THE
BURREN & THE CLIFFS OF MOHER
by
Bruce Burnett
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. |
O'Brien's
Tower, Cliffs of Moher
|
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.
|
