A pale, palace-like mansion in Portland stone, a full 200-odd metres of columns and calm, sitting in a huge lakeside park you can wander for hours. Castle Coole is about as grand as a great house gets in Ireland — and the grounds are yours to roam.
What it is — one of Ireland's finest neoclassical (Palladian) mansions, faced in gleaming Portland stone shipped over from Dorset, built in the 1790s for the Earls of Belmore to a design by the leading architect of the day, James Wyatt. Now cared for by the National Trust.
Inside — the state rooms are shown by a guided house tour of about an hour, taking in the grand main rooms and the basement where the servants lived and worked. A real step through a lord's front door.
The grounds — around 700 acres of parkland, mature oak woodland and a lake, Lough Coole, home to a long-established colony of greylag geese — one of the very few resident, non-migratory flocks in Ireland. Lovely, level lakeside and woodland walks in any weather.
The house is by guided tour only, and seasonal. Tours run roughly March to October and are usually booked on arrival, subject to availability — the parkland stays open far more of the year, so if the house is what you're after, check the day before you travel.
Cost — NT members free. Non-members pay for the house-and-grounds ticket, with a cheaper grounds-only ticket; National Trust members go free. Prices below — confirm the current rate when you arrive or book.
Getting there & food — just off the Dublin Road on the edge of Enniskillen, with parking on site. The Tallow House tea-room does hot lunches, sandwiches, cakes and coffee, and there's a second-hand bookshop to browse.
Plan your visit
Grounds to roam freely, the house by guided tour
There are really two Castle Cooles, and it helps to know which you're coming for. The parkland — around 700 acres of woodland, lakeshore and open grass — is open through the year, roughly 10am to 6pm, and you're free to stride out and explore. The house is a different thing: it's shown by a guided tour of about an hour, running roughly 10:30am to 4:30pm and only in season (about March to October). Tour places are usually booked when you arrive, subject to availability, so on a busy day it's worth turning up earlier rather than later. National Trust members go free; non-members buy a whole-property ticket (house + grounds) or a cheaper grounds-only ticket. Prices and hours change with the season and can be hit by weather closures, so confirm the current details on the day.
House by ~1-hr guided tourTea-room & bookshopParking on site700 acres of park & lakeDogs on leads in the park
Coming for the house? Check the day before.
The mansion is guided-tour-only and open in season (roughly March to October); the parkland is open much more of the year. Storm Éowyn caused damage across many National Trust estates in early 2025, so the Trust asks visitors to check the property's own page before setting out — worth a quick look if a specific walk or the house tour is the whole reason for your trip.
Before you set off
What to wear and bring
👟Comfy walking shoesThe parkland is broad and open — mostly grass and gravel — so shoes you can happily walk a couple of miles in make the day.
🧥A coat and layersFermanagh weather likes to change its mind. Rain just turns the lake and oak woods silver and soft — a good coat keeps the whole family out in it.
🧺A picnic, if the day's fineThere's plenty of open parkland to spread a rug, and the tea-room's there for a hot lunch when you'd rather be waited on.
📷Your cameraThat long pale facade across the green lawn, and the geese on the lake, are a proper photograph — bring something to catch it.
Good to know
Everything before you go
What you'll do
Walk the parkland freely — woodland, lakeshore and open grass, with a level lake walk near the house — and, in season, take the guided tour of the mansion itself. Grounds for the whole family and the kids; the grand house tour is a treat for grown-ups and older children.
Cost
National Trust members free. Non-members pay for a whole-property ticket (house + grounds) or a cheaper grounds-only ticket; recent National Trust pricing has been in the region of £14–£15.40 adult / £7–£7.70 child for the whole property, and about £6.50–£7.20 adult for grounds only, with family tickets available — confirm the current rate when you arrive or book, as prices change with the season.
House tour
The house is seen by guided tour of about an hour, taking in the main state rooms and the servants' basement. Tours run roughly March to October, about 10:30am–4:30pm, and are usually booked on arrival subject to availability. Groups can pre-book on 028 6632 2690.
Grounds & hours
Parkland open through much of the year, roughly 10am–6pm; the Tallow House tea-room runs about 10am–4pm. Seasonal changes and weather closures happen — confirm on the day.
The park
Around 700 acres of parkland, mature oak woodland and Lough Coole, home to a long-established colony of greylag geese — one of very few resident, non-migratory flocks in Ireland. Level lakeside and woodland walks.
Food
Tallow House tea-room with a seasonal menu of hot lunches, sandwiches, teas, coffees, cakes and bakes. Plenty of open parkland for a picnic too.
Dogs
Dogs on leads are welcome in the parkland. As with National Trust houses generally, assistance dogs only inside the mansion — confirm on the day.
Accessibility
Ramped access at the front of the mansion, an accessible toilet beside visitor reception, and a level lake walk suitable for mobility scooters. A mobility scooter and a wheelchair can be booked (028 6632 2690).
Toilets
Toilets on site, including an accessible toilet beside visitor reception.
Parking
Parking on site at the Grand Yard car park. Some National Trust properties charge non-members for parking — confirm on arrival.
Weather
The parkland is lovely in any weather — bright days for a picnic on the lawn, soft grey days that make the pale stone and the lake glow. A coat means rain just adds to it.
Questions
Before you go
Can I go inside the house?
Yes, but by guided tour — the state rooms are shown on an hour-long tour, usually booked when you arrive, subject to availability. The house is open in season only (roughly March to October), so if it's the whole reason for your trip, check the property's page the day before.
Is it free?
National Trust members go free. Non-members pay for a whole-property ticket (house + grounds) or a cheaper grounds-only ticket — recently around £14–£15.40 adult for the whole property and about £6.50–£7.20 adult for grounds only, with family tickets. Confirm the current rate when you arrive or book.
Can I just walk the grounds?
Yes — the 700-acre parkland, woodland and lakeshore are open through much of the year (roughly 10am–6pm), and there's a grounds-only ticket if you're not a member. A lovely walk without ever going inside.
Are dogs allowed?
Dogs on leads are welcome in the parkland. Inside the mansion it's assistance dogs only, as at most National Trust houses — confirm on the day.
Is there anywhere to eat?
Yes — the Tallow House tea-room does hot lunches, sandwiches, cakes and coffee (roughly 10am–4pm), and there's a second-hand bookshop to browse. Bring a picnic too if the day's fine.
Is it good for a pram or wheelchair?
There's ramped access at the front of the mansion, an accessible toilet by reception, and a level lake walk that suits mobility scooters. A scooter and a wheelchair can be booked ahead on 028 6632 2690.
Getting there
Castle Coole, Dublin Road, Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh BT74 6JY — just off the Dublin Road on the edge of Enniskillen, with parking on site.
A house built to outshine every other in the north-west
Castle Coole was the ambition of Armar Lowry-Corry, the first Earl of Belmore, who set out in the late 1780s to build a house that would outclass anything else in this corner of Ireland. He hired James Wyatt, the leading English architect of the day, and gave him a brief that prized classical purity over local habit. What went up between roughly 1789 and 1798 is, many say, the purest expression of late-eighteenth-century neoclassical architecture in the country.
No expense was spared. The whole exterior was faced in Portland stone — shipped from Dorset by sea and, the story goes, hauled the last stretch overland by bullock cart — which gives the mansion a cool, pale, palace-like presence few Irish estates can match. Inside, the state rooms were finished to the same exacting standard, a lord's front door onto the taste of the age.
Around it all lies the parkland: some 700 acres of open grass, mature oak woodland and the lake, Lough Coole, whose colony of greylag geese has settled here so long that it's counted among the very few resident, non-migratory flocks in Ireland. The National Trust cares for the estate now, keeping the grounds open to walk and the great house open, in season, to step inside. Get out to Fermanagh, walk the park, and go and live it.