties, so it’s worth calling ahead; in a steady Irish downpour the caves can be flooded, so check weather reports as well. You’ll need sturdy walking shoes and warm clothing as the temperature can drop significantly.
From whichever direction you approach the caves, you’ll travel along the Marlbank Scenic Loop, with tremendous views of Lower Lough Macnean, and on either side you’ll see limestone-flagged fields, much like those of The Burren in County Clare. It was fifty thousand years of gentle water seepage through the limestone that deposited the calcite for the amazing stalactite growths in the caves below.
Almost opposite the caves’ entrance is the Legnabrocky Trail, which runs through rugged limestone scenery and peatland to the shale-covered slopes of Cuilcagh Mountain. This forms part of an environmental conservation area and offers a strenuous six- or seven-hour walk to the mountain’s summit and back (be prepared to turn back if the weather turns sour). A part of the Marble Arch Caves centre is now devoted to an exhibition describing the restoration of the mountain park’s damaged peatland and bogland habitats.
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The Ulster Way
The Ulster Way
From Marble Arch Caves the Ulster Way heads past Lower and Upper Lough Macnean before traversing the bog and granite heights of the Cuilcagh Mountains to Ballintempo Forest with its fabulous views over the loughs. The Way then continues north, through the Lough Navar Forest, a well-groomed conifer plantation with tarmacked roads and shorter trails. Although a great deal of fir-plantation walking is dark and frustrating, this forest does, at points, provide some of the most spectacular views in Fermanagh, looking over Lower Lough Erne and the mountains of surrounding counties. The Lough Navar Forest also sustains a small herd of red deer, as well as wild goat, fox, badger, hare and red squirrel.
