The Carleton Trail is a way-marked 30-mile (48km) loop through the Clogher Valley in County Tyrone, starting and finishing at the Rural Centre on Clogher’s main street. It is named after William Carleton (1794-1869), the novelist who grew up here, and it strings together the things worth seeing in this corner of the valley: a Neolithic passage grave, a Gothic chapel, an old cathedral and the cottage Carleton was born in. It costs nothing to walk or cycle.
Most people don’t do the full 30 miles. If you only have time for one part of it, take the Black Route – a 13.8km (8.6 mile) loop graded moderate, mostly on quiet country roads, with the best of the valley views packed into a couple of hours. It runs from the Rural Centre past the War Memorial, follows the signs near Johnston’s Chapel, crosses the townland of Prolusk and comes back via Clogher Cathedral.
William Carleton and the cottage
Carleton grew up in the valley and turned its people and folklore into fiction; Yeats called him the greatest novelist of Ireland. His childhood home, Carleton’s Cottage, sits in Springtown just outside Augher and is open year-round with free entry, with interpretive panels on his early life and the local stories that fed his work. The cottage is part of the European Heritage Open Days programme.
Each August it hosts a weekend literary festival – poetry readings, folk music, storytelling and a craft market – usually over a Saturday and Sunday in early August. Entry is free. The catch is parking: spaces at the Rural Centre and the cottage fill up over the festival weekend, so come early or expect to walk in.
What to see along the way
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full trail | 30 miles (48km) circular, starts and finishes at Clogher Rural Centre |
| Black Route | 13.8km (8.6 mile) loop, moderate, better as a cycle |
| Carleton’s Cottage | Carleton’s childhood home in Springtown; free entry |
| St Macartan’s (Forth Chapel) | Gothic chapel, 1838-1846, 1.66 miles from the trail start |
| Knockmany passage grave | Prehistoric tomb under a protective cairn, 2.72 miles away |
| Clogher Cathedral and graveyard | Old ecclesiastical site on the Black Route |
| Johnston’s Chapel | Way-marked point near the first crossroads |
| War Memorial | Landmark at the trail’s first turn |
| Prolusk | Small townland of traditional farmsteads |
The two sights most worth the short detour are the Knockmany passage grave – a prehistoric tomb sheltered under a later cairn, 2.72 miles off the route – and St Macartan’s, the Gothic chapel built between 1838 and 1846, 1.66 miles from the start. The landscape itself is gentle rather than dramatic: riverbanks, low hills, hedgerows and farmland, with longer views opening up from the higher ground.
Cycling the Black Route
The Black Route is the better bet on two wheels than on foot. It is signposted for cyclists, stays mostly on public roads and is graded moderate at 13.8km, so it suits road and hybrid bikes. But it does drop onto off-road field tracks in places, and that is where the honest warning comes in: recent user reports on Outdooractive say the original track up Vinegar Hill has been partly lost to landslides. A lower-grade alternative on the same side of the hill is still passable and signposted, but those off-road sections are rough and turn muddy after rain. Bring tyres with decent tread and a spare inner tube.
For harder riding nearby, the Davagh Forest mountain-bike trails near Cookstown run from green loops to black runs, and Blessingbourne Estate near Fivemiletown has purpose-built MTB trails for beginners up to advanced.
Maps and way-marking
The whole circuit is way-marked with black-and-white signs at junctions and points of interest. The Black Route appears on Sustrans’ Fermanagh Lakelands and Tyrone Cycle Map (50) (ISBN 978-1-914410-40-6), which also shows links to National Cycle Network routes 91, 92 and 95. A printable PDF and a GPX file are on the Visit Mid Ulster website if you want the route on a GPS device.
Getting there and parking
By car from Belfast, take the M1 north, then the A4 towards Enniskillen. At the Ballygawley roundabout stay on the A4 to Augher; Clogher is two miles past Augher. The trailhead is the Rural Centre on the main street, which has on-site parking.
Parking is limited during the August festival, so arrive early. An alternative is Round Lake Park near Fivemiletown (see below), which has disabled-access spaces.
Dogs
Dogs are welcome on the trail and the Black Route on a lead. The gentle gradients suit families walking dogs, and Round Lake Park has a dedicated dog-walk around the lake.
Where to stay nearby
Round Lake Park near Fivemiletown is about 15 minutes’ drive from Clogher. The caravan and camping site opens 1 March to 30 September and has disabled access, pet-friendly pitches, a children’s play area, boat mooring, a shop and a toilet block, plus the lakeside dog-walk.
Nearby
From the trail you can detour to St Macartan’s (Forth Chapel), the Knockmany passage grave or Aughnacloy Golf Club, all a short drive away. The Beaghmore Stone Circles near Cookstown are also within reach – a far older set of monuments than anything on the trail itself. The wider Clogher Valley has more walks and viewpoints.
Before you go
The trail is open all year and doesn’t close seasonally. After heavy rain the off-road parts of the Black Route get muddy, so check conditions first. In spring the hedgerows fill with wildflowers and birdsong; deer and hares are common, and the streams hold trout. If you can time it for the first weekend of August, the festival at Carleton’s Cottage is the one date that turns a quiet rural loop into something with a crowd.