My lovely friend Jenni and I decided to walk a section of the Burren Way, which in turn forms part of the Wild Atlantic Way. Honestly, the lengths one has to go to, just to get some child-and-husband-free time!
We walked 38kms the first day, and another 20kms the next. By the time we returned home, we could barely move at all, let alone walk! But it was sooooo worth it.
The Burren Way is a five day, 123km long-distance walking trail in County Clare, beginning in Lahinch and ending in Corofin. It crosses the Burren, one of the largest karst limestone landscapes in Europe.
We followed a convoluted route from Lahinch, taking in the Cliffs of Moher, which drop over 200m straight down into the sea, and overnighting in the fabulous hostel at Doolin. From there, we continued on to Fanore over Slieve Elva, at only 344m still the highest point of the trail.
Along the way we came across the most amazing holy well dedicated to Maire of the Gaels, in other words, St Brigid. Judging by what we found, people have been visiting her there for a very long time. Reading all the messages and prayers, and seeing all the tokens left behind was a very humbling experience.
The word ‘Burren’ comes from Boireann, meaning ‘stony district’, and refers to the spectacular terraced carboniferous limestone hills and valleys which typically feature in the area. The area is full of special fauna and flora, of which I took many dreadful blurry photos, and stone monuments carved and built by our Neolithic ancestors. I think those must be on the part of the trail we didn’t yet get to…
The weather forecast rain and more rain, but Saturday dawned bright and clear, and remained that way for the entire day. On Sunday, the skies opened, but didn’t dampen our spirits in the slightest. It was a great trip, and I’d do it again in a heartbeat.
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