Driving Route: Travel through Donegal, Fermanagh & Cavan

Donegal, Fermanagh and Cavan 120 km
Ballyshannon - Enniskillen - Ballyconnell

The great River Erne stretches half way across Ireland from the headwaters of its tributaries in County Monaghan to meet the ocean at Ballyshannon. For greater part of its journey it spreads out into the most wonderful land of lakes: in the upper reaches studded with islands and made into a maze by long tongues of green hills, in lower parts a magnificent expanse of open water.

This tour is largely based on this incomparable waterway - but it has exciting diversions, too, such as the wonderland of caves and stately home at Florence Court and the magical Source of the Shannon.

The tour begins in Bundoran and follows the road north to Ballyshannon, where the poet William Allingham was born and who wrote a lovely poem beginning with the words Along the winding banks of Erne. The route passes the two great concrete dams that harness the power of the river and then crosses the Northern Ireland Border for the far-famed village of Belleek. In 1857 they began to make marvellous china goods there and they've never stopped. What is more, the pottery is in a beautiful classical house by the riverside - and besides the showrooms they have a friendly restaurant, the perfect place to stop for morning coffee.

A few miles farther on, a stone violin at the gate of Castlecaldwell commemorates with a poem, the fiddler Denis McCabe who fell overboard while entertaining a party on a barge on the lake. Lovely woodland walks by the shore of Lower Lough Erne, rich with birdlife, await the visitor. On Boa Island nearby, a stone idol stands, one of very few iron age sculptures that survived the enthusiasm of the early Christians in Ireland. Near the top of the great lake is Castlearchdale, where an exhibition in the Visitor Centre recounts the days of World War II when it was a vital base for seaplanes. Boats to the exciting island, Devinish, can be hired. A monastery in far off times, it has a splendid round tower which has stood there for a thousand years. The monastery was already old when the tower was built.

The town of Enniskillen straddles the river between the upper and lower lakes. A riverside car park, on the very edge of the placid Erne, gives a fine view of the town on a hill, crowned by two churches which look down on the water and the 16th century gate of the castle - one of few in Ireland which still serves as a military establishment. Enniskillen combines an element of 17th century town planning, centred around the churches and the castle, with a bustling modern town with all the amenities that you might expect.

The road for Sligo sets out through the suburbs of Enniskillen, groups of houses perched on the slopes of the drumlins, the succession of green hills that make life difficult for road builders and town planners - but give the country a particular charm of its own. Three miles down the Sligo road, signposts show the way to the marvels of Florence Court and Marble Arch. On the edge of the mystical Cuilcagh Mountains, they are part of this very remarkable range of limestone hills with fantastic shapes, both on the grand scale and in the finer detail.

Florence Court is a 'very costly and sumptuous building' begun in 1710, and rebuilt to its present day form in the 1760s. The great house to-day is a treasure chest of ancient tradition, of superb rococo decoration - and of elaborate stables and farm buildings. Surrounded by woods, parkland and gardens with many miles of footpaths, the demesne can easily absorb an entire day.

Marble Arch is one of many cave systems in these mountains where the rivers run through the rocks rather than over them. The special attraction of the show cave here is that the tour requires embarking in a small boat to follow the river. Even without a descent to the underworld, the surroundings are worthy of a visit. Footpaths and steps have been provided to give easy access to the woods of hazel and ash, bright in spring with bluebells. Where the roofs of ancient caves have collapsed, there are deep swallow holes, caverns in grey rock, decorated with ferns and mosses, a fairy-tale landscape.

The route south from Florence Court offers wonderful diversions, along narrow, hillside roads to parking places high on the slopes of Cuilcagh, with fantastic views over Upper Lough Erne. Nearby is the flat-topped Slieve Rushen, a great sanctuary in the iron age, famous before the Christians came to Ireland and still holding on to ancient traditions.

An alternative would be to divert for 55 km to the west from Florence Court to go around the Cuilcagh Mountains and visit the source of Ireland's greatest river. Surrounded by the mountains, the Shannon Pot is a place of enchantment. A deep, tear-shaped pool lies in the shade of ancient willow and thorn trees. Calm in dry weather, after a rainy spell its surface swirls with the force of the water welling up from caverns below the ground. Underneath the dipping branches of a lichen-covered willow, the river sets off on its long journey, snaking its way between green fields.

The journey ends amongst the green hills at Ballyconnell. The village became important in the distant past and, again, since the 1990s, as a harbour on the wonderful canal that joins the Shannon with the Erne. Ballyconnell is also the site of a splendid modern hotel and country club with a championship golf course - offering a change from contemplation of wide open spaces and the distant past to all the comforts of 21st century living. And, if that does not appeal, there are many delightful farm houses and B&Bs which welcome guests in search of a quiet life.

FURTHER INFORMATION
For further information on any of the items featured above, or on the counties in general, please contact:

Fáilte Ireland North West
Aras Reddan
Temple Street
Sligo
Tel: 00353 (0) 7191 61201
Fax: 00353 (0) 719160360

Email: northwestinfo@failteireland.ie
Web: www.irelandnorthwest.ie

Fermanagh Lakeland Tourism
Fermanagh Tourist Information Centre
Wellington Road
Enniskillen
BT74 7EF
Northern Ireland
Tel: 0044 (0) 28 6632 3110
Fax: 0044 (0) 28 6632 5511

Email: info@fermanaghlakelands.com
Web: www.findfermanagh.com