Lesser Spotted Ulster comes from the border country, the Lough Derg area. This is a meeting place between 3 counties - Fermanagh, Donegal and Tyrone. This place is steeped in myths and legends both pagan and christian. Station Island, an ancient pilgrimage site situated in Lough Derg, is another one of these mythical places. Renowned and feared throughout medieval europe as St Patrick’s Purgatory it was believed that a cave on Station Island is a gateway to Purgatory. Pilgrims are ferried across to the island annually in search of spiritual cleansing.
Joe Mahon also checks out the largest man made forest in Ireland, the Killeter Forest where he learns about the dangers of deer hybridising and visits a house of well known poet and hymn writer Cecil Frances Alexander.