0:00:36 > 0:00:40The limestone country of western Fermanagh is pockmarked
0:00:40 > 0:00:44with the telltale signs of a landscape that's hidden from view.
0:00:44 > 0:00:48Just above the famous Marble Arch show caves,
0:00:48 > 0:00:50the rivers disappear into sink holes,
0:00:50 > 0:00:54dissolving the rock, creating a magical underworld.
0:00:54 > 0:00:56If you know where to look.
0:00:57 > 0:01:01I've come to Monastir Gorge with cave expert Tim Fogg,
0:01:01 > 0:01:04looking for a beautiful cavern that's tucked away
0:01:04 > 0:01:08right beside the car park where we started our walk.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13We're just going down here to the gorge, Darryl,
0:01:13 > 0:01:18and then upstream a bit to a little cave called Templebawn,
0:01:18 > 0:01:22which I suppose, roughly translated, is "the white chapel".
0:01:24 > 0:01:29It always fascinates me to think that things that you see now
0:01:29 > 0:01:32could have been very, very different in the past.
0:01:33 > 0:01:37Yeah, it seems very possible that we're walking up now
0:01:37 > 0:01:41what was once a cave, and that this whole gorge was roofed.
0:01:41 > 0:01:43There's lots of little bits of evidence
0:01:43 > 0:01:45- that lead you to think that.- Yes.
0:01:45 > 0:01:46And Tim should know.
0:01:46 > 0:01:49He's a very modern caveman,
0:01:49 > 0:01:51whose expertise is in big demand.
0:01:53 > 0:01:57The rock bed just... At the top.
0:01:59 > 0:02:01I've just been very lucky.
0:02:01 > 0:02:06Over time, I've been involved with a number of events
0:02:06 > 0:02:10to make films underground and on cliffs and in trees,
0:02:10 > 0:02:13because they use ropes to get there, to stay safe.
0:02:13 > 0:02:15The way the water's found, we're...
0:02:15 > 0:02:18'We took Kate Humble and a guy called Steve Backshall,
0:02:18 > 0:02:20'we took them into four caves around Britain
0:02:20 > 0:02:25'and put them really through a lot of interesting caving.
0:02:25 > 0:02:28'Underwater and down huge pitches and so on.'
0:02:33 > 0:02:37It was caving that first brought Tim to Fermanagh 30 years ago.
0:02:37 > 0:02:39And he's been exploring here ever since.
0:02:44 > 0:02:47We're following the Owenbrean River upstream
0:02:47 > 0:02:50to find the cave first discovered by a group of ramblers
0:02:50 > 0:02:52early last century.
0:02:53 > 0:02:58That is fabulous, it's like some tropical ravine.
0:02:58 > 0:03:03Yeah, you come here, you just see the entrance... We will need our torches.
0:03:03 > 0:03:04OK.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09- You have absolutely no idea what's in there?- No.
0:03:09 > 0:03:12So it's going to be a totally new experience,
0:03:12 > 0:03:15- creeping into a crack in the rock... - Yeah.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18..and finding something really quite beautiful and extraordinary.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21OK, well, let's get on with it, I want to see it.
0:03:22 > 0:03:25- A bit of a scramble up from here.- OK.
0:03:25 > 0:03:29'The water that carved Temblebawn is long gone,
0:03:29 > 0:03:32'but caves can be extremely dangerous places.
0:03:32 > 0:03:35'The best advice is, never go in alone
0:03:35 > 0:03:37'or unprepared.'
0:03:38 > 0:03:41Hey... Fantastic!
0:03:41 > 0:03:43It gets a bit bigger in here now.
0:03:50 > 0:03:54Oh! You would never know it was as big as that.
0:03:54 > 0:03:56That's big!
0:03:56 > 0:03:57It's not just exquisite.
0:03:58 > 0:04:02It looks in a way, Tim, almost like
0:04:02 > 0:04:04someone's been in here with the icing sugar,
0:04:04 > 0:04:07applying it all over the walls, it's gorgeous.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10Yeah, the pure white is just weathered limestone,
0:04:10 > 0:04:12it's pure limestone and the surface is sort of soft.
0:04:12 > 0:04:14It's just that pure weathered limestone,
0:04:14 > 0:04:16gives it the lovely whiteness.
0:04:16 > 0:04:18This is the big high thing for you.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21You spend your life travelling the world exploring caves,
0:04:21 > 0:04:24getting people like me into them, and this is on your back yard.
0:04:24 > 0:04:26Yeah, absolutely fantastic.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29I don't know if you can get the feeling of what it would be like
0:04:29 > 0:04:31if you knew nobody had been here before,
0:04:31 > 0:04:35you come round that corner and you look into a place like this
0:04:35 > 0:04:37and you know that nobody has ever stepped there before.
0:04:37 > 0:04:39That's what drives me.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42And the possibility is there to do it in Fermanagh, and
0:04:42 > 0:04:45- that just keeps me going. - It's like the final frontier...
0:04:45 > 0:04:48- Yeah, yeah.- ..it's either deep sea or space.- Yeah.
0:05:12 > 0:05:17It's easy to see the attraction and why Tim's still searching
0:05:17 > 0:05:19for the big one in the heart of Fermanagh.
0:05:20 > 0:05:24We know that underneath Cuilcagh there is a vast cave,
0:05:24 > 0:05:27taking a lot of water from the east side to the west side.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30We've put dye in one end of it, comes out the other.
0:05:30 > 0:05:32So it's there, and we're trying to find our way into it!
0:05:32 > 0:05:35If I find something big in a far part of the world,
0:05:35 > 0:05:39it's nothing like as good as finding something small here in Fermanagh.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42100 metres of new cave here is really good stuff.
0:05:42 > 0:05:44Much better than a kilometre in China.
0:05:53 > 0:05:57We're off on another hiking trail - to Benaughlin Mountain.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00"The peak of the speaking horse" gets its name
0:06:00 > 0:06:03from the mythical white beast who tells fortunes
0:06:03 > 0:06:05and haunts these slopes.
0:06:09 > 0:06:11It's a cracking location for a walk,
0:06:11 > 0:06:14just off the Enniskillen-to-Swanlinbar road.
0:06:15 > 0:06:19It starts and finishes at the end of a forest track,
0:06:19 > 0:06:22which gives easy access to the foot of the mountain.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26It's a great introduction to hill walking
0:06:26 > 0:06:28with the minimum of effort.
0:06:28 > 0:06:32It rises to only 370 metres,
0:06:32 > 0:06:35but what it lacks in height it more than makes up for
0:06:35 > 0:06:39with huge panoramic views of the entire county.
0:06:41 > 0:06:45And I'm travelling in elevated company,
0:06:45 > 0:06:49heading for the top with three adventurers who trained here
0:06:49 > 0:06:51to conquer Mount Everest.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54Great view over Upper Lough Erne, there.
0:06:55 > 0:06:57Neil Elliott from Ballinamallard
0:06:57 > 0:07:00has climbed the highest mountains on six of the seven continents.
0:07:00 > 0:07:04He now has Antarctica in his sights.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08Trillick publican Fergal Corrigan
0:07:08 > 0:07:12has come a long way since his first ascent here in P5.
0:07:12 > 0:07:16He's climbed all over Europe and loves ice routes in the Alps.
0:07:18 > 0:07:20And their pal, Raymond Hassard,
0:07:20 > 0:07:22is serious about the mountains too.
0:07:22 > 0:07:26He's reached the top on five continents.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29A far cry from the farm near Enniskillen.
0:07:29 > 0:07:31And they love home ground.
0:07:31 > 0:07:35Raymond and I started from school, as such,
0:07:35 > 0:07:38and we met again through the Duke of Edinburgh Award at school.
0:07:38 > 0:07:42And then we went on to Gortatole where we met Fergal,
0:07:42 > 0:07:44at the age of probably 17.
0:07:44 > 0:07:48And we had a like interest in mountaineering and climbing,
0:07:48 > 0:07:51getting out there doing things, and we've developed it
0:07:51 > 0:07:53and we've been all round the world.
0:07:55 > 0:07:57Whenever we decided to go off to Everest,
0:07:57 > 0:08:00it was brilliant to go off with such a group, you know,
0:08:00 > 0:08:04my two best friends, and you knew you were always safe with them.
0:08:04 > 0:08:08It's a passion we've had and it's been great, it's worked really well.
0:08:11 > 0:08:13The first time I came up here
0:08:13 > 0:08:16was with an uncle and with my old man.
0:08:16 > 0:08:20It was an expedition in itself.
0:08:20 > 0:08:24The heather and that probably as tall as I was back then!
0:08:24 > 0:08:27But I remember finding money on the summit
0:08:27 > 0:08:30that obviously someone had lost, and they spun me some story
0:08:30 > 0:08:33about fairies leaving it or something like that.
0:08:33 > 0:08:37So I kept searching the whole time I was up here!
0:08:43 > 0:08:46The likes of this on your back doorstep is brilliant.
0:08:46 > 0:08:51It's a great stepping stone for anybody, any aspiring climber.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54Or anybody into hill walking who wants to do a bit of rock climbing,
0:08:54 > 0:08:57or whatever, you're in a fantastic area for that.
0:08:57 > 0:08:59With myself, Raymond and Neil,
0:08:59 > 0:09:02we sort of started off here and it was like a natural progression
0:09:02 > 0:09:05for us to go to other places, but
0:09:05 > 0:09:09I suppose our friendship grew alongside our climbing talents,
0:09:09 > 0:09:10which was good.
0:09:13 > 0:09:16The hiker's trail follows the contours around the mountain.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19We're making steady progress,
0:09:19 > 0:09:21but it was a very different story for Raymond
0:09:21 > 0:09:26when he first tackled Benaughlin as 12-year-old boy scout.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29I remember coming up the steep section,
0:09:29 > 0:09:32and I was just wondering, "Will I ever get to the top here?"
0:09:32 > 0:09:35And every kind of hill that you climb
0:09:35 > 0:09:38and you go round a corner, you see another hill,
0:09:38 > 0:09:40and right the way up to the very top,
0:09:40 > 0:09:42you weren't sure you were going to get there.
0:09:42 > 0:09:44When you got to the top, you were elated.
0:09:44 > 0:09:46You'd actually climbed a mountain.
0:09:46 > 0:09:50- It's possible.- Yeah, that stuff's great when you're a kid.
0:09:50 > 0:09:52It definitely is.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55'If anybody who does any kind of walking,
0:09:55 > 0:09:58'whether it's just up and down the town,
0:09:58 > 0:10:01'if they really want to get out into the hills, they can,
0:10:01 > 0:10:03'and it's not that big an effort to...
0:10:03 > 0:10:05'You could start off with forest tracks
0:10:05 > 0:10:09'and then progress your way up to, maybe, like, Benaughlin here
0:10:09 > 0:10:11'or Cuilcagh Mountain.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14'Like you've seen, it was a fairly easy terrain.
0:10:14 > 0:10:17'There's a track almost the whole way to the summit.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20'And, you know, if you prepare yourself well, be sensible about it
0:10:20 > 0:10:24'and wear the correct footwear and bring a hot flask with you
0:10:24 > 0:10:28'and bring rainproof clothes and what have you,
0:10:28 > 0:10:29'it's a safe place to be.'
0:10:31 > 0:10:33And who knows where it all might end.
0:10:33 > 0:10:38Benaughlin was the spark that took the men to Tibet in 2006.
0:10:38 > 0:10:43For years, going up the various mountains that we climbed,
0:10:43 > 0:10:47we would have talked about the Himalayas and Everest.
0:10:47 > 0:10:48And it was a case of,
0:10:48 > 0:10:53I wouldn't want to go out there, just pay the money
0:10:53 > 0:10:55and join an expedition that I didn't know anybody in.
0:10:55 > 0:10:58If we were going, we were going together,
0:10:58 > 0:11:01we would support each other, because we trusted each other.
0:11:03 > 0:11:05But Everest is a killer,
0:11:05 > 0:11:10and thin oxygen at altitude took its toll on the boys, including Neil.
0:11:10 > 0:11:11Oh, that's hard work.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14- Hard, hard work.- Well done.
0:11:17 > 0:11:22I think I'm just going to lie down and die here!
0:11:24 > 0:11:26We're as close friends as ever.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29The likes of any of them, our experiences down the years,
0:11:29 > 0:11:32we've always made more friends out of them.
0:11:32 > 0:11:34It's a great place. It can be difficult at times,
0:11:34 > 0:11:37but you actually see people's real values.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40And whenever you get people together when times are tough and hard,
0:11:40 > 0:11:45then you know everyone gels together and that's always been the case.
0:11:45 > 0:11:48So, if anything, we're better friends, not worse.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51We don't see as much of ourselves during the week now,
0:11:51 > 0:11:53you get busier with life,
0:11:53 > 0:11:55but there's always someone at the end of the phone.
0:11:55 > 0:11:57If you're going to do something,
0:11:57 > 0:12:01there's always someone there to jump up and go and do something.
0:12:01 > 0:12:06'And with the gentle patchwork of rural Fermanagh laid out below us,
0:12:06 > 0:12:08'we're on the last leg of the hike.'
0:12:08 > 0:12:11You can take this mountain at whatever pace you want.
0:12:11 > 0:12:15If you want to train hard for a mountain like Everest,
0:12:15 > 0:12:17you just come here and you go faster
0:12:17 > 0:12:19and go longer distances.
0:12:19 > 0:12:21We usually took in Cuilcagh from here as well,
0:12:21 > 0:12:24cos we wanted big days and endurance.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27So we put on heavy packs and carried big weights,
0:12:27 > 0:12:29so we could go to Everest as fit as possible.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32As I say, it's great that it's on our doorstep and...
0:12:32 > 0:12:35Here's us just coming up to the tricky point now.
0:12:35 > 0:12:41Yeah, and that's one for a Sunday afternoon, to work off the dinner.
0:12:41 > 0:12:42Anybody could manage that.
0:12:42 > 0:12:46Absolutely, you know, an hour probably, something like that,
0:12:46 > 0:12:49you could be up here from the road down there.
0:12:49 > 0:12:51So it's brilliant, really is.
0:12:51 > 0:12:54It's just pretty as a picture.
0:12:54 > 0:12:58360 degrees of beautiful Fermanagh.
0:12:58 > 0:13:03And the big mountain, the big boy, Cuilcagh, in the distance there.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06- Yeah.- Lovely.
0:13:12 > 0:13:16'If you fancy a breath of fresh mountain air,
0:13:16 > 0:13:17'why not give it a go?
0:13:17 > 0:13:23'Just log on to:
0:13:23 > 0:13:27'You'll find route maps, advice about how to tackle the walk safely
0:13:27 > 0:13:31'and useful links to rambling clubs in your area.'
0:13:47 > 0:13:50Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:13:50 > 0:13:53E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk