Page 192 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Ireland

190  IRELAND REGION B Y REGION

1 The Burren

The word Burren derives from boireann, which means
“rocky land” in Gaelic – an apt name for this vast
limestone plateau in northwest County Clare. In the
1640s, Cromwell’s surveyor described it as “a savage
land, yielding neither water enough to drown a man,
nor tree to hang him, nor soil enough to bury”. Few trees
manage to grow in this desolate place, yet other plants
thrive. The Burren is a unique botanical environment in
which Mediterranean and alpine plants rare to Ireland
grow side by side. From May to August, an astonishing
array of flowers adds splashes of colour to the austere
landscape. These plants grow most abundantly around
the region’s shallow lakes and pastures, but they also Grazing in the Burren
A quirk in the local climate means
take root in the crevices of the limestone pavements that, in winter, the hills are warmer
which are the most striking geological feature of the than the valleys – hence the
rocky plateau. In the southern part of the Burren, unusual prac tice in the Burren
limestone gives way to the black shale and sandstone of letting cattle graze on high
ground in winter.
that form the dramatic Cliffs of Moher (see p188).

Limestone pavement
Glaciation and wind and rain
erosion have formed limestone
pavements with deep crevices
known as “grykes”. The porous
rock is easily penetrated by
rain water, which has gouged
out an extensive cave system
beneath the rocky plateau.

KEY
1 Spring gentian
2 Turloughs are shallow lakes
which are dry in summer but flood in
winter, when they attract wildfowl
and waders.
3 Exposed layers of limestone
4 Hawthorn is one of the few trees
which manages to grow in the Burren,
although the plants are usually
twisted and stunted.
5 Stone-built Burren cottage
6 Dry-stone wall
7 Limestone slabs, or “clints”
8 Maidenhair fern thrives in the
damp crevices of the Burren.
9 Holly trees can gain a foothold in
the pavement, but grazing and wind Bloody Cranesbill
restrict their growth. This striking plant,
0 The hoary rock rose is one of common in the Burren,
several rare plants to grow abundantly is a member of the
in the Burren. geranium family.
It flowers in June.
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp299–300 and pp316–318

190-191_EW_Ireland.indd 190 08/03/17 11:43 am