County Tyrone Ireland · Co. Tyrone · Seskinore Save · Share
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SESKINORE
CO. TYRONE · IE

Seskinore
Seisceann Odhar

The Mid Tyrone
STOP 05 / 05
Seisceann Odhar · Co. Tyrone

A Tyrone crossroads of 358 people where the main reason to stop is a forest that absorbed a demolished Georgian estate and held its silence ever since.

Seskinore is about as small as a named settlement gets. The 2021 census put the population at 358. There is no pub, no hotel, no café. The village is a crossroads on the B83 between Omagh and Fintona: a few houses, a church, the road continuing in four directions through drumlin farmland. On most days there is very little visible reason to slow down. The reason to stop is a kilometre up the lane toward the forest.

Seskinore Forest occupies 135 hectares of mixed coniferous and broadleaved woodland on the site of the former McClintock estate. The house is gone - Boyd & Batt (Belfast and Derry architects) designed it in 1862, the Ministry of Agriculture demolished it in 1952 - but the estate trees survive, the walled-garden walls are still partially standing, and the land holds a Garden of Remembrance for the last two occupants: Leila McClintock Joynson-Wreford, who died of meningitis at 38 in 1937, and her husband Tony, who died of tuberculosis three years later at 44. The Northern Ireland Forest Service acquired the land in 1941. The Forestry Commission manages it now. The trails are free, the carpark is opposite the church in the village or inside the forest itself signposted from the B83, and on a weekday morning the likelihood of meeting another walker is low.

Population
358 (NISRA 2021)
Walk score
Through the village in three minutes flat
Founded
Rural crossroads settlement; on OS maps from 1833
Coords
54.5167° N, 7.2333° W
01 / 05

At a glance.

Three things every local will eventually mention. Read these and you've already understood more than most day-trippers do.

01 The forest

Seskinore Forest: 135 hectares of mixed woodland on a collapsed estate.

The forest covers the former McClintock estate, sold to the Northern Ireland forest service in 1941 after the last family members died young - Leila of meningitis in 1937, Tony of tuberculosis in 1940. Seskinore House, designed by Boyd & Batt (Belfast and Derry architects) in 1862, was demolished in 1952. The trees grew over what was left. A Garden of Remembrance deep in the woodland marks the graves of Leila and Tony. The trails are open, signposted from the B83, and there is no charge.

The walks →
02 The village

One crossroads, open farmland, population 358.

Seskinore sits on the B83 about 9 kilometres southeast of Omagh and 4 kilometres northeast of Fintona. It is a working rural settlement - some housing, the forest carpark, the church - rather than a destination in its own right. The landscape is typical mid-Tyrone: gently rolling drumlin country, hedged fields, the Sperrin foothills visible to the north on clear days.

Read more →
03 The McClintocks

A Plantation-era family who gave the forest its bones.

The Perry-McClintock family held the Seskinore estate from the early 19th century. Samuel McClintock commissioned the first full estate map in 1846; the house was rebuilt by Boyd & Batt of Belfast and Derry in 1862. The McClintocks established the Tyrone Hunt in 1860, renamed the Seskinore Hunt in 1886, and donated land for McClintock Primary School, which opened in 1902. The estate outlasted most of its neighbours - it was only broken up in 1941.

Stories & lore →
02 / 05

Stories & lore.

The reason to come back. The things every local will eventually tell you about, usually after the second pint.

A Victorian house, a hunt, a school, and two early graves

The McClintock Estate

The Perry-McClintock family came to Seskinore through inheritance: Samuel McClintock succeeded to the Perry family home, known as Perrymount or Seskinore, in the early 19th century. He commissioned a full estate map in 1846 - a large red-bound volume that gave the first detailed delineation of the property. Seskinore House was rebuilt in 1862 to the design of Boyd & Batt of Belfast and Derry, the same architect responsible for much of Victorian Belfast, and emerged as a substantial residence: five public rooms, ten bedrooms, staff quarters, a butler's house. The family were resident, not absentee, which distinguished them from many Irish landowning families of the period. They established the Tyrone Hunt in 1860 - renamed the Seskinore Hunt in 1886 - and Lt. Col. John Knox McClintock donated land for the primary school that opened in 1902 and still bears the family name. The estate survived the upheavals of the early 20th century intact. What ended it was not politics or land reform but two deaths in quick succession: Leila McClintock Joynson-Wreford died of meningitis at 38 in 1937; her husband Tony died of tuberculosis at 44 in 1940. The estate passed to the Northern Ireland forest service in 1941. The house was demolished eleven years later. A Garden of Remembrance, placed deep in the forest, marks where Leila and Tony were buried.

03 / 05

Things to do outside.

Wear waterproofs. Bring a sandwich. Tell someone where you're going if it's the mountain.

Seskinore Forest Walk Two looped return routes through mixed broadleaf and coniferous woodland - shorter loop 2.8 miles, longer 3.6 miles, combinable for 4.5 miles total. Easy underfoot on mostly smooth forest tracks with some gates, steps and bridges. The route passes through dense forest, open fields, and the site of the former McClintock estate including remnants of the walled garden and the Garden of Remembrance. Signposted from the B83 at Seskinore. Parking opposite the church or inside the forest. No facilities on site.
2.8-4.5 miles (two looped routes, combinable)distance
1.5-2.5 hourstime
04 / 05

What to skip.

Honestly? Don't bother.

If a local was sitting beside you, this is the bit where they'd lean in.

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Coming for food, a drink, or a place to stay

There is nothing of that kind in Seskinore. No pub, no café, no B&B. Omagh has all three, is 9 kilometres north, and takes about 12 minutes by car. Fintona is 4 kilometres south if you want something closer.

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Treating it as a destination rather than a stop

Seskinore works as a forest walk on the way to or from Omagh. It does not work as a base or a day out in its own right unless you are specifically walking the forest. The village offers the walker nothing beyond the carpark and the trailhead.

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Getting there.

By car

Seskinore is on the B83, about 9 km (5.6 miles) southeast of Omagh and 4 km (2.5 miles) northeast of Fintona. From Omagh, take the B83 south - about 12 minutes. From the A5 south of Omagh, pick up the B83 east at Drumnakilly - about 15 minutes. There is no reliable public transport to the village; a car is effectively required.

By bus

No direct bus service to Seskinore village. The nearest Translink services run through Omagh and Fintona. From Omagh bus station you would need a car or taxi for the final 9 km.

By train

No railway. The nearest operational station is Portadown, roughly 50 miles east. From Belfast, drive via the M1 and A4 to Omagh - approximately 1 hour 20 minutes - then south on the B83.

By air

Belfast International Airport is about 60 miles east - roughly 1 hour 20 minutes by car. City of Derry Airport is about 45 miles northwest - about 55 minutes. Dublin Airport is around 100 miles south via the M1 and A4.