County Fermanagh ~ Northern Ireland

Fermanagh is quite often known as Ireland's Lake District with stunning scenery and beautiful Lakes. Enniskillen is the county island town and has much to offer the visitors that come here. Coole Castle is home to the Royal Iniskilling Dragoon Guards museum. This Palladian mansion house was completed in 1796 and is home to magnificent woodwork, fireplaces, furniture and a library. in the gardens is the original Florence Court yew tree. The Buttermarket is the place to shop for china, lace and knitwear and various other crafts. Oscar Wilde and Samuel Beckett were pupils at the Royal School and a contemporary of Shakespeare, Edmund Spenser wrote about Enniskillen.

The county has a border with County Tyrone to the north and County Monaghan to the north east and to the south east County Cavan and travelling to the south west is County Leitrim with County Donegal to the north west. Fermanagh is a fertile area and naturally using the land for agriculture is widespread. The County covers an area of around 648 square miles. Lisnaskea and Irvinestown are the other densely populated towns after Inskillen.

Geography

Fermanagh is a pleasant rural region with a broad area of low lying land which holds the Upper and Lower Lough Erne. As with all the rivers and lakes in this area there are great stocks of fish. Lough Erne has many world records for coarse angling and fishing for salmon and trout is popular there too especially with local residents. The Shannon-Erne waterway canal is the longest inland waterway in Europe. On the Fermanagh and Cavan Border is the range of Cuilcagh Mountains which has the highest peak in Fermanagh, Other mountain ranges include Brougher, Molly, Slieve and Derrin. On the western and eastern sides of the county there are great forested areas with great picnic areas.

Industry

The Waterways attract the tourists who get away from it all on small boats to the larger cabin cruisers. The boating holiday is often combined with a spot of fishing as this region is developed for anglers.

Farming is extensive with the green fields used for grazing or hay for winter feed and also the production of meat from cows, pigs and sheep. Dairy farming is important for the supply of milk.

Belleek village where the Erne river flows into the Atlantic is where the famous porcelain is in production. The factory provides visitors with a close-up look at the firing, glazing and decorating of Belleek porcelain which was established in 1857 and is widely collected.

Cities, towns and villages within County Fermanagh