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The Burren is a large area of ground made up of limestone. Because limestone is porous, over the years, water has penetrated to the lower strata and formed many caves and chambers underground.
Aillwee cave was formed in this manner and is the only cave in Ireland where it is safe for the public to enter, without using specialist pot-holing equipment.
The name “Aillwee” is made up of two Irish words, “aill” meaning yellow and “wee” means entrance. The yellow part came from the yellow gorse bushes that surround the entrance and area of the cave.
Updated Aug 5, 2003
Phone: 065 7077036
Website: http://www.aillweecave.ie/
Only a few miles outside Ballyvaughan there's Aillwee Caves. A farmer found these caves in the 1940s when his dog ran into one of the entrances. He kept quiet for around 30 years (amazing for an irishman!!) before he told anyone about what he found! Since then the cave has been made accessible for the public.
You get an amusing guided tour through the cave, see bones of bears that used to live there more than 1000 years ago, stalagmites and stalagtites and everything gets explained very well and light effects are really nice!
Written Jun 27, 2003
Website: http://www.aillweecave.ie
As mentioned previously, the cave tour takes about 30 minutes to walk. You are lead through the caves by an experienced guide who will point out areas of interest and will light the way as you go.
2 or 3 warnings for you: -
At one point, seemingly deep underground, our guide warned us to stand perfectly still and explained that she was going to turn off the lights. When she did this, she explained that this was perfect darkness and that our eyes would never adjust to it. As you can imagine, if you are afraid of the dark, this would not be a good tour to take!
If you are tall, watch your head as some of the roofs are quite low but there are mercifully few of these low roofs and you will not walk many steps before you can stand upright again.
Because there are a few stairs and the ground can be uneven, a couple of the cave rules are:- no wheelchairs, no pushchairs and all children must be accompanied by an adult.
Updated Jun 23, 2003
The cave sits in an area of ground that would probably be nice to visit, even if you did not want to take the tour. There is a nice wooded area and you can always take a hike up the mountain above the cave.
There is also a very nice cheese shop near the car park that sells other local food and sweets as well.
The car park costs €2 but it may be worth it if you just want somewhere to have a picnic.
The cave tour costs: -
Adults €8.00
Children €4.50
OAP €6.50
Students (with valid student card) €6.50
Family ticket (2 adults plus 2 children) €22.00
Family ticket (2 adults plus 4 children) €26.00
Opening Hours: OPEN ALL YEAR ROUND. There are reduced opening times during the winter months.
10.00 a.m. - 6.00 p.m.
Last Tour: 5.30 p.m.
Written Jun 21, 2003
The caves contain several examples of stalagmites and stalagtites. These are formations of rock that come down from, or rise up to, the ceiling of the cave. They are created by water dripping down through the roof over periods of 100's of years, carrying limestone with it. As the water evaporates, it leaves behind the limestone, creating the formations.
For those of you that can't remember which type comes down from the ceiling and which rises up, here is how I remember:-
Mites run up (legs) while tites comes down.
The pciture shows some stalagmites. They are quite peculiar as they look like a pair of hands, praying. They only look like this from one firection. From any other, they just look like any other stalagmite.
Written Jun 21, 2003
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Aillwee cave entrance area holds a shop that holds many local crafted items of interest to take up your time while you are waiting to go on your 30 minute tour of the cave.
It also has a small cafe that serves basic home baked food and drinks.
Updated Jun 21, 2003
There are two waterfalls that can be found in the cave although only the one shown in the picture was truly running, at the time that we took the tour.
Written Jun 21, 2003
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Aillwee Caves tips and photos posted by real travelers and Ballyvaughan locals.
Write a ReviewThere are two waterfalls that can be found in the cave although only the one shown in the picture was truly running, at the time that we took the tour.
1 member lives in Ballyvaughan
Q: Hello, Last year my son and I vivited Ballyvaughn.My son took the Burren hike. We also visited your beautiful church.Would you...
A: Hi Vicky and welcome to VT, sorry I don’t know the answers to your questions. If you don’t get results here on VT you might try emailing your questions directly to the...
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1
We spent 2 nights here during our Bike Trip in August 05. We arrived late in the afternoon and the next day was our 'rest day' . There is plenty to do a short distance from town, There are the caves,...
2
Ballyvaughan is a pretty little village that sits in the north west area of County Clare, looking out over Galway Bay. it consists of 3 pubs, 1 restaurant, 1 cafe, a small supermarket and a petrol......
3
We stopped in Ballyvaughan for one night on our trip along Ireland's west coast. It was the perfect place for trips around the wonderful Burren region.
4
Ballyvaughan, just how I imagined an typical Irish village to be. Its tiny, has a spar shop, a couple of other small shops and 3 pubs(obviously!). Nothing much to but its a pleasant place to stay to...
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