Brougher Mountain Landscape

Key Characteristics

• Broad, rounded sandstone ridges dissected by short, steep glens; escarpment to the north; steep summits and rounded loughs to the south.
• Varied patchwork of land uses on the hills, with bog, improved grassland and rough grazing, contrasting with improved agricultural fields.
• Mix of small and medium sized farms, with land reclaimed from bog or moor. Stone walls or hedgerows separate fields.
• Isolated patches and strips of coniferous trees on hill slopes; mixed planting around farm buildings; willow and birch scrub on cut over bogs and around loughs.
• Megalithic sites on uplands and a concentration of raths at lower altitudes. Numerous traditional buildings.

Landscape Description

Brougher Mountain is an upland area of broad sandstone ridges which extends from Cloghtogle Mountain (near Enniskillen) to Slievedivena in Omagh District. The landform of the ridges is complex. Brougher Mountain (316m) is the highest point , with deeply undulating slopes and rounded summits. Topped Mountain and Knockmany are also prominent. To the south, the ridge becomes broken and subdivided to form a crumpled plateau with numerous loughs and rounded summits. To the north, the ridge is lower, with a well-defined escarpment to the SE and a dip-slope to the NW. The upland is dissected by two straight, deep valleys, which follow this same alignment, relating closely to fault-lines. The escarpment has steep plummeting slopes and long views out over the Clogher Valley to the south and east. The lower slopes have a more convoluted landform, with broken ridges of glacial moraine in valleys and at the foot of slopes Blanket peat covers the summits, with a transition to marginal pastures on lower slopes.

There are some extensive blocks of conifers on the upper slopes and stands of mixed woodland on the steep escarpment. Recent reclamation has extended improved fields at higher elevations and there is a strong contrast between the bright green improved fields and areas of rough grassland, heath and bog. On lower slopes, field boundaries are varied with locally occurring sandstone walls, earth banks with gorse and low hedges. There are scattered trees in the valleys, with woodland (including some conifer blocks) on the steeper valley sides, along streams and around farms.

Farms are scattered along narrow roads, with concentrations on south facing slopes. There are some small estates on the slopes near to Enniskillen, with red sandstone estate houses, and at Aughentaine, near Fivemiletown.

There are a number of important archaeological sites, including megalithic tombs, cairns and standing stones on higher ground and raths on the lower slopes, particularly those overlooking the Tempo Valley.

Landscape Condition and Sensitivity to Change

The escarpment slopes and summits are particularly prominent and therefore sensitive to change.

The dereliction of traditional drystone walls and old stone buildings and their subsequent removal or replacement with wire fences and modern bungalows, is gradually eroding the character of the area. New piecemeal housing is often associated with the planting of non-native coniferous species around the perimeter of properties, which may lead to the creation of a less unified landscape. The loss of field boundaries, creating large improved fields, is not in character with the small scale patchwork land use. Peat cutting and drainage of bog for agriculture or forestry is leading to a gradual loss of this resource and its replacement with less rich habitats. There are a small number of sand and gravel pits but they are not of sufficient scale to affect the landscape condition overall. Radio masts on hilltops are prominent on some skylines.

Principles for Landscape Management

• It would be beneficial to conserve the small scale field pattern and existing walls and hedges, avoiding their removal or replacement with wire.
• Peat cutting on a small scale scattered across the area would be less damaging than its concentration in one area. Careful restoration of quarries after working will ensure that they do not remain as eyesores in the landscape.
• Small-scale scattered forestry is more appropriate than large blocks of planting and there is scope to improve the integration of existing forest margins with local landforms. The conservation of open ridge-lines would conserve the characteristic long views.

Principles for Accommodating New Development

• New development is best accommodated on lower slopes, reflecting the pattern of existing development and making use of shelter from existing vegetation and landform; development on skylines should be avoided.
• New development would blend more sympathetically with the rural environment if native planting, rather than exotic conifers, were used.