Lough Fern is a shallow lake – two metres deep on average, three at the most – threaded onto the River Leannan about 2km south of Milford and 10km north of Letterkenny. It runs 2.3km long and 0.8km wide, sits at just under 19m above sea level, and drains back down the Leannan to Lough Swilly at Rathmelton. Be clear about what it is before you go: this is a working fishery and a wildfowl refuge, not a scenic honeypot. There’s a lay-by, the water and the birds, and not a great deal else.
The crannog
At the northern end of the lake are two small islands, and one of them is a crannog – an artificial island built up from a cairn of stones, roughly 18m by 21m, ringed by a band of loose stone with a gap that’s probably modern. Crannogs like this were defensible lake-dwellings, mostly raised in the early medieval centuries when the water was the safest boundary a family or chieftain could have. You can’t reach it, but it reads clearly from the shore, and it’s the one thing here that pulls you out of the present.
Birds and conservation
Lough Fern is a Special Protection Area, designated under the EU Birds Directive chiefly for the pochard (Aythya ferina) that overwinter on it, and it sits within the wider Leannan River Special Area of Conservation. The marshes and reedbeds at both ends feed and roost wetland birds through the colder months. Below the surface it holds brown trout, salmon, perch, three-spined stickleback and the critically endangered European eel.
Fishing
Lough Fern is a productive brown-trout fishery, with fish averaging one to two pounds and the odd one nearer five. Salmon run here too: the salmon and sea-trout season is 1 January to 30 September, and brown trout from 15 February to 30 September. The western shore is the pick for bank fishing, but a boat gets you to the deeper water and is the better bet – boat hire is available from the club pier in Milford. Permits are sold at the Spar in Kilmacrennan. Proven flies include the Connemara Black, Black Pennell, Bibbio and various sedge patterns.
Walking
There’s no made path around the lake. The one waymarked option nearby is a trail linking Lough Fern to Lough Columbkille, listed on AllTrails and as good for birding and fishing as for walking; note that dogs aren’t allowed on it, and it’s at its best between April and September. Otherwise the shore belongs to anglers and the roadside lay-by is your way in.
Practical information
- Access and parking: on the R246 south of Milford; a small roadside lay-by holds a handful of cars.
- Facilities: none – no centre, café or toilets. Bring whatever you need with you.
- Wildlife etiquette: as a protected SPA and SAC, keep it quiet in winter when the birds are roosting, stay off the crannog, and keep dogs under control.
- Safety: the shallows are gentle, but it deepens towards the middle and the water stays cold year-round; it’s not a swimming lake.
Come at first light on a still winter morning if it’s the birds you’re after, binoculars in hand – the reedy eastern shore is the best vantage for the pochard, and that’s when the lake earns the visit.