Florencecourt to Belcoo (including the Cuilcagh Way)

Getting to The Start

By Car

Florencecourt is just off the A32 between Enniskillen and Swanlinbar. Florencecourt Forest Park is well sign posted with brown tourist sign. Car parking is available in the forest park car park and at certain times of the year be subject to a National Trust admission fee.

By Public Transport

There is unfortunately no service from Enniskillen to Florencecourt. However there are two options which will bring you in the right direction.

Option 1
Ulsterbus Service 192 to Swanlinbar departs Enniskillen (Monday – Saturday) twice a day at 0730 and 1805 (1745 Sat). There are two further services on a Thursday 0930 & 1310. Ask to stop at the Drumlaghy junction to Florencecourt (GR H192355). It is a 1 mile walk to Florencecourt Forest Park from here.

Option 2
Take Ulsterbus Service 55 from Enniskillen to Kinawley (GR H229308). It is a 5.5 mile walk to Florencecourt along the Link section.

For timetable information please consult Translink website http://www.translink.co.uk/present/IndexOpSvc.asp#ULB

How to Walk the Route (Following a Clockwise Direction)

Please note there is currently no waymarking in place between the exit of Cladagh Glen (H128356) and Belcoo (H085385). It is hoped that the signage will be completed as soon as possible.

From the start at the Forest Service car park follow the pathway towards Florence Court House. Along the way you can explore the beautiful formal gardens on the right, although these are not on the official route. Follow the waymarkers towards the National Trust car and coach park, turning left before you reach it and continue along the rear of Florence Court House, past the Carpenter’s Shop and Saw Mill.

You soon re-enter the forest and, following forest tracks, will come to a farm lane passing alongside a wonderful karst outcrop. At the end of the lane the Way crosses open farmland (you will have to use stiles to cross some fences) and the limestone pavement of Brookfield, until you reach the bottom of Gortmaconnell Rock, where the route joins the Marlbank Loop Road an hour and twenty minutes from Florence Court House.

Turn left along the loop road and continue to the main avenue leading to the Marble Arch Caves. Turn right onto the avenue and, go down past the visitor centre on a concrete path and into Cladagh Glen and Marble Arch National Nature Reserve. Descend a series of steep wooden steps to the right of the giant limestone arch from which Marble Arch takes its name. At the bottom of the steps follow a path through woodland along the banks of the Cladagh River. Twenty to thirty minutes from the visitor centre you reach the end of the path at Cladagh Bridge. Go through the parking area and turn left onto the Florencecourt-Blacklion road.

After forty minutes' walk along this road you pass Hanging Rock Nature Reserve. The brooding, overhung cliff is unmistakable and is surrounded by one of the finest ash woodlands in Northern Ireland. Continue along the road for another forty to fifty minutes, passing into County Cavan and the Republic of Ireland. A short distance further along you enter the village of Blacklion. Turn right in the mainstreet and follow the road north across the road bridge towards the finish in the village of Belcoo, which is visible in the distance and only a ten-minute walk.

Upper section (via Cuilcagh summit)
From the start at the Forest Service car park follow a path out onto the main tarred avenue leading to Florence Court House. Cross the avenue and follow waymarks along a path. Go through several junctions and then continue alongside and occasionally over a number of small streams through Cottage Wood and Florence Court Forest. Turn right onto a road and pass Glen Wood Forest Nature Reserve before reaching a junction. Turn left and walk uphill around a number of sweeping bends. Follow a waymark off the road to the left and onto a hard-surfaced lane, which leads through Cove Forest. A short, uneven section heralds the end of the forest and open ground, just over an hour from the start.

Climb up through thick heather past a cairn and ancient burial site at Myalla, known locally as the Giant’s Grave. The relatively dry land soon becomes wetter as you progress further up the slopes of Cuilcagh. At times you might feel as though you are walking on water! Waymarks continue to lead northeast across blanket bog towards the summit pyramid of Cuilcagh. From the base of this pyramid a steep zigzagging ascent up a very steep slope leads to the triangulation pillar on the summit of Cuilcagh, two hours from the edge of Florence Court Forest. Once on top you will discover magnificent, 360° views that, on clear days, can encompass counties Tyrone, Donegal, Cavan, Leitrim, Sligo and Roscommon.

From the trig point walk northwest across the summit plateau for fifteen or twenty minutes and then carefully follow yellow-topped marker posts down past Lough Atona to the Legnabrocky Track. The ground on this descent can be very wet and in parts, quite steep. Follow the track north for an hour, gradually losing height as you do so. The long, stony track ends at a parking area for Cuilcagh Mountain Park. To the left is Monastir Sink, a rocky depression where the roof of an underground river has collapsed. This particular sinkhole is part of the same cave system that includes Marble Arch to the north.

Turn right onto the Marlbank Loop Road for a few minutes and then turn left onto the tarred avenue leading to the Marble Arch Caves Visitor Centre. You have now rejoined the main route of the Ulster Way.

Facilities Along the Route

Refreshments are available in the National Trust – Florencecourt House Tea Room and Marble Arch Caves Visitor Centre from Easter to Autumn and also year round in villages of Belcoo and Blacklion.

There is one Bed and Breakfast near the start of the section in the Florencecourt with a campsite, a few Bed and Breakfasts and Gueshouse at the finish of the section in Belcoo.

Walkers may wish to stay in the wide range of accommodation in the county town of Enniskillen the night before starting at Florencecourt.

N.B. Blacklion is situated in the Republic of Ireland and therefore the currency of choice is Euros – although Sterling is widely accepted.

Linking to the Next Section

The next section is Quality Section - Belcoo to Belleek which as the name suggest starts in Belcoo. Therefore starting the next Quality Section could not be easier.