The Burren and Cliffs of Moher, County Clare

Burren National Park

The Burren is an amazing area of limestone formations making a rugged terrain. The geology of the area is explained in the link above. Not all the Burren is National Park; It is generally describes a large area in NW County Clare.
Sheep grazing everywhere there is grass

Those stone fences continue to amaze me


Limestone deposits


There are trails through the Burren for hikers and cyclists



The Burren Centre is the official tourist information center for the area. As always we were greeted by a friendly woman who loves her country and proudly talks of the beautiful features of the area. She was full of recommendations for us.

Kilfenora Cathedral

Adjacent to the Burren Center, these ruins are from 1058 and still occasionally used because of the beautiful acoustics. The cemetery is still in use as well.

A roof was erected to protect the beautiful carving


Near Doolin, taking a road hardly traveled but beautiful (we were probably not on the route we intended!)  we saw this castle in the distance. Ireland is full of these ruins.

Doonagore Castle - not open for tourism

Cliffs of Moher

One of the things on my must-do list for Ireland is the famed Cliffs of Moher. Having seen it in many brochures and videos, I could hardly wait to get there. Well, it is beautiful but I will tell you we saw plenty of other equally as beautiful, breath-taking coastline in Ireland without all the tour busses and people everywhere. There is a lengthy walking track that goes along the coast and I'm sure if a person was up to a real hike, it would't take long to leave the tourists behind. But for me, this tourist center and the famous views are not worth the people, the long drive and the cost of admission.




The visitor center here is underground. That was pretty interesting!

Black Head-Poulsallagh Complex SAC

Leaving the Cliffs of Moher behind we headed up the coast to this area.




Burren Perfumery

We read about the Perfumery in a brochure and had the location on the GPS but we saw no signs until we were almost there. It felt like we were driving on a path to nowhere out in the middle of the desolate Burren but sure enough when you arrive here is this lovely garden oasis.

We arrived too late in the day to see them mixing the oils and making the perfumes. We did walk the gardens and visited the gift shop where we tried their four main scents. We bought gifts which they boxed and shipped for us!









Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Connemara, Kylemore Abby and Dromahair

Image
En route to Leitrim/Sligo We took the long way for a scenic drive up through the Connemara. All along the way are always sheep. These guys were out of their fence and graving along the roadside. They have the special markings for whoever they belong to. Kylemore Abbey After all we read, this was a bit disappointing. The Abbey/Castle was beautiful but most of it was used by the Benedictine nuns and not open to tourists. There are the walled Victorian Gardens, a neo-gothic style church and also walking trails but we were really tired and opted to skip those things. It was pretty opulent and undergoing some major updates soon. The story of how the nuns came to Kylemore Abbey is interesting and worth a read. It is open for retreats for different groups and they are known for hospitality although the days of throwing open your doors wide to anyone are clearly passed.  Dromohair, Drumkeeran, Co. Leitrim Situated in County Leitrim but adjacent to County Sligo, our next B&B was a fam...
Read more

Brigit's Garden, Ashford Castle and the School of Falconry on Loch Corrib

Image
Brigit's Garden  What a lovely find this is! A garden that honors their Celtic heritage and at the same time teaches sustainability, this 11 acre oasis of beauty is a grassroots community activity. My photos don't even begin to do it justice! Check out their website for more information. Underside of a thatched roof Replica ring fort Celtic curves incorporated in the garden bed design Ashford Castle Originally owned by the Guinness family, Ashford Castle is now a 6 star hotel owned by the Red Carnation group. It is quite expensive and intimidating in its formality and opulence. Many dignitaries stay here. They have a number of activities on the property including horse riding, tennis, and boating on the Louch. We had a very posh lunch at the castle before going on our hawk walk School of Falconry Located on the property of Ashford Castle, the school is independently operated. We were a bit surprised by the number of foreigners staffing the school, mostly French people. Apparen...
Read more