The Burren
An Bhoireann · Co. Clare
The Burren — from boireann, "a rocky place" — is like nowhere else in Ireland: over 250 square kilometres of bare, fissured limestone laid out in great grey terraces between Galway Bay and the Clare coast. It looks barren at first glance; look closer and it is one of the richest botanical landscapes in Europe, with Arctic-alpine and Mediterranean plants flowering side by side in the cracks of the rock.
Flowers, rock and light
Around three-quarters of all Ireland's native flowering plant species grow in the Burren. The spring gentian — an intense blue trumpet more at home in the Alps — is the region's emblem, at its best in May, alongside mountain avens, orchids and bloody cranesbill. The limestone pavement itself, with its clints and grykes, is a protected habitat within the Burren and Cliffs of Moher UNESCO Global Geopark, and the ancient practice of winterage — cattle grazing the uplands through winter — is what keeps the flowers thriving.
Ancient places
People have farmed the Burren for nearly six millennia and left it studded with monuments. Poulnabrone dolmen, the great portal tomb balanced on the high Burren, is around 5,800 years old and one of the most photographed ancient sites in Ireland; Caherconnell stone fort nearby shows how the same land was lived on thousands of years later. Underground, Aillwee Cave and Doolin Cave — the latter home to one of Europe's largest free-hanging stalactites — open up the Burren's hidden third dimension.
Exploring
The villages of Ballyvaughan, Kilfenora (with its high crosses and the Burren Centre) and Corofin make good bases, and the Burren National Park near Mullaghmore mountain has waymarked walking trails through the best of the terrain. The coast road from Ballyvaughan to Doolin around Black Head is a Wild Atlantic Way highlight in its own right — and Father Ted fans will recognise half the locations.
Where it is
53.0703°N, 9.1547°W
Nearby stops
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