Summer Explorers at Crom Estate

What to Expect

The National Trust runs Summer Explorers at Crom every day through the school holidays, and it is built as a drop-in rather than a booked programme. Children can do animal orienteering around the estate or borrow a tracker pack and go looking for the species that live there, including several that have turned up on wildlife television. Alongside that there are summer games set up on site, with play fishing and rabbit hoopla named on the programme.

Crom is one of the largest surviving areas of oak woodland in Northern Ireland, spread along the shore of Upper Lough Erne, so the activities sit inside a genuinely good day out rather than being the whole reason to come. Bike, balance bike, boat and canoe hire are available on the estate on top of the Summer Explorers activities, which lets you stretch a morning into a full day. Sessions run from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM, seven days a week, until the end of August.

Good to Know

• Daily, Monday to Sunday, 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM, until 31 August 2026.
• Crom Estate, Upper Lough Erne, Newtownbutler, BT92 8AJ.
• Normal estate admission applies. National Trust members enter free. Check current rates before travelling.
• Activities include animal orienteering, tracker pack loans, play fishing and rabbit hoopla.
• Bike, balance bike, boat and canoe hire are available separately on site.
• Phone 075 6127 2561 for the day’s arrangements.
• Outdoor activities in woodland and shoreline, so bring boots and a coat regardless of the forecast.

Getting There

Crom Estate lies on the shore of Upper Lough Erne about three miles from Newtownbutler in south Fermanagh, signposted off the road between Newtownbutler and Crom. From Enniskillen take the A4 east then the A34 south through Lisnaskea and Newtownbutler, around forty minutes in total. From Cavan and the south, cross at Belturbet and follow the A509 and A34. There is a large car park at the visitor centre and the estate roads are gravel, which is manageable with a buggy but easier with a sturdier pushchair. There is no useful public transport to the estate gate, so this is a drive or a taxi from Newtownbutler.