Episode 2 Ar Scáth na Sléibhte

-Hello, Margaret, I'm delighted to be here.

-Great to have you.

-Thank you very much. Look at the view you've got here.

-Yes, it's very nice.

Stunning, isn't it?

Cuilcagh Mountain, it dominates the entire landscape.

Cuilcagh Mountain is obviously important to you, then.

You're in this landscape of Cuilcagh.

Well, I'm in the shadow of Cuilcagh.

It's a backdrop to everything that we do.

Every photograph that was taken, Cuilcagh was always in it

because we couldn't get rid of it and we didn't want to get rid of it.

It was our meteorological compass always when we were young

because the first place the rain arrives

is on the western side of Cuilcagh Mountain.

That's the first place the rain arrives

and then I know that it will soon be, in 15 minutes, it'll be here.

-An early warning, as it were.

-An early warning.

And it's something that never changes.

I just feel it's just unscathed, it's a perfect mountain,

as far as I'm concerned,

and mountain people, like border people and island people,

are that bit different because we have that as our security.

All the time we've been having this wonderful conversation,

it's been difficult

because the most enticing smell is coming out of your cottage.

Come on in and get some of my home-made bread.

-I would love to.

-Come on ahead.

-Here we are.

-Thank you very much. No point in sparing the butter.

-No, you need loads of butter on everything.

-You do.

None of those modern sensibilities!

The last time I sat in a house like this was 60-odd years ago

in Donegal - a house that's beautiful and comfortable,

but not connected to 20th century civilisation.

-Would that be a true description of where we are?

-Yes, that's true.

We're self-sufficient in the sense

that I carry my water from the spring well.

I have oil lamps for my light.

-No electricity?

-No electricity, no.

It can't be an easy way of life, is it?

If you're doing it for 73 years, you get sort of used to it.

The compensations are... You couldn't name them.

The solitude, your roots in society, your feeling of who you are,

your sense of identity, all those things

make up for going down to carry up a couple of buckets of water.

You've been here for 70-odd years.

It's been in your family prior to that.

My grandfather bought the house from his cousins

who were emigrating to America in 1887.

The deed's on the wall, actually, over there, drawn up on pig skin,

and they bought the house,

I think it was £30 10s 6d the whole thing cost.

It's lovely. I'm aware of my roots here, I'm aware of who I am.

The rootedness that you're explaining now and your family

and the rootedness of the landscape, the rootedness of Cuilcagh,

there's a kind of a correlation there.

Of course because you're walking on hallowed ground.

You're walking in their footprints.

They had to go to the well, they had to look down at Cuilcagh Mountain,

they had to hump bags of turf and creels of turf

and you realise what you have and you hold on to it.

You're a lucky woman to be here

and in an environment, in a snug, comfortable...

I don't mean physically comfortable, I mean mentally comfortable.

Yes, mentally comfortable. Being happy with yourself.

-I think it's great.

-And at the lot that's been levelled out to you.

I think you've done very well.

-This is some hallway, isn't it?

-Yes, it is.

Basil, this is a fine big house. What's its history?

Well, it was established in the 1700s by Lord Enniskillen,

which was then resident in Enniskillen.

It got its name from his first wife, which was Florence,

hence Florence Court.

When he picked this site, did he pick it well?

He did. It's a lovely setting because you've Cuilcagh Mountain,

Benaughlin in the background.

You have Lough Erne in the distance in the front.

Just a lovely landscape round it.

There's not much more you could do for a nice setting than this.

This would have been the original kitchen here.

It's a strange kind of roof, like an umbrella-type roof.

It is a strange roof, yeah.

This stove was recently refurbished last year.

It went across to England to get pieces made for it.

-Is that the original stove?

-It is the original, yes.

-And can it be fired up?

-Yes, it does.

-It'll be fired here on some of the visitor days.

-Right.

-It works perfect.

-But is this original?

-These are original here, yeah.

-Right.

And this was the place where they cut the meat here.

So meat was cut there and vegetables

and stuff would have been in this area.

And the baking and stuff would have been done from there, too.

-Ah, if these tables could talk!

-Yeah, they'd tell some stories.

Basil, your personal connection with this place goes way back, doesn't it?

My childhood days.

A number of us used it as a play area when we were kids.

We just came across the road, cos I lived on the other side.

We used to pinch the strawberries

and so on and so forth out of the walled garden.

You would have got them if you'd asked,

but they were nicer when you pinched them.

-Of course!

-They tasted better.

It didn't stop you coming back later on, then,

to work in the estate, did it?

No, it didn't, no, but I started to volunteer in 1976.

When you volunteered as what? What were you doing?

Well, at that time, there was quite a few workmen here

and I would have put hammers and spades and shovels

and that for the workmen here at that time

and maybe repair a blade on a lawnmower or something.

That would have been... You didn't charge for it.

Are you the only volunteer?

No, no, I think we've something around 150 volunteers in Fermanagh

between the three properties and they do quite a lot of work.

And the fact that you've been volunteering here for 40 years now,

does that give you any status among the volunteers?

No! It does not.

So, first of all, to welcome you all here

to the Marble Arch Caves Global Geopark...

So, just behind us here now, you've got Cuilcagh Mountain,

where the park obviously takes its name from.

This is the highest point in County Fermanagh.

It's about 667 metres in height.

If you take a look over here to your left-hand side,

you'll see examples of some of the peat dams.

This is one of over 1,200 dams

that were actually constructed

in this area of the mountain in front of you.