O'Brien's Tower
While O'Brien's Tower provides a fine viewpoint of
the cliffs to the south, the sure-footed will find
it worthwhile following the cliff-path (the Burren
Way walk) to the north. (This is not a good
idea in windy weather, as there is little space
between the path and the abyss). The crowds
will soon be left behind, and you will have only the
company of seabirds such as fulmars, and, if you're
lucky, choughs.
A few hundred metres to the north the path drops
down to the level of a prominent sandstone bed. If
the weather is calm it's worth proceeding very
cautiously back along the sandstone ledge (see
picture to right). Above the sandstone are black
shales, in the lowest part of which you may see the
fossilised remains of goniatites (circular or spiral
markings up to 2cm across). Goniatites, a now
extinct group, were similar to the present-day
Chambered Nautilus, in that they were free-swimming
in the ancient oceans.
The Burren
The Burren, in North County Clare and parts of
South County Galway covering an area of 160 square
km, is unique - it is like no other place in
Ireland. There are no bogs and very few pastures.
Instead there are huge pavements of limestone called
'clints' with vertical fissures in the called 'grikes'.
| Poulnabrone Dolmen at sunset, Burren,
Co. Clare |
Most of the drainage is underground in caves; but
unless you are an experienced potholer these are not
for you, as they are active, becoming flooded rivers
in times of rain. You may explore The Burren
underworld in comfort within the developed cave at
Aillwee, near Ballyvaughan.
Bleak though the place may appear, man has
settled here since the stone age. Evidence of his
habitations and tombs are all around you; massive
dolmens, wedge tombs and stone forts called cahers, (the homesteads of farmers of long
ago), survive in various stages of preservation.
Churches and castles indicate later periods of
settlement.
The Burren is also famous for its plantlife.
Limestone-loving plants such as foxgloves and rock
roses grow here and rock's microclimates also
nurture plants found in the Artic, Alpine and
Mediterranean regions. Botanists have attempted to
find out why, but no one has come up with a complete
answer. Here too in The Burren, 26 of Ireland's 33
species of butterfly have been recorded, including
its very own, the Burren Green.
Many of the views around The Burren are truly
spectacular. You won't forget Corkscrew Hill and its
vista across Galway Bay; or the journey around Black
Head or the view from Ballinalacken Hill across to
the Aran Islands.
The area is remarkably similar to a moonscape but
features amazing foiliage and wildlife. The word
'Burren' is derived from gaelic meaning 'stoney
place', it is about 200-300 metres above sea level
at the north and about 100 metres in the south with
the highest area being the shale capped 'Sleive
Elva'at 345 metres above sea level.
The Burren was under a tropical ocean over 360
million years ago, the result being the area covered
with limestone, it was tectonic movement that raised
an area of this ancient seabed into a magnificent
plateau that we now know as 'The Burren'. The Ice
Age ploughed through the area widening the river
valleys and leaving behind boulder clay. It was
after the Ice Age that the landscape went through
periods of tundra and may have even been wooded,
evidence suggests that early settlers cut down the
forest, and allowed the soil to be eroded away, this
has happened in many of the worlds karst regions.
Centuries of weathering has produced a terrain of
fissured limestone pavements, disappearing lakes,
terraced mountains, and underground cave systems,
the most famous of which is Aillwee cave.
Aillwee Cave is near Ballyvaghn and is one of
Irelands oldest caves, it would have been formed
when the landscape of the burren was very different
from what it is today. Another cave is Pol an
Ionain, near Ballynalackan, to explore this cave
you will have a low stoney crawl in water, however
the light at the end of the tunnel is a large
chamber in which you will find a large stalactite
hanging from the roof and at 6.7 metres long,
probably the largest in the world.
Springs and wells supply almost all the water
used on the Burren. The Killeanyspring near
Lisdoonvarna is used to supply water over a wide
area. The tourist centre of Ballyvaghan uses water
from springs on the mountains nearby and from a
bored well just outside the town. Corofin,
another tourist attraction uses water from Lough
Inchiquin, which is fed largely by spring waters
from the Burren plateau.
Cliffs of Moher Tour
Connemara Tour
|
This is a remarkable bare limestone
area with its combination of many unusual factors, its
geology, its flora, caves and archaeology. This is the
area where the first stone age dwellers settled. Our
next stop is the famous Poulnabrone dolmen, a 5000 year
old tomb used by the stone dwellers to bury their dead.
Next we view Leamanagh Castle, Kilfenora, Lisdonvarna
where the matchmaking festival is held in the month of
September and then on to the world famous Cliffs of
Moher for our next long break. 
