Overview
A 12-metre waterfall drops off a limestone cliff straight into the mouth of Pollnagollum, the longest cave system in Ireland, in the woods of Belmore Forest south-west of Boho. From there the underground stream runs on for close to a mile before resurfacing on the north bank of the Aghanaglack River. You cannot go into the cave, and shouldn’t try; it is an active, hazardous stream passage. But the view from the platform, of the fall pouring into the dark cave mouth, is the reason to come, and the thing to prioritise if your time is short. Fans of Game of Thrones have a second reason: the entrance played ‘Hollow Hill’ in Season 3.
The forest walk and viewing platform
Most people reach it on the waymarked Pollnagollum Cave Walk, a 4.5-mile (7 km) anti-clockwise loop through Belmore Forest, graded easy and taking about two hours on forest track and surfaced path. It is not wheelchair accessible, and the stone-slab steps down to the platform get slippery after rain, so grippy boots matter more than an ‘easy’ grade suggests. The platform is the payoff: the fall over mossy rock, ferns and canopy all around, with interpretive panels on the karst geology and the underground stream. Higher on the loop the track opens to views of Lower Lough MacNean and the television masts on Brougher Mountain to the east, with Cuilcagh away to the south.
Name, show cave and caving
The Irish Poll na gColl means ‘hole of the doves’. In Victorian times Pollnagollum was worked as a show cave, drawing day-trippers down to the entrance chamber. Today its winding stream passages make it a training ground for novice cavers, though the active water and complex layout mean nobody should go in without a qualified guide.
Game of Thrones
Fans of HBO’s Game of Thrones will recognise the entrance as ‘Hollow Hill’, the Brotherhood Without Banners’ hideout in Season 3, where the natural rock and waterfall set the scene for Beric Dondarrion’s camp. The interiors were built in a studio, but the mossy, misty exterior is the real place.
The wider geopark
Pollnagollum sits within the Cuilcagh Lakelands Global Geopark, a UNESCO-listed landscape of limestone uplands and underground rivers. The same karst that carved it shaped the nearby Marble Arch Caves, whose guided tours run through lit underground chambers, the obvious pairing if you want to actually go inside a cave.
Practical information and safety
Pollnagollum is a free, unstaffed outdoor site, remote and unlit after dark, so plan accordingly.
- Opening hours: open 24 hours, but walk it in daylight only.
- Admission: free. There is a small free car park at the trailhead, but it fills quickly and the signage is not always clear.
- Getting there: on the R200 about 6 km north-west of Boho. From Enniskillen, take the A46 to Boho, then the R200 north to the signposted lay-by. Translink buses run from Enniskillen to Boho, but the last stretch to the cave means a 10-minute walk or a taxi.
- Terrain and footwear: mostly surfaced forest track, but the steps to the platform are slippery when wet. Sturdy shoes with good grip.
- Weather: the fall throws off a lot of mist after rain, so bring a waterproof.
- Dogs: allowed on a lead; clean up after them.
- Safety: stay on the marked paths, keep children back from the platform edge, and do not enter the cave without a guide.
Nearby
If you are making a day of Fermanagh’s cave country, Belmore Forest itself has more walking, and a short drive north brings you to Ballintempo Forest and the Aghanaglack dual-court tomb with its riverside paths.
Time your visit for after a spell of rain, when the fall actually roars. In a dry summer it can thin to a trickle, and in winter the platform steps can ice over.