About Pollnagollum Cave Waterfall
Pollnagollum Cave Waterfall is a small waterfall within the Belmore Forest spilling over a limestone cliff in front of what appeared to be an alcove or small cave entrance.
The waterfall is said to have a drop of 12-13m in height, but its flow varies depending on how much rain had fallen.
As you can see in the photo above, this waterfall had a modest flow during our mid-July 2024 visit, but I’d imagine earlier in the year or in a rainier time, it could easily swell significantly.
There are actually multiple caves on the island of Ireland that have the name Polnagollum (meaning “hole of the doves”).
However, the one we’re talking about here is also sometimes called the Polnagollum-Coolarkan Cave (not to be confused with the one in The Burren in County Clare, for example).
The secondary name is due to the fact that there used to be a limestone quarry operation here called the Coolarkan Quarry, and there’s even a limestone monolith-like remnant that people now use for climbing.
Apparently, the Polnagollum Cave is a filming location for the popular Game of Thrones show, but I personally haven’t really seen this show so I can’t elaborate more on this association.
However, having noticed how much attention Game of Thrones filming locations get throughout Northern Ireland, this remote spot seemed to have received increased visitation as a result (though we were the only people here during our morning visit).
In any case, visiting the Polnagollum Cave Waterfall was pretty straightforward as it was a mere 250m walk (500m round-trip) to get from the car park (see directions below) to the lookout.
The walk started off along a forest road where we had driven to its lay-by to park the car, and then we walked the continuation of this road briefly to a fork where we took the narrower road on the right.
From there, the path skirted by what appeared to be a small opening in the forest, which was quite possibly the location of the Coolarkan Quarry.
At this opening, there was an interesting limestone protrusion or monolith that was apparently used by climbers, and there was also a path that went deeper into the opening though it’s not the way to the Polnagollum Cave.
Continuing on the main path for another 150m or so, we then followed a sign leading to some slippery steps down to the viewing platform looking down at the Polnagollum Cave and waterfall.
During our visit, there was a gate at the viewing platform fronting the continuation of the trail leading right down into the cave.
While the railing or gate looked like it could be easily traversed, we opted to stay in the viewing area and not go any further than that.
So our visit was brief (taking no more than 25 minutes away from the car) given that this was a short jaunt.
However, there was a longer 6km loop trail deeper into the Belmore Forest to extend this excursion though we didn’t do it so we can’t say anything more about that option.
Authorities
The Polnagollum Cave Waterfall is near the border-split towns of Blacklion, County Cavan, Ireland and Belcoo, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland within the Belmore Forest of the Cuilcagh Lakelands Global Geopark in the parish of Boho, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. It is administered by a cooperation between Fermanagh and Omagh District Council and Cavan County Council. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, you can try visiting the Cuilcagh Lakelands Geopark website.
The Polnagollum Cave Waterfall resides in the Belmore Forest near the hamlet of Boho, which is situated between the twin border towns of Blacklion, County Cavan, Ireland and Belcoo, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland and the city of Enniskillen, Northern Ireland.
However, since we approached this waterfall from Sligo, I’ll describe the driving directions from there.
From Sligo, the most straightforward route would be to follow the N16 from the city centre, and continue on the N16 for about 47km towards the twin towns of Blacklion-Belcoo.
Be careful when crossing the border into Northern Ireland because the distances and speed limits switch from the metric system in Ireland to the English system in Northern Ireland.
By the way, the currency also changes from the Euro in Ireland to the Pound steling in Northern Ireland.
After crossing the border from Blacklion, Ireland, into Belcoo, Northern Ireland, the N16 becomes the A4, which we continued for another 700m to a signed turnoff for Boho on the left.
Once on the Boho Road, we then followed it for about 900m before turning right at its junction with the Holywell Road to continue along the Boho Road.
Then, we drove another 300m before keeping left to stay on the Boho Scenic Way, and we continued along the Boho Road for another 6.3km before reaching a signed turnoff for Belmore Forest.
Turning right onto this access road for Belmore Forest, we then drove the final 600m to a humble-looking lay-by on the right, which is the nearest place to park the car for the Polnagollum Cave.
Overall, this drive would take a little over an hour.
For context, Boho was about 6.4 miles (15 minutes drive) northeast of Belcoo, about 10.2 miles (under 30 minutes drive) west of Enniskillen, about 32km (over 30 minutes drive) east of Manorhamilton (Ireland), about 56km (about an hour drive) east of Sligo (Ireland), 45km (under an hour drive) southeast of Ballyshannon (Ireland), 66km (a little over an hour drive) southeast of Donegal (Ireland), about 63 miles (over 90 minutes drive) southwest of Londonderry, 93 miles (about 2 hours drive) west of Belfast, and 173km (about 2.5 hours drive) northwest of Dublin (Ireland).
Find A Place To Stay
Checking out the cave and the waterfall from the official viewing deck
Related Top 10 Lists
No Posts Found
Related Itineraries
Trip Planning Resources
Nearby Accommodations
Featured Images and Nearby Attractions
Visitor Comments:
Got something you'd like to share or say to keep the conversation going? Feel free to leave a comment below...No users have replied to the content on this page
Visitor Reviews of this Waterfall:
If you have a waterfall story or write-up that you'd like to share, feel free to click the button below and fill out the form...No users have submitted a write-up/review of this waterfall
Nearest Waterfalls
