8 Best Sights in Fermanagh, Northern Ireland

On the riverbank stands the visitor center of Belleek Pottery Ltd., producers of Parian china; a fine, eggshell-thin, ivory porcelain shaped into dishes, figurines, vases, and baskets. There's a factory, showroom, exhibition, museum, and café. You can watch a 20-minute audiovisual presentation or join a 30-minute tour of the factory, where you can get up close and talk to craftspeople—there's hardly any noise coming from machinery in the workshops. Everything here is made by hand just as workers did back in 1857. The showroom is filled with beautiful but pricey gifts: a shamrock cup-and-saucer set costs about £59, and a Classic Connemara vase at £45. The company has a jewelry portfolio called Belleek Living featuring designs inspired by the Irish landscape. The most recent and somewhat unusual addition, which has found a new niche for a specialist customer in the U.S. market, is the production of a funeral urn. This is a bespoke Irish-themed urn, handcrafted as part of an elaborate process by casting a mold which is then cast in liquid clay, glazed and decorated with a shamrock.

Less known than some showier estates, this three-story Anglo-Irish mansion was built around 1730 for John Cole, father of the 1st Earl of Enniskillen. Topped off about 1760 with its distinctive two flanking colonnaded wings, the central house contains a surfeit of Palladian windows, keystones, and balustrades—thanks to, as one architectural historian put it, "the vaingloriousness of a provincial hand." Even more impressive is its bucolic, baroque setting, as the Cuilcagh Mountains form a wonderful contrast to the shimmering white-stone facade. Showstoppers in terms of design are the rococo plasterwork ceilings in the dining room; the Venetian Room; and the famous staircase—all ascribed to Robert West, one of Dublin's most famous stuccadores (plasterworkers). For a peek at the "downstairs" world, check out the restored kitchen and other service quarters. You can browse a gift shop and secondhand bookstore; holiday accommodations are available at the Butler's Apartment. Two greenhouses have been renovated and produce from them is available to buy in the shop and the historic 2-acre Kitchen Garden, which has been undergoing a £375,000 face-lift, is due for completion in 2022--23 when it will be returned to full horticultural production. A visitor center, opposite the walled garden, with an outdoor shop sells takeaway snacks.

Among the several relaxed and welcoming old pubs in Enniskillen's town center, the one with the most appeal is Blakes, a place hardly altered since it opened in 1887. Its name derives from the fact that the heart of the town lies in a slight hollow and the pub's landlord is named William Blake. Traditional music sessions are held on Friday night in the front bar, which is also the best place for local gossip and stories. If the druth—a local word for thirst—is on you, then it's worth trying the craft beer, Inishmacsaint, from an island in Lough Erne that reflects an ancient tradition established by monks 900 years ago; or you could try the exclusive Midleton Single Cask Irish Whiskey, 26 years in the making. Bottled exclusively for Blake's, it went on sale in 2019, although you can't buy it by the glass—only by the bottle—and for a cool £750. A cheaper option is the Midleton Very Rare 2018 produced with specially selected malt and grain whiskey and costing £15.50 a glass. The bar displays one of the doors from the Game of Thrones TV series filmed in parts of Northern Ireland. The door was salvaged from beech trees that came down in a storm in 2016 and were transformed into unique works of art. This one, Door 4, depicts House Targaryen's return to power. Lunch and dinner are served in the adjoining Café Merlot.

More than 20 wonderful arts-and-crafts shops selling Fermanagh pottery, jewelry, and paintings are gathered at the Buttermarket, a restored dairy market built in 1835. The organically run skin-care shop, The Natural Beauty Pot, sells biodegradable products, free of artificial coloring or fragrances and not tested on animals. You can relax in the courtyard of Rebecca's coffee shop which sells terrific traybakes and freshly prepared lunches including homemade cottage pie and salads.

Although the Irish architect Richard Johnston made the original drawings in the 1790s, and was responsible for the foundation, the castle was, for all intents and purposes, the work of James Wyatt, commissioned by the 1st Earl of Belmore. One of the best-known architects of his time, Wyatt was based in London but visited Ireland only once, so Alexander Stewart was drafted as the resident builder--architect. The designer wasn't the only imported element; in fact, much of Castle Coole came from England, including the main facade, which is clad in Portland stone and was hauled here by bullock carts. And what a facade it is—in perfect symmetry, white colonnaded wings extend from either side of the mansion's three-story, nine-bay center block, with a Palladian central portico and pediment. It is perhaps the apotheosis of the 18th century's reverence for the Greeks.

Inside, the house is remarkably preserved; most of the lavish plasterwork and original furnishings are in place. The saloon is one of the finest rooms in the house, with a vast expanse of oak flooring, gilded Regency furniture, and gray scagliola pilasters with Corinthian capitals. One-hour tours are held daily, with the last one at 4:15 pm, and include Life Below Stairs, which explores the servants' rooms and service quarters; above stairs is the home of the present Earl of Belmore, who still lives on the estate. During the day the Tallow House tearoom serves lunches and snacks.

In the summer months, you can indulge in the Queen Anne Afternoon Tea Experience. This includes a guided tour looking deeper into the history behind the original Queen Anne site on the estate followed by afternoon tea served in the lavish Breakfast Room. It costs £20; check the website for dates and availability.

Strategically sited overlooking the River Erne, Enniskillen's 600-year-old waterfront castle is one of the best-preserved monuments in the north, and has undergone a multimillion-pound redevelopment, which has seen the tourist office merging with the castle complex, creating a new gateway to the region. Built in the early 15th century by the Gaelic Maguires to command the waterway, the castle was of tremendous importance in guarding one of the few passes into Ulster and the crossing point between Upper and Lower Lough Erne. Fermanagh’s unique lakeland history is interpreted in four galleries spread over two floors in the restored barrack coach house. Exhibitions highlight life from prehistoric times to the present day, from crannógs (man-made island settlements) to early Christian stone sculpture, Belleek pottery, and rural crafts and traditions. The Full Circle Art Gallery showcases work of local painters such as William Scott, T. P. Flanagan, and Kathleen Bridle. In the listening seat you can hear a recording of Flanagan (who died in 2011) speak about his love of Enniskillen, describing the special quality of the stillness and light. A new building, in the shape of the original armory, links the visitor center with the coach house, allowing tourists a glimpse of the original castle wall. The center, styling itself as a "history hub," combines tourism, genealogy, archive, and heritage services alongside a café and shop. The Camp Commander's garden has also been re-created. The polished paraphernalia of the Inniskillings Museum, which includes weapons, badges, medals, and engravings, is held in the castle keep. Pride of place is given to the bugle sounded at the charge of the regiment at the Battle of the Somme in 1916. Look out too for the spectacular room with a cabinet holding the regimental silver used to dress the mess tables for formal dinners. There are interactive displays, and a Roll of Honor contains the names of the 9,100 people from all over Ireland who died in World War II.

Beyond the West Bridge is Enniskillen Royal Grammar School, formerly Portora Royal School (it became co-ed in 2017), established in 1608 by King James I. On the grounds are some ruins of Portora Castle. Writers educated here included Samuel Beckett and Oscar Wilde, the pride of the school (until his trial for homosexuality). The life and writings of Beckett, the droll existentialist and arch-modernizer born near Dublin in 1906, is celebrated at the Happy Days International Beckett Festival; some festival events are held at the school, as well as other locations around Fermanagh over the bank holiday weekend at the end of August. The multidisciplinary festival incorporates literature, theater, visual arts, film, and comedy, and offers a chance to savor some of Beckett's killer lines, such as this one from Waiting for Godot: "Let us not then speak ill of our generation, it is not any unhappier than its predecessors."

At the Erne riverside, the 16th-century Water Gate, between two handsome turrets, protected the town from invading armies. The flag of St. George flies over the building, a tradition that dates back to the 17th century, when local soldiers of the Inniskilling Regiments fought for the Protestant William of Orange against the Catholic James II.