Florence Court Forest Park (Blue Trail)

Start : Florence Court Forest Park Visitor Centre - National Trust (BT92 1DB) out of Marble Arch Road (B52).
The route is signposted (Blue Trail)

(S/E) Start at the Visitor Centre where you turn right and cross the bridge. Follow the path to the left and continue on the path.

(1) Take care crossing the road at the admission hut. The trail rejoins the main path here. Continue to follow the signs (Blue Trail), crossing a large bridge. Note this part of the path is used by other walkers and horse-riders. (A) Walk for around 1.3 Km.

(2) You’ll reach a crossing where the Blue Trail continues to the right (South-West), passing the Florence Court Yew tree (B). Follow the path through the forest and alongside the field toward the pleasure grounds. Continue around the corner to the right.

(3) Go over the bridge into the Pleasure Grounds (C). Continue through the Pleasure Grounds, keeping to the left and crossing the large wide bridge. Follow the path back around to the right, passing the Sawmill, Summer House and past the mansion.

(4) Continue across the road and onwards to return to the Visitor Centre. You’ll pass the Walled Garden on your left just before the Visitor Centre (D). (S/E)

Start : Florence Court Forest Park Visitor Centre - National Trust (BT92 1DB) out of Marble Arch Road (B52). Signposted from the A4 – Enniskillen to Sligo Road.

Parking : Florence Court Forest Park Visitor Centre car park - National Trust (BT92 1DB) out of Marble Arch Road (B52).

Note : The route is signposted (Blue Trail) National Trust entrance pricing applies for this walk.

Terrain : Unsurfaced off road paths

Public Transport : Translink

Facilities : Picnic areas, Toilets (Disabled Access), Stables restaurant, Coach House shop offering a range of gifts, Baby changing facilities, children’s play area, Guided tours of the house available.

Dog Policy : Dogs welcome on leads in garden and grounds

Find more information and walk ideas at Walk NI here.

Florence Court : Florence Court is a large 18th-century house and estate located 8 miles south-west of Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is set in the foothills of Cuilcagh Mountain. The nearby village is distinguished by the one-word name Florencecourt. It is owned and managed by the National Trust and is the sister property of nearby Castle Coole. The other National Trust property in County Fermanagh is the Crom Estate.
Source and more information about Florence Court here !

(A) When the house at Florence Court was built, this next section of the path along the Broad Meadow was kept clean of trees and obstructions – event the animals you see today wouldn’t have been there so that this perfect view of the house at the top of the gentle hill was preserved.

(B) The Florence Court yew tree, taxus baccata ‘fastigiata’, is reported to be the “mother! Of all Irish yew trees. It was discovered as part of a pair on Cuilcagh Mountain in 1740 by local farmer George Willis. He presented one to William Cole, 1st Earl of Enniskillen which was then planted on the estate. The specific type of yew can only be propagated by cuttings and has had hundreds of cuttings over its lifetime so far which gives it a very distinguished appearance.

(C) The pleasure grounds are home to a number of historic buildings on the estate. The Ice House would have once held all the ice used at the mansion house, taken from a local pond once it froze over. It would never have been consumed but used to keep foodstuffs cold. Ice houses were an important part of many mansion houses, but the rise of imported ice from Scandinavia that was safe to consume led to the decline of their use.

(D) The Walled Garden contains the Rose Garden which is lovingly tended to a National Trust gardener, and the Kitchen Garden which is undergoing a project to return it to a 1920s arrangement. Stop in to see how the fruits and vegetables are coming along. Depending on the time of year you may even get to pick some up for yourself at the Visitor Centre.