The Burren, Doolin

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Use Doolin as your base. Walk out toward the beach then head north up the coast. Fabulous wild flowers, butterflies, birds, and you might see a stoat if you're quiet. If you travel further up the coast toward Ballyvaughan you might see the wild, but very friendly, young dolphin. Or take one of Shane Connolly's walks (Ph. +353-65-7077168 or Mobile: +353-88-2654810) Shane's was born and brought up on Corkscrew Hill and is very knowledgeable on the flora, fauna and history of the area.

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It's a very interesting place. No trees, just miles and miles of limestone. Great for a walk. Take along a flora and fauna guide. They have stuff growing out of rocks that we pay a lot of money for in the United States. There are also various ringforts and cave systems that date back to prehistoric times. Ailewee Caves are the most famous. I've listed a good website below to get started on.

The name Burren comes from hoireann, what means a rocky place.

The Burren is a cracked limestone region that stretches out over more then 350 sq km in the north west of county Clare. It’s a kind of cracked limestone region. You see the limestone on the surface, but it’s all cracked open and in these cracks, you see flowers and plants growing. Underground the whole area consists off rivers and caves.

So the Burren isn’t so visible as most people think, but you will notice the grey limestone around you. The area consists also off dozens of ancient burial tombs, monasteries and lot’s more.

You can find more photos on my Burren page.

The Burren is an amazing landscape. You should really spend a few days walking across this area, instead of racing around in a rented cars like us. But hey, we only had a short holiday this time and we're lazy, OK? Wait'll next time....

The Burren is a huge area of boulder sized stone that covers the ground and is fantastic to look at and walk on.
Here is my husband on the Burren, close to the green patches where we were married.