Ireland (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Fionn Davenport [603]
Lusty Beg’s informal Island Restaurant ( 6863 1342; mains £9-17; 1-9pm Jul & Aug) is open to all, and serves everything from burgers and lasagne to beef Wellington and salmon en croute. Booking is necessary; you can summon the ferry from a telephone in the blockhouse on the slipway.
Castle Caldwell Forest Park
Castle Caldwell, built between 1610 and 1619, is nothing but a ruin, but the park (admission free; 24hr), about halfway between Boa Island and Belleek, has a nature reserve full of bird life, and is a major breeding ground for the common scoter.
At the entrance to the park is the Fiddle Stone (in the shape of a fiddle). The inscription, now too worn to read, once commemorated a favourite musician who fell out of a boat while drunk:
On firm land only exercise your skill; there you may play and safely drink your fill. To the memory of Denis McCabe, Fiddler, who fell out of the St Patrick Barge belonging to Sir James Caldwell Bart. and Count of Milan and was drowned off this point August ye 13 1770.
Belleek
pop 550
Belleek’s (Beal Leice) village street of colourful, flower-bedecked houses slopes up from a bridge across the River Erne, where it flows out of the Lower Lough towards Ballyshannon and the sea. The village is right on the border – the road south across the bridge passes through a finger of the Republic’s territory for about 200m before leaving again – and shops accept both pounds sterling and euros.
The imposing Georgian-style building beside the bridge houses the world-famous Belleek Pottery ( 6865 9300; www.belleek.ie; Main St; 9am-6pm Mon-Fri, 10am-6pm Sat, noon-6pm Sun Jul-Oct, 9am-5.30pm Mon-Fri & 10am-5.30pm Sat Mar-Jun, Nov & Dec, 9am-5.30pm Mon-Fri Jan & Feb), founded in 1857 to provide local employment in the wake of the Potato Famine. It has been producing fine Parian china ever since, and is especially noted for its delicate basketware. The visitor centre houses a small museum, showroom and restaurant, and there are guided tours (adult/child £4/free) of the pottery every half-hour from 9.30am to 12.15pm and 1.45pm to 4pm (till 3pm on Friday) Monday to Friday year round.
SLEEPING & EATING
Moohan’s Fiddlestone ( 6665 8008; 15-17 Main St; s/d from £35/60; ) This is a traditional Irish pub offering B&B in five rooms with private bathrooms upstairs. The lively bar downstairs is a popular venue for impromptu music sessions, so don’t expect peace and quiet in the evenings.
Best Western Hotel Carlton ( 6865 8282; www.hotelcarlton.co.uk; Main St; s/d from £60/90; ) Though the rooms are plush and luxurious, the family-friendly Carlton has a welcoming and informal feel to it, and a lovely setting on the banks of the River Erne. There are frequent live music sessions in the hotel’s Potters Bar.
Thatch Coffee Shop ( 6865 8181; 20 Main St; mains £3-7; 9am-5pm Mon-Sat) This cute little thatched cottage may be Belleek’s oldest building (late 18th century), but it serves a thoroughly modern cup of coffee, a delicious smoked-salmon toastie, and excellent homemade cakes and scones.
Black Cat Cove ( 6865 8942; 28 Main St; mains £7-10; noon-9pm) This friendly, family-run pub with antique furniture and an open fire serves good bar meals. It also has music on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights from May to September.
Lough Navar Forest Park
This forest park (car £3; 10am-dusk) lies at the western end of Lower Lough Erne, where the Cliffs of Magho – a 250m-high and 9km-long limestone escarpment – rise above a fringe of native woodland on the south shore. An 11km scenic drive through the park leads to the Magho Viewpoint. The panorama from the cliff top here is one of the finest in Ireland, especially before sunset: it looks out over the shimmering expanse of lough and river to the Blue Stack Mountains,