Where to Stay in County Fermanagh
Map of Where to Stay in County Fermanagh
Information about County Fermanagh
County Fermanagh is one of the most beautiful and distinctive counties in Northern Ireland, a place defined by water in a way that is unique in the British Isles, where a third of the county’s entire area is covered by the lakes, rivers and wetlands of the Fermanagh Lakelands and the great expanse of Lough Erne stretches for miles through a landscape of wooded islands, ancient monasteries and a countryside of quiet and enduring beauty.
Lough Erne is the heart and soul of the county, a complex and labyrinthine waterway of upper and lower loughs connected by the River Erne and studded with over one hundred and fifty islands, many of them carrying the remains of early Christian monasteries, Celtic stone carvings and ancient settlements that speak of a landscape that has been inhabited and venerated for thousands of years. Devenish Island, the most visited of the lough’s monastic islands, preserves the remains of one of the most important early Christian monasteries in Ulster, its round tower standing intact above the water in one of the most evocative and atmospheric settings in Ireland.
The lough is a paradise for those who love water based activities, offering some of the finest cruising, fishing, kayaking and wild swimming in Ireland in a landscape of exceptional tranquillity and beauty. The Erne waterway connects through a system of rivers and canals to the Shannon, creating one of the longest navigable inland waterways in Europe and a boating destination of extraordinary appeal and variety.
Enniskillen, the county town, sits on an island between the upper and lower loughs in a position of natural beauty and strategic importance that has shaped its history for centuries. The town’s castle, housing two excellent museums, tells the story of the county and its people with real depth and engagement, while the town itself has a compact and attractive centre with a good range of places to stay and eat. Belleek, on the county’s western border, is famous throughout Ireland and beyond for its distinctive and delicate pottery, a tradition of craftsmanship that has been maintained here for over a century and a half.
Whether you are looking for a lough shore retreat, a boating holiday on the Erne waterway, a journey through the early Christian heritage of the lough’s monastic islands or simply the profound pleasure of a landscape in which water, sky and ancient history combine in ways found nowhere else in the British Isles, County Fermanagh is a destination of rare and lasting beauty.
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