Bellanaleck Loughshore Walk

Starting at the designated car park on Waterhen Lane this short route follows the shores of Lough Erne down to the Moorings Marina. Pass through the gate to follow the path along the back of the houses to the right of the car park. The path continues past the community sensory garden and open fields to follow the shoreline of Upper Lough Erne. The path cuts back out towards the main road, where a wide footpath runs alongside a busy main road, to lead you back to the car park on Waterhen Lane.

The route offers fantastic views out over Lough Erne and aside from the small stretch beside the road, the walk is very peaceful. The natural environment of Bellanaleck is home to a vast array of biodiversity. On this walk you can see a wide variety of habitats including species rich wet grassland, marsh, fen and open water. There are also some impressive Oak trees in the vicinity of the walk to keep an eye out for. During the summer months you will notice some beautiful wildflowers beside the path and along roadside verges such as the Common-Spotted Orchid, the flowers of which range from pale pink to pink-purple marked with darker streaks and spots.

This walk also bounds Bellanaleck Quarry Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) as designated by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA). This site is designated because of its geological value. Behind the vegetation lies a disused quarry and a vertical rock face. The Carboniferous rocks exposed on this rock face are an extremely rare occurrence of Waulsortian mound limestone and are only the second occurrence of these types of rocks in Northern Ireland. Carboniferous refers to geologic features formed approximetly 360million years ago. Despite the isolated nature of this limestone exposure it is one of the most important geological features in the Carboniferous outcrops of Northern Ireland.