The Burren

It is a country where there is not enough water to drown a man, wood enough to hang one, nor earth enough to bury him…

The words of the Cromwellian general Edmund Ludlow, describing the area known as the Burren, are well known in Ireland. What is less well known is that he went on to say of the people there:

… and yet their cattle are very fat; for the grass growing in turfs of earth, of two or three foot square, that lie between the rocks, which are of limestone, is very sweet and nourishing.

Visiting The Burren (or here) has been one of the highlights of my trip so far. I was in Galway on Friday evening (thinking it was Thursday) when I ran across a small alcove where there were a couple of gentlemen booking tours. I’m not really a tour type of person, preferring to venture out on my own but I had no way to visit this area other than by taking a tour. I talked to one of the men for a few minutes and decided to sign up. The cost of 18 euros seemed pretty reasonable and they had a pickup service at my B&B on the outskirts of town. Of course, when I got back to the B&B I realized it was really Friday and that the bus would probably be packed on a Saturday tour. As it turned out, the bus was comfortably full and I got the front row window seat which was great.

So, on Saturday morning a bus picked me up and took me into town where I transferred to the actual tour bus. I’m not quite sure how the drivers of these busses manage to navigate the roads but our driver, Seamus, did an excellent job. Our tour guide, Gerry, gave a great commentary all day and included lots of Irish history and interesting tidbits about the countryside and sights we passed. All in all, it was a very worthwhile trip and I’m planning on taking another tour with that company after I leave Germany and get back to Galway. I’ll probably to the Aran Islands tour if the weather is cooperative.

The Burren, is a landscape made up of limestone criss-crossed with massive cracks to form slabs that cover roughly 300 square kilometers of north-west County Clare.

This haunting landscape stretches for miles from the Atlantic shore into Clare, covering mountains and valleys and is home to caves, ring forts, ecclesiastic sites, megalithic tombs and human relics that date back 6,000 years. The most famous of these is the Poulnabrone Dolmen, an ancient portal tomb also known as ‘The Bed of Diarmuid and Grainne’, once believed to have been a place of shelter for these star-crossed lovers from the mists of Irish mythology.

At first glance, and in most photographs, the Burren appears no more than a bleak, barren moonscape. However, this place is full of surprises. When I caught my first glimpse of the Burren I was quite surprised to see cattle grazing on the limestone terrain. I wondered what they could possibly find to nibble on in such a place. It was only after I took a closer look on foot, that I became aware of all sorts of tiny, colorful wildflowers, herbs and even the occasional wild strawberry, growing in the cracks between the stone slabs.In fact, there are 15 varieties of orchid that flourish here. Part of what makes the Burren a natural wonder, besides its geological formation, is that both Alpine and Mediterranean wildflowers, normally not found in the same country, exist sided by side in the small amount of soil available between the stone… apparently a delectable salad for cattle.

I’m sure you’d never see a sight like this in the U.S. as there would probably be some sort of protective railings or such preventing you from getting so close to the edge. But that definitely would take away from the experience of being able to get right up to the edge if you wanted.

I got as close to the edge as I dared and crawled on my stomach, held the camera over the edge and took this shot.

There is a lot of rock climbing done in the interior of The Burrens and evidently there was an accident somewhere inland and the rescue squads were here.