Fardrum Lough, Roosky Lough, and Green Lough


Useful Information

Location: Upper Drumcose Rd, Enniskillen BT93 7EJ.
(54.400000, -7.722744)
Open: no restrictions.
[2021]
Fee: free.
[2021]
Classification: Karstkarst lake Turlough
Light: n/a
Dimension:  
Guided tours: self guided
Photography: allowed
Accessibility: no
Bibliography:  
Address:  
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then.
Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

DEC-2004 confirmed as Site of Community Importance (SCI).
MAY-2005 designated a Special Area of Conservation (SAC).

Description

Fardrum Lough, Roosky Lough, and Green Lough are three small turloughs or karst lakes, located at the southern shores of Lower Lough Erne. They formed within a basin of the Carboniferous Ballyshannon limestone. The lakes are connected to the karst groundwater but have no in- or outflow on the surface. They are oriented and located on a straight line running northwest to southeast, almost parallel to nearby Lower Lough Erne. They are the only turloughs in Northern Ireland, and represent the most northerly occurrence of turloughs in Ireland and the UK.

Due to the geological uniqueness and the resulting yearly flooding the vegetation communities of inundation zone are quite exceptional. Typical are the bryophytes Cinclidotus fontinaloides and Fontinalis antipyretica. Green Lough also supports the rare fen violet Viola persicifolia. Also exceptional is the ground-beetle fauna including the carabids Blethisa multipunctata and Pelophila borealis. For this reason the site was designated a Special Area of Conservation (SAC)