Belleek

Belleek is a small border village in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, sitting on the River Erne where it begins its final run to the Atlantic. The village straddles the international border with County Donegal in the Republic, and is best known throughout the world for Belleek Pottery, founded here in 1857 and one of the oldest working potteries in Ireland.

The Belleek Pottery visitor centre offers guided tours of the factory floor, where skilled craftspeople still hand-weave the distinctive basketware and apply delicate flowers and shamrocks to the pottery's famously translucent Parian china. A museum on site charts more than a century and a half of production, and the showroom displays everything from collectable figurines to contemporary tableware. There is a café overlooking the river and a shop selling first-quality and second-quality pieces.

Beyond the pottery, Belleek is a useful base for exploring the wider Fermanagh Lakelands. Lower Lough Erne lies just upstream, with boat trips to Devenish Island and the Marble Arch Caves Global Geopark within easy reach by road. The village itself has a handful of pubs, a heritage trail along the river, and views across to the salmon weir that has shaped local life for generations.