Marg Davies Charity Walks: 2023 Walking Ireland

Monday 24th April

Magho Cliffs Viewpoint to Road, 4.7 Miles & Florence Court Red Trail 5.8 miles

(Should have been Cladagh Bridge to Florence Court 5.9 miles but section closed!)

Who said it always rains in Fermanagh? Denise & I arrived at Magho Cliffs Viewpoint, the start of today's walk, in glorious sunshine. A pleasant change from my last trip to this continuous area of forest, possibly the largest in Ireland.

I got out of the car for our customary photo-shoot. Brrrr! There was a brisk, cold breeze! Well we were at one of the highest, most exposed parts of Fermanagh. Photos taken I hastily adjusted my 'dress' and put on my windproof high-viz jacket. It kept out the cold and no-one could miss me as I walked down the Ulster Way against the flow of traffic.

After the bare, open ground leading up to the viewpoint where a vast acreage of land had been felled my walk became more sheltered. In fact, I was beginning to steam-up as there was a sizeable hill to climb. Once over that and more enclosed in the forest I had to stop and take my fleece off - I was TOO hot!!

The Ulster Way is a supposed route starting & finishing in Belfast & travelling around Ulster in a clockwise direction. At this point it is a smooth, singe-tracked, tarmacadam highway. I chose to walk it anti-clockwise here in Fermanagh mainly because the general trend of the trail means I'm mostly descending.

The day was one of those will it/won't it days weather wise. Often the sky looked threatening even whilst I was bathed in sunlight. The surrounding countryside was the spruce forest I'd become used to although there were a number of open spaces where gorse, deciduous trees and upland Bogs survived. The views, when they popped out from behind the trees, were spectacular and well worth spending several minutes savouring them.

I stopped at one viewpoint to have a snack and enjoy the tranquility and amazing vista.

A chap pulled up in his bright yellow work lorry, got out his phone (this was one of the few places with a signal) and sat there with his noisy, rattling engine running the whole time I was there and for some time after I’d left (he passed me further down the road.

The streams, rapids and waterfalls were in full spate after the heavy rain of Saturday & Sunday.

Eventually I arrived at the road and made my way along it to my first pick-up point of the day where George duly found me and drove me to Florence Court as I had discovered that the section of the Ulster Way that I had been planning to use, from Cladagh Bridge up the gorge towards the Marble Arch Caves, was closed. I had intended on finishing at Florence Court, a National Trust Property, so I just decided to complete the circular Red Trail around the Florence Court estate. As it turned out I had a lovely, strenuous but pretty walk with many interesting things along the way.

The first half was a very different walk among much more open deciduous woodland. The paths were well marked and well maintained so, although strenuous, with a few hefty uphill sections, it was comparatively easy walking.

There were so many interesting things to see; Lady’s Well, the early water supply for the house;

the bucolic view across open, cattle-strewn pasture towards the house; the area where young visitors were encouraged to make dens;

the famous Irish Yew Tree, a previously unknown species discovered in 1767 and one of the 70 Ancient Trees dedicated to the late Queen in her Platinum Jubilee Year.

The Red Trail took me not only through deciduous woodland with its carpets of bluebells but also beside a babbling stream wandering gently beside the path, such a calm sight after the rushing and tumbling of the upland streams. The trail also joined up, at its furthest point, with the Ulster Way and Cuilcagh Way.

I walked the Cuilcagh Boardwalk last year, it’s an amazing experience if you have the legs and the lungs for it! From part of the trail I could spy part of Cuilcagh Mountain before returning to the House and its beautiful gardens. Another place well worth the visit.