The Antrawer (Tra)

Start : Sliabh Beagh Hotel (H18 H985)

(S/E) 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 (L1002) with great care for half a kilometre until the route turns left into a minor country road that is closed to traffic (apart from agricultural access).

(1) So turn left, and 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 sandstone of Sliabh Beagh is cut for facing and ornamental work.

Beagling or hound hunting is very popular amongst local hunt enthusiasts so you may hear the familiar bark of the hounds and shouts of huntsmen, particularly on a Sunday when drag hunts are often held.

(2) 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 moving into turf cutting country from which the homes of the townlands below have been warmed for generations.

Towards evening the calls of Grouse, Snipe and Skylark mingle across the heather tops in a final flurry of the song before slowly giving way to the stillness of the night. 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 wetter 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 as they are never far from forest cover.

(3) Turn left. A short stretch of road brings you back to the Sliabh Beagh Hotel. (S/E)

Start : Sliabh Beagh Hotel (H18 H985)

Fine views of the midlands. Golden sandstone quarry.
Wild Goat and Deer. Bog Cotton plants in summer.