A. very enjoyable visit to the pottery factory. We took the tour and leaned about the craft and people. Everyone who works here is a resident of the town of Belleek. The skill is taught parent to child and each stage of the process requires a specialized skill. A throwback to olden days. The workers are paid by piece and any that do not measure up are summarily destroyed. We bought some items for gifts and for ourselves and had them shipped home. All very easy. No need to carry expensive porcelain on the jet. Highly recommend a visit. Mark & Nancy. read more

Belleek Pottery Visitor Centre - Our guide for the Belleek factory tour. - Visitor Centers Near Me - Enniskillen, FER

It's very much personal taste but I find Parian china beautiful - some of the pieces on display here are stunning to see. The generation before mine really cared for this delicate, almost translucent, almost weightless, fine porcelain (as they did for Waterford Crystal lead glassware) that is characterised by its thinness, slightly iridescent surface and body formulated with a significant proportion of frit. When made the delicate ware goes through 16 pairs of hands before it's ready to sell. I'm pleased to be the owner of some beautifully designed pieces and it saddens me that it's popularity has waned - things of beauty are a joy forever. The company which began in 1857 has had to to diversify just to survive as the current generation won't thank you for true craftwork that often is of itself an art form. Now they also sell cutlery, kitchenware, glassware, table lamps and so on. The village is right on the border between Northern and Southern Ireland - literally you can cross the border from the pottery by just a few steps. If you are close by it's worth a visit as it's not just free to go in, it's a living museum. read more

A great 1/2 hour tour of the pottery factory. Vouchers from our hotel got us in for free and the voucher also included tea/coffee and scone at the cafe inside of the Center. After the tour we browsed the gift shop...maybe we stayed an hour total? It was worth the stop. My husband was not too thrilled when he heard I wanted to stop in a pottery center, but he quite enjoyed the tour and was glad we visited. It was a treat to see how the trade of making pottery has remained virtually the same over generations of time, and the simple tools used to form the pottery are so are unchanged from days gone by. Loved seeing the skilled tradesman doing what they do best, amazing talent and apprenticeship hours put into perfecting the skills to make this pottery. We visited in the early afternoon on a weekday, apparently after the tour bus rush which was good for us because it was quiet and enjoyable. Our tour was informative and hands on, we got to dip pottery, crush seconds, and feel the clay in our hands used to form the pottery. It was fascinating to learn about the process of producing the pottery. We didn't pick up any pieces while we were here, but I may order some online. The cafe had great coffee and tea and complimentary cherry house made scone which my husband loved! The desserts here all looked incredible, I ordered a lamb pastie, a hand pie to share with my husband which was really good, my husband ordered another on the way out. read more

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We visited the Pottery Visitor Centre on a Sunday which meant that there was no pottery production in process so we didn't get a chance to see any actual production. But we did get to visit the pottery store and te see some amazing pottery creations. There were a number of exhibits and displays that explained the pottery making process but a tour of the actual production area would have been a great addition to this stop on our tour. A large part of the visitor's centre is a retail store that sells some of their amazing creations. My advice to prospective visitors would be to schedule your visit on a weekday instead of on the weekend so that you can see the pottery operation "in operation". read more

We had a really good tour here. They took us through the entire manufacturing area and showed us how the various pieces of pottery are made. It takes a lot of skill to do the work and many of the positions require an apprenticeship. read more

This is a great place to visit. We arrived early for the tour and got to shop around a bit, then had some extra time before the tour so we went into the tea room which has more than just tea. I had some pretty good soup and bread and they had great desserts there as well. It was just the thing I needed on this rainy day in Northern Ireland. We got to tour the actual factory where people are making all of the pottery that is sold in the store and shipped around the world. It's all hand made and hand painted by local folks. Each of the people making the items leaves their mark on the item which is a letter of the alphabet and from that you can tell who made it. After the tour, we self toured the museum. When we were done shopping, the lady who had given us the tour Bernadette, brought us back into the factory so we could meet one of the people who had helped to make the things we had bought. It was an all around great experience. If you love history this is for you. If you love hand made manufacturing this is for you. If you love pottery this is for you. If you think all that stuff is boring, wait in the car or the tea room while the rest of your group has a great time! They were super busy when we were there trying to fill the orders for qvc, and once again each and every item is hand made by a craftsman. I know... I watched. Seconds don't leave this factory. If you want, there is part of the tour where you can break one of the seconds, then it will be recycled. We were there off season, so the place was practically empty. I'm sure in the warmer months there are lots more people there. Finding this place on the GPS was a bit of a struggle. I had to put it in several different ways before I got it right. It's right on the border of Ireland and Northern Ireland, so if whatever is on your gps doesn't look like that change it. The address listed in this listing should get you there if you put in the correct postal code. read more

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Fantastic tour! Loved seeing & talking to actual artisans while they worked on pieces. Museum (self-guided) was very informative on the history of the company and displays of pottery previously made by Belleek! Well worth a visit!! read more

You cannot miss this! The tour is fantastic and the shopping is great! Visited here twice and still love it!