The Antrawer (Tra) Walk

Overview:

This is the longest of the four walks and will take about two hours to complete. The loop begins and ends at the Sliabh Beagh Hotel and whilst it is mostly off-road, the stretches to and from the hotel are on-road for short distances and great care should be exercised where no footpath is available.

From the hotel you can follow this walk in either direction. The following account is based on an anti-clockwise direction, turning left from the hotel. Follow the road with great care for half a kilometre until the route turns into a minor country road.

The walk moves uphill past the small enclosed fields of the lowlands towards the blanket bog and open grazing of the uplands. As you climb the hill you will no doubt stop to catch your breath and enjoy the fine views southward into the midlands.

Moving on you'll pass the local sandstone quarry from where the beautiful golden stone of Sliabh Beagh is cut.

Turning left at Lough Antrawer, the route shares part of the Sliabh Beagh Way, crossing two feeders of the lake and of the Blackwater. You are now moving into turf cutting country from which the homes of the townlands below have been warmed for generations.

The path, or pad as it's pronounced locally, continues on the far side of the cutting. If you're passing in early summer you'll see the white heads of the bog cotton plant bobbing in the breeze in the water cutaway areas.

A picnic table has been positioned in a discreet location along this section in the townland of Knockanearla, so take a break. Just ahead of you, about 100 metres is the border with County Fermanagh into which the Sliabh Beagh Way continues. To the north lies the Three Counties Hollow where the Ulster Counties of Fermanagh, Tyrone and Monaghan meet.

Please remember to take your rubbish with you as you leave the picnic area. The path moves along past a very rich uncut blanket bog area and then down through forestry plantations towards the Fivemiletown Road. This area is popular with wild goat and deer and they are never far from forest cover. A short stretch of road brings you back to the Sliabh Beagh Hotel.

Points of interest:

Fine views of the midlands, sandstone quarry, wild goat and deer, bog cotton plants in summer.

Distance: 10km

Grade:

Route type: Minor roads, bog and forest tracks