The Burren & theCliffs of Moher


by Bruce Burnett - Date: 2007-01-26 - Word Count: 507 Share This!

The Burren, or boireann in Irish, means "rocky land." There are 160 square kilometers (62 square miles) of it covering most of the north west of County Clare on Ireland's rugged west coast. This plateau has pavements of limestone called clints and vertical fissures called grikes. Most of the drainage is underground in caves, but only the most experienced potholer should attempt their exploration as in times of rain - frequent here - they become filled with raging torrents. Visitors may venture safely into the Burren underworld in the developed cave at Aillwee, near the quaint fishing village of Ballyvaughan on the south shore of Galway Bay.

Burren certainly does not mean barren. There is evidence of man's settlement here since the stone age. About 120 massive dolmens (stone tables) and wedge tombs are known in the Burren National Park, along with over 500 stone forts called cahers, the homesteads of the earliest farmers.

Botanists are still puzzled why Alpine, Arctic and Mediterranean plants grow side by side in the Burren. Abundant soft rain, the gentle temperate Gulf Stream and the almost total absence of frost may be the explanation. Spring is the best time to see the profusion of glorious wild flowers, particularly the Spring Gentians, Hoary Rockrose and Mountain Avens.

Feral goats are common on the uplands and the Burren boasts its very own butterfly, the Burren Green, along with 26 other species of Ireland's 33 known varieties.

Many of the views around the Burren are truly spectacular. From the top of Corkscrew Hill one can see clear across the Galway Bay to the north, or out to the remote Aran Islands to the west.

The Burren is not just beautiful scenery. It was at Coole Park, near Gort, in the eastern Burren, that Lady Gregory gathered around her the fin-de-siecle Irish literati, including George Bernard Shaw, Sean O'Casey, and William Butler Yeats. The nearby 16th century tower house, Thoor Ballylee, was the summer home of W.B. Yeats for 12 years and it was here that he wrote some of his finest poetry. In 1965, the centenary year of Yeats' birth, the tower at Thoor Ballylee was refurbished and converted to a museum devoted to the poet.

On the western, coastal side of the Burren are the famous Cliffs of Moher, the highest cliffs in Ireland and reputedly the country's most visited tourist attraction. Rising in places to over 215 meters, the cliffs stretch for 10 kilometers (six miles) along the coast from Fisherstreet to Cancregga Point.

They take their name from a ruined promontory fort, Mothar, which was demolished during the Napoleonic wars to make room for a signal tower.

From the vantage point of O'Brien's Tower, constructed in the early 19th century as a viewing point for Victorian tourists, visitors get a panoramic view of the Clare coastline, the Aran Islands and the mountains of Connemara and Kerry.

The cliffs offer a variety of walking trails varying from two-hour strolls to all-day hikes. The Cliffs of Moher Visitor Center can provide visitors with details about the hikes along with other information about the cliffs.


Related Tags: ireland, burren, the cliffs of moher, western ireland, w.b. yeats. aran islands

Bruce Burnett, has won four Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Gold awards for travel journalism. Read more of Bruce Burnett's travel writing on his websites: http://www.globalramble.com and http://www.bruceburnett.ca

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