Where

Lough Arrow is located around 30 kilometres south of Sligo town

When

Lough  Arrow lies on the border with Roscommon in the south of County Sligo. It is one of County Sligo’s largest lakes, being  6 kilometres long and approximately 2 kilometres wide. It is bordered by farmland and broadleaf forest. To the north of Lough  Arrow, the landscape is covered by small hills called Drumlins, which were created by glaciers covering Sligo during the last ice age.  There  are also several smaller lakes in the area.

Birds

This large lake holds a considerable number of wintering ducks.  These consist mostly of Mallard, Wigeon, Teal,  Pochard, Tufted Duck, Goldeneye  and Red-breasted Merganser. Other birds occurring  here include Great Crested & Little Grebes, Cormorant  and Mute Swan. Irregular visitors include Ring-necked Duck, Scaup and Smew.  In summer, Sedge Warbler and Reed Bunting breed in the reeds. Being this far west, Lough Arrow has the potential  for hosting something interesting.

Access by Car

Lough Arrow is reached by taking the N4 out of Sligo town to the village of Castlebaldwin. Here, take the only left turn. Once on this road, take a left and  then a right turn. Park on the right hand side, just before the bridge over the Unshin  River. Cross the bridge and walk on the rough path on the right to reach  the shore of the lake. Continue on this road, keeping right at intersections to reach several car parks from which the lake can be scanned: there is no one place that gives a satisfactory view across the entirety of the lake. On the western side  of the lake lies the village of Ballinafad, from which the southern  part of the lake can be scanned. The two small lakes north of Lough Arrow are reached by driving across the Unshin River and continuing straight on, instead of taking the right turn. Follow  this road for another 4 kilometres to arrive at Lough Nasool and a further 600 metres to reach Lough Bo.

Access by Public Transport

There  is a regular bus service to Castlebaldwin and Ballinafad. From Castlebaldwin, it would be a walk of around 3 kilometres to  reach the first view point. One potential option would be to get the bus to Castlebaldwin, walking around the eastern part  of the lake and taking the bus back to Sligo from Ballinafad. However, this  would entail a hike of roughly 25 kilometres.

Maps and Photos

Lough Arrow is covered by Ordnance Survey Ireland, Discovery Series Map 25 and 33.