Enniskillen: II

Timothy Belmont this morning, at eight-thirty, indulged in a fully cooked County Fermanagh breakfast, comprising two sausages, two rashers of bacon, mushrooms, tomato, fried egg, baked beans, potato farl and toast.

I accompanied this feast with a pot of tea and orange juice.

I have been unable to obtain a wi-fi connection until now, hence the tardiness of this missive.

After breakfast, I jumped into the two-seater and made a bee-line for Florence Court estate, one of the National Trust's first properties in the Province.

I like to revisit the Trust's Fermanagh properties every time I happen to be in the county.

I began my visit with a walk round the grounds. The Earls of Enniskillen used to be one of the greatest landowners in the county, with about 28,000 acres.

I passed the original Florence Court yew tree, dating from the mid-18th century, I gather.

The first tour of the house started at eleven fifteen, so we mustered in The Colonel's Room within one of the pavilions.

I took a tour of Castle Coole yesterday and I don't know whether any readers have had a similar experience, though the guides carry on with their narrative, not always absolutely accurate in detail, embroidered to an extent in some cases.

I offered a comment this morning which did not illicit any response. Perhaps visitors are discouraged from making positive comments.

When I returned to Enniskillen, I perused a map and only then realised that I could have carried on towards Belturbet, a town just across the border in the Irish Republic.

Lanesborough Lodge was close to Belturbet and I'd like to see what's left of it at some future time.