Covid Care

Please continue to avoid hot-spots and exercise additional caution in places where the paths are narrow. Turn back if unsure, practice social distancing and step off paths if they are narrow when passing others.

Do not over-stretch yourself physically or explore beyond your comfort zone.

TYPE	Circular walk up through natural wooded glen to open mountain and viewpoint and back along riverside.
DISTANCE	0.75 miles /1.2 km
SURFACES	Mostly well made compacted surfaces with variable slopes.
HEIGHT GAIN / LOSS	150 feet climb
HAZARDS	Some steeper path sections.

Don’t be put off by the shortness of this route – it is a great little walk crammed full of woodland and heath richness with some of the best views in Fermanagh. It certainly wouldn’t fill a day, but it would be an ideal excursion between showers on a clear fresh day when the views will be at their best and the rocky Glen fills with cascades of tumbling water. It also combines well with the Lough Navar Forest Drive and other shorter stops at the Cliffs of Magho and Lough Achork. See map at end of this post for details.

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Covid Care

Please continue to avoid hot-spots and exercise additional caution in places where the paths are narrow. Turn back if unsure, practice social distancing and step off paths if they are narrow when passing others.

Do not over-stretch yourself physically or explore beyond your comfort zone.

TYPE	Circular walk through deciduous glen and gorge, then road walking, with ancient church, souterrain and conifer plantation with Clan Inauguration Stone
DISTANCE	2.3 miles / 3.7 km
SURFACES	Undulating natural woodland paths, asphalt roads and forest tracks. Can be muddy in places.
HEIGHT GAIN / LOSS	230 feet climb
HAZARDS	Unguarded drops along gorge away from path section walking on ‘B’ road with one blind hill requiring extra care

This short walk features a great diversity of attractions. The deciduous glen and gorge woodland is a beautiful mix of mature planted beech on the level ground and native species populating the steep sides. The glen is part of the grounds of the Grade II listed Ballintemple House (once described as a ‘Thatched Hunting Lodge’ when owned by the Bishop of Derry) which dates from the late 1700’s. An ancient graveyard and church ruin associated with St Adamnon (of Iona fame) is visited. Adjacent to this is a Souterrain and further along the route, in the section through Gortnamoyagh forest, you visit a low hill with a clan Inauguration Stone .

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Covid Care

Please continue to avoid hot-spots and exercise additional caution in places where the paths are narrow. Turn back if unsure, practice social distancing and step off paths if they are narrow when passing others.

Do not over-stretch yourself physically or explore beyond your comfort zone.

TYPE	Lakeside and deciduous woodland walk with views over Lough Erne and Green Turlogh
DISTANCE	6.1 miles / 9.8 km
SURFACES	Mostly well made woodland tracks with some less defined path walking
HEIGHT GAIN / LOSS	530 feet climb
HAZARDS	Major road crossing, proximity to water and disused quarry

Walking in lakeland sounds attractive, but is actually very difficult. Lower Lough Erne alone has well over 125 miles of shoreline – but only a minute fraction of this is available to walkers. Also the best ‘lakeland’ walking is often on hills with views over the water – think of the English Lake District. So a good lakeland walk needs actual lakeside paths and hills with lake views. Ely and Carrickreagh Woods have both! In addition, this walk passes through some glorious semi-mature beech and larch wood and visits a beautiful hidden valley with Turloughs (vanishing limestone based lakes!)

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Covid Care

Please continue to avoid hot-spots and exercise additional caution in places where the paths are narrow. Turn back if unsure, practice social distancing and step off paths if they are narrow when passing others.

Do not over-stretch yourself physically or explore beyond your comfort zone.

TYPE	Circular walk through the estate visiting mature oak woodland, oak parkland and a wooded island with mixed woodland.
DISTANCE	5.2 miles / 8.2 km
SURFACES	Mostly well made compacted surfaces with gentle slopes. Inisherk section and parts of Culliaghs wood soft underfoot in places.
HEIGHT GAIN / LOSS	400 feet climb
HAZARDS	Some walking on estate roads. Some walking on difficult soft ground.

We are told that Ireland was once an island covered in great forests and in those forests the mighty oak was the dominant tree. Today this is hard to envisage with oaks a rarity, generally confined to rocky ravines like the Ness Woods or Roe Valley Country Park. Even in these places they tend to be small with limited canopies. This walk in glorious Crom estate looks at alternative oak woodlands which hint at the possible true ancient landscape of Ireland.

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