Ireland (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Fionn Davenport [602]
You can hire bikes for £4/8/12 per hour/half-day/full-day, or swap two wheels for four legs – the park offers pony trekking (£15 per hour), as well as short rides (£5 per 15 minutes) for beginners. There are also boats for hire (£55/80 per half-day/full-day), and you can also rent fishing rods (£5 per day including bait).
The park is 16km northwest of Enniskillen on the B82, near Lisnarick.
SLEEPING & EATING
Castle Archdale Caravan Park ( 6862 1333; www.castlearchdale.com; Castle Archdale Country Park; tent sites £15-20, caravan sites £20-25; Easter-Oct) This attractive, tree-sheltered site is dominated by onsite caravans, but has good facilities, including a shop, launderette, playground and restaurant.
Cedars Guesthouse ( 6862 1493; www.cedarsguesthouse.com; Drummal, Castle Archdale; s/d from £40/70; ) Set in a former rectory just south of the park entrance, this peaceful 10-room guesthouse goes for a Victorian country-house feel, with rose-patterned bedspreads and antique-style furniture.
Rectory Bistro (mains £11-17; 6-9pm Wed-Sat, 12.30-3pm & 5-9pm Sun) Adjoining the Cedars Guesthouse, this bistro has a welcoming open fireplace, lots of golden pine lit by chunky candles and a sprinkling of Gothic motifs, with a hearty menu that ranges from a fresh crab and smoked salmon wrap to beef and Guinness pie with creamy mash, peas and onions.
White Island
White Island, in the bay to the north of Castle Archdale Country Park, is the most haunting of Lough Erne’s monastic sites. At the eastern tip of the island are the ruins of a small 12th-century church with a beautiful Romanesque door on its southern side. Inside are six extraordinary Celtic stone figures, thought to date from the 9th century, lined up along the wall like miniature Easter Island statues.
This line-up is a modern arrangement; most of them were discovered buried in the walls of the church in the 19th century, where the medieval masons had used them as ordinary building stones. The six main figures, all created by the same hand, are flanked on the left by a sheila-na-gig, which is probably contemporary with the church, and flanked on the right by a scowling stone face. The age and interpretation of these figures has been the subject of much debate; it has been suggested that the two central pairs, of equal height, were pillars that once supported a pulpit, and that they represent either saints or aspects of the life of Christ.
The first figure is holding a book (Christ as Evangelist?) and the second holds a bishop’s crozier and bell (Christ as Bishop?). The third has been identified as the young King David, author of the Psalms. The fourth is holding the necks of two griffins (symbols of Christ’s dual nature as both human and divine?). The fifth bears a sword and shield (Christ’s Second Coming?) and the sixth is unfinished.
A ferry ( 6862 1892; per person £4; 11am-6pm daily Jul & Aug, to 5pm Sat & Sun Apr-Jun & Sep) crosses to the island hourly, on the hour (except for 1pm), from the marina in Castle Archdale Country Park; buy your ticket from the Billieve Boat Hire office. The crossing takes 15 minutes, and allows you around half an hour on the island.
Boa Island
Boa Island, at the northern end of Lower Lough Erne, is connected to the mainland at both ends – the main A47 road runs along its length. Spooky, moss-grown Caldragh graveyard, towards the western end of the island, contains the famous Janus Stone. Perhaps 2000 years old, this pagan figure is carved with two grotesque human heads, back to back. Nearby is a smaller figure called the Lusty Man, brought here from Lusty More island. Their origin and meaning have been lost to the mists of time.
There’s a small sign indicating the graveyard about 1.5km from the bridge at the western tip of the island.
SLEEPING & EATING
Lusty Beg Island ( 6863 3300; www.lustybegisland.com; Boa Island, Kesh; s/d £70/100; ) This private island retreat, reached by