Two of the seven here are lakes. Of the five rivers, three are the same water under different names: the Camowen and the Drumragh meet in the centre of Omagh and continue north as the Strule, so one flat walk through the county town takes in all three, past the weir loop and the Strule Arts Centre. The Camowen rises south of Pomeroy and runs 45 km; the Strule carries on about 28 km to join the Derg and become the Mourne.
For still water, Lough Fea is the easier day out. It is a 180-acre reservoir five miles north of Cookstown with a 4.15 km path right around it, free parking and a children’s play area, and the circuit has been complete again since a footbridge at the north end reopened in April 2025. Black Lough, on the edge of Dungannon, is smaller and flatter: 42 acres, about twenty minutes to walk round, 102 bird species recorded and a crannog out on the water.
The two Sperrin rivers are for people who care what lives in them. The Ballinderry carries the dollaghan, a Lough Neagh trout found in only a handful of rivers, and the local trust runs a hatchery to keep the stocks up. The Owenkillew holds the largest freshwater pearl mussel population in Northern Ireland.
A 45 km salmon and trout river with a flat, traffic-free riverside walk and weir loop running right through the middle of Omagh.
Comes off the Sperrins into Lough Neagh carrying the dollaghan, a trout found in only a handful of rivers, alongside salmon and brown trout.
A 42-acre lake on the edge of Dungannon with a flat gravel circuit of about twenty minutes, 102 recorded bird species and a crannog offshore.
A well-regarded brown-trout river with a grassy bankside walk, meeting the Camowen in Omagh to form the Strule.
A 180-acre Sperrins reservoir with a 4.15 km path all the way round, free parking, a playground and brown-trout fishing.
7 of 7 shown — tap a pin for the place.
Omagh, tyrone
The Camowen is a 45 km salmon and trout river that rises south of Pomeroy and runs into Omagh, where it meets the Drumragh in the town centre and continues on as the River Strule. For most visitors the draw is the flat, traffic-free riverside walk and weir loop through Omagh; for anglers it's a late-summer salmon fishery that needs a DAERA licence and a club permit.
Cookstown, tyrone
The Ballinderry runs off the Sperrins, through Cookstown, and into Lough Neagh, carrying brown trout, salmon and the dollaghan, a Lough Neagh trout found in only a handful of rivers. Its upper reaches are a Special Area of Conservation for freshwater pearl mussels and Atlantic stream crayfish, and the local rivers trust runs a hatchery to keep the stocks going.
Dungannon, tyrone
Black Lough, or Ballysaggart Lough, is a 42-acre lake on the edge of Dungannon, ringed by a flat gravel path you can walk in about 20 minutes. It's long been a birdwatchers' secret – 102 species recorded, 18 of them on the endangered list – and it hides a crannóg out on the water. Free, council-run and easy to reach off the Eglish Road.
Omagh, tyrone
The Drumragh runs through Omagh to join the Camowen and form the River Strule. It is a well-regarded brown-trout river with a flat, grassy walk along its banks – more a pleasant hour in the county town than a destination in its own right.
Cookstown, tyrone
Lough Fea is a 180-acre reservoir 5 miles north of Cookstown, and its main draw is the 4.15km path that loops right around the water. Set in the Sperrins, it has free parking, a children’s play area and brown-trout fishing, and a north-end footbridge reopened in April 2025 to complete the circuit.
Gortin, tyrone
The Owenkillew comes off the Sperrins and runs about 42 km to the River Strule, and a 4 km stretch of its upper reaches holds the largest freshwater pearl mussel population in Northern Ireland – at least 10,000 of them. It is a working salmon and sea-trout river with old sessile oak woods along its banks; the mussels need clean, silt-free gravel, which is why the water is so closely protected.
tyrone
The River Strule rises in the centre of Omagh, where the Camowen and Drumragh meet, and runs about 28km north to join the Derg and become the River Mourne. It flows straight through the town past the Strule Arts Centre, offering riverside walks and quiet angling, with a local trust working to reverse the decline of its salmon.
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