The Burren, bare limestone, wildflowers...A lifetime would be too short to fully explore the Burren, never mind a short holiday or day trip. For a start you will probably never find it? Although 'it' covers some 360 sq kms ie nearly all of County Clare, most people end up getting lost and constantly asking for directions when in fact they are often already 'there'. What people seem to envisage is an actual, neat, little place as in ‘The Burren’ somewhere, complete with limestone pavements, wild flowers etc. It certainly does exist, it is just that it's huge and everywhere! Look over any stone wall in the springtime and you will see the famous Burren orchids, vivid blue gentians and a whole host of other wild alpine wildflowers you wouldn’t expect to find growing there, like Edelweiss and Mountain Avens....
Marvel as you walk across the bare limestone pavements that were once the ocean beds of warm tropical seas millions of years ago, that got carved into the stepped shapes they are today by the retreating glaciers that moved south over Galway Bay from Mayo at the end of the last ice age. Leaving 'erratics' of granite and even marble marooned on this bare landscape. Evidence of the force nature in folding this landscape is beautifully depicted at Mullaghmore which is part of the Burren National Park. Or go underground into one of the many caves in the area like Ailwee or Doolin to truly understand how erosion has moulded this magnificent landscape and is continuing to do so at the rate of the thickness of a sheet of paper each year. So there's no hurry it will be here waiting for you for a while yet...
10 Other things to do and see in the Burren.... 1 Cliffs of Moher scary cliffs, stunning views and an excellent state of the art, all-weather visitor centre, restaurant, shop & facilities. 2 Drive out to Blackhead, for more views, park the car at the lighthouse and climb up the mountain to the stonefort of Cathair Dhuin Irghuis. 3 Ailwee Caves & Birds of Prey Centre, guided tour of underground caves discovered by a man out walking his dog? Fly falcons or try out award winning cheeses in the farm shop. 4 Ballyvaughan village pretty thatched cottages, nice crafts shops and restaurants, farmers market saturdays and crafts on sundays throughout the summer with the Burren in Bloom festival each May. 5 Bishopsquarter beach, names after the Bishops who had the rights to 'the finest oysters in Dooneen Bay' some 600 years ago. A great place for a walk, picnic, or kiteflying with safe swimming and powdery sand dunes to play in. 6 Ballyalban Fairy Fort on the road up to Poulnabrone just opposite the left hand turn into the Ailwee Caves. Easy access over a wooden stile into a nice big ring fort with mature trees. 7 The Flaggyshore, described by our own celebrated poet Seamus Heaney as capable of ‘blowing the heart wide open’ is a tarred road used as a walk, encircling the coast at New Quay.
8 Corcomroe Abbey, Bellharbour.
Ruined 600 year old Cistercian abbey and graveyard, site of the wonderful Easter dawn masses of yesteryear. A revered and holy place, the road up to it cuts through a ringfort.
10 Kinvara, another nice harbour village. Home to the Cuckoo Fleadh & Crinniu na mBad festival. Medieval banquets held in
Dunguaire Castle.
To see another spectacular landscape in the Burren click here.
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