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One Day Burren Tour
The Burren is one of the most fascinating and lovely parts of Ireland, a huge limestone plateau with numerous megalithic remains and a protected habitat where many rare plants and flowers grow. All those who have the opportunity should make a point of touring this area
It would be easy, and enjoyable, to split this tour over two days. The Burren reveals its depths and its character to those who take the time to explore it in more depth, and taking a guided walking tour for half a day is a very good way to learn more about it.
The Tour Route
The tour starts at Kinvara, a short drive from Galway City, and has alternative routes at the end, so that you can either return to Galway or travel on to Ennis for the night. Either way, the distance traveled will be around 120 miles or 190km. That makes it somewhat longer than the itineraries usually suggested for touring the Burren, it will fill a long day, but we believe it's worth it. While the distance covered is considerable, it doesn't feel like an onerous drive, partly because there are so many stops but also because the driving is through such beautiful surroundings.
Drag the map, zoom in and click markers for more information.
Kinvara
Photo by sedogliaKinvara (A) is a good place for craft shops and the harbour is pretty - if you are lucky you may see one of the traditional local boats, known as Galway Hookers (yes, really!), out on the sea here.
Dunguaire Castle just outside the town is a typical 16th century “domestic scale” castle with fortified walls, in a lovely setting right on the shore of Galway Bay. It was occupied until about the 1950s but is now in the hands of the state and nicely restored. A tour gives a very interesting view of how people lived in this type of dwelling and in the evening a Medieval Banquet is held here, something to consider for the return journey this evening perhaps.
Kilmacduagh
The round tower at Kilmacduagh (B) is Ireland's tallest and is located at the centre of a scattered monastic settlement and against a backdrop of the hills of the Burren.
Unlike the better known Glendalough, there will be no tour buses or crowds here, nor is there a visitor centre, in fact to get access to the building you must borrow a key from a local house.
The drive from Kilmacduagh to Corofin skirts the edge of the Burren National Park, with the limestone hills on the right as you travel changing colours from purple to pink to blue to forbidding grey according to the weather conditions and the light. You will pass Ballyportry Castle (C), a restored 15th century tower house once home to members of the O'Brien clan, which can now be rented out as self-catering accommodation.
Corofin
Corofin (D) is a small and pretty market town, built on the Fergus River which connects Inchiquin Lake with Lough Atedaun. Legend has it that the mythical Irish hero engeged in battle here and the town is named for him - it means "Finn's Weir". St Catherine's Church, built between 1715 and 1720 by Catherine Keightley who was a first cousin of Queens Mary and Anne, is now a small museum and worth a quick visit.
For anyone planning to stay in the Burren area overnight, Corofin is a good location to choose, with great pubs (notably Biddy Early's) and restaurants, excellent traditional music and easy access to most of the major attractions in the area.
Dysert O'Dea
It's well worth making the 3 mile detour from Corofin to visit Dysert O’Dea (E). The castle, now home to the Clare Archaeological Center, dates from the 15th century when it was built by the O’Dea clan, the former chieftains of the area.
However this site has been inhabited since at least the 8th century, when St. Tola founded a monastery here, at the site where the ruins of a 12th century church now stand. The Romanesque doorway to this church is unique and fascinating, with 12 faces carved into the stone arch overhead, mostly human but also including dogs and birds.
The area around Dysert is rich with archaeological remains, which can be seen by following a guided trail. Among them are a round tower from the 10th or 12th century, a very fine 12th-century high cross, a holy well, a 14th-century battlefield, and a stone fort which dates from the Iron Age.
Lemenagh Castle
On the drive from Corofin to Lemanagh Castle, you pass Lough Inchiquin (F), an excellent location for salmon and trout fishing and also popular with walkers. The mostly ruined Inchiquin Castle which overlooks the lake was built in 1459 for the powerful O'Brien family.
Lemenagh Castle (G), again a stronghold of the ubiquitous O'Briens, was originally a tower house much like those you have seen already to-day, but was extensively altered and enlarged in the early 1600s by Conor O'Brien, to become an impressive fortified house.
Conor was a powerful leader, but made a somewhat unfortunate marriage to Maire Rua MacMahon, or Red Mary, who as daughter of the powerful Thomand clan must have seemed a good match. Mary's first husband died young, and when Conor returned badly wounded from the Cromwellian wars, she refused to let him in on the grounds that earlier reports had said he was dead. She eventually relented, but he died soon after. Mary remarried, later burying her third husband. According to legend, or maybe it would be better called gossip, she was not so much unfortunate widow as scheming murderess. Who knows.
The Burren's Archaeology
The area from here to Ballyvaughan is probably the most archaeologically rich in the Burren, and sites such as Caherconnell Stone Fort (H) indicate that there have been people living here for thousands of years. The visitor centre here gives a very good introduction to the various sites in the area and is worth stopping at.
Caherconnell Fort itself is an excellent example of a ring fort, which would have been not a military defense but an enclosure where a family could live safely with their animals. It date back to the 4th century AD and was probably lived in for hundreds of years.
After leaving Caherconnell, instead of taking the left turn for Ballyvaughan, detour briefly by going straight across at the cross road and visit Temple Cronan (I). This tiny medieval church has a number of stange heads set into it's exterior wall, and there is a holy well close by which is still a revered site for many locals.
Back on the Ballyvaughan Road our next stop is one that is very busy in high season but worth persevering with. The Poulnabrone Dolmen (J) (the name means "hole of the Sorrows"), a megalithic tomb that dates from about 3500 BC, is the most outstanding of Ireland's many dolmens, impressive stone monuments erected over the graves of the dead. Excavations in the 1980's found that at least 22 adults and children were buried here, along with personal items including a polished stone axe, a bone pendant, quartz crystals, weapons and pottery. It's a remarkable structure, and a place that seems to really leave a lasting impression.
Ailwee Cave
Photo by rmcgerveyIreland's most popular show cave, Ailwee Cave(K) is a good stop not just for the tour of the caves themselves, with their many impressive stalagmites and stalactites, but because you are surely thinking about lunch around now and there is a good cafe in the the visitor centre and an excellent farm shop outside.
If it's raining, eat at the cafe, otherwise stock up with freshly baked bread, local cheeses and some of the other yummies in the farm shop and have a picnic on the hills above the cave while you enjoy fantastic views over the Burren and Galway Bay.
Ballyvaughan
Ballyvaughan (L) is nominally a fishing village, but relies now mostly on tourism. It's a pretty town with a good range of activities available for those spending more than one day in the area. There are art courses at the Burren Art College, a very good dive centre and for those who want to explore the Burren in more depth, the guided tours offered by Burren Walks are ideal.
Each day from May to October the local village hall has a good crafts fair, where some of the many craftspeople and artists who live in the area display and sell their products. This is well worth calling in to, the quality is exceptionally high and you'll find unusual items that will not be available in the larger gift stores and souvenir shops, and by buying direct from their makers will get very good value also.
Black Head Drive
This is a spectacular coastal drive with breathtaking views across Galway bay to the Connemara coast and the three Aran Islands of Inis Mor, Inis Meain, Inis Oirr, among the best of them from the area around Black Head lighthouse (M).
However for the very best views take a walk up the limestone hills behind the lighthouse to the little visited Caherdooneerish, a very impressive and stunningly located ring fort. It's is a little tricky to find and is a somewhat testing walk, but this page has directions.
Doolin & the Cliffs of Moher
Photo by sedogliaDoolin (N) is a tiny village of just one street and several pubs, but seems to be a must-see for many people. While at night time this is understandable, since there is good music in the pubs, by day it really isn't worth even the short detour.
I've been scathing in the past about the need, or lack of it, for the now completed new visitor centre at the Cliffs of Moher (O), which I still believe adds little to the experience of the cliffs. But the building is impressive, and you don't actually have to bother with it, and in the end nothing can take from the majesty of these magnificent cliffs. On a windy day the walk up to the tower is quite scary, but always worthwhile and looking down from the top to the swirling past bird who fly below you, is quite something.
In recent times, despite warnings of the real danger involved from many quarters, the sea off this shore have become popular with extreme surfers, who arrive by boat to surf the huge waves. It's a truly scary thing to see, there really isn't any margin for error if things go wrong out there.
Lisdoonvarna
Lisdoonvarna (p) is a town famed for it's annual Matchmaking Festival which, depending on your viewpoint, is an unmissable month of music, craic and romance, or a raucous and unruly gathering of the drunk and the desperate. At other times it's a sleepy place, best known for the pungent sulphuric waters at the local spa, which was popular with Victorian visitors and continued to have a loyal clientele who swore by the restorative power of the water until it closed for what seems to be never ending refurbishment.
From Lisdoonvarna today's journey takes two possible routes. One for those who are traveling back to Galway, the second for those going on to Ennis. Take your pick.
1. Back to Galway
Those heading back to Galway need to take the N67 north from Lisdoonvarna, heading for Ballyvaughan. The drive here take you over high roads originally built as a famine relief scheme, and down the aptly names Corksrew Hill (Q), a spectacular drive with truly panoramic views over the Burren and Galway Bay.
Photo by surrealpenquinSome years ago while driving towards Corkscrew Hill I spotted a lone donkey standing by a stone wall with a magnificent vista of hills and ocean behind him. "Photo opportunity" I thought, leaping from the car. I had no sooner framed the shot when a small boy materialised from behind the wall and placed himself squarely in the way, holding up a large sign reading "€3 to photograph the donkey"! You had to admire his enterprise. I paid, but sadly cannot find the photo.
Further along the road is Cahermore Fort (R), yet another of the many ring forts of the Burren.
Pass through Ballyvaughan, continuing on the N67 to Kinvara. By now it will be evening, and a detour to Newquay and the Flaggy Shore (S) is highly recommended. At the Flaggy Shore, the limestone pavement of the Burren stretches into the sea and has been worn by millennia of waves washing over it into strange flattened shapes. The light here in the evening bounces off the flags, making them shine in almost jewel-like colours. If you can get there at sunset do, it'll be an unforgettable experience.
Newquay is a tiny village with just one pub, Linnane's, but it's a good one with a seafood restaurant where you could stop for dinner. After that it's a straightforward drive though Kinvara and back to Galway.
2. On to Ennis
Those heading back to Galway need to take the N67 south from Lisdoonvarna, heading for Ennistymon.
Not many people stop in Ennistymon (T), but you should. It's a good shopping town for crafts and has a nice selection of pubs and restaurants. Take a short walk a little below the bridge in the centre of town to see "The Cascades", where the River Inagh rushes dramatically over a ridge of rocks. If the river is high the noise can be deafening.
Just outside the town, close to the remains of a workhouse, is the Famine Memorial. This comprised of two upright stones, on one of which is a statue of a child standing plaintively before the workhouse door, while the other has the text of an actual note taken from a meeting of the workhouse board:
"There is a little boy named Michael Rice of Lahinch aged about 4 years. He is an orphan, his father having died last year and his mother has expired on last Wednesday night, who is now about being buried without a coffin!! Unless ye make some provision for such. The child in question is now at the Workhouse Gate expecting to be admitted, if not it will starve."
Further along the road Inagh (U) is home to the one of Ireland's few pub breweries, Biddy Early Brewery and Restaurant. If you are here early enough you can enjoy a a guided tour of the brewery and a sampling of their beer, if it's later you can enjoy their brews in some of the pubs in Ennis or with dinner at Halpino's, a good restaurant at the Woodstock Hotel, also in Ennis.
Other good places to eat in Ennis are Zucchini, where the early bird dinner menu is particularly good value, or if you enjoy Indian food, Kasturi.
Useful Information for Touring or Staying in the Burren Area
There is information at the links below about some of the places you have visited to-day, and others within reasonable distance for those staying or touring in the general area
The Cliffs of Moher | Ennis Friary | Ailwee Cave | Bunratty Castle and Folk Park | The Burren | Loop Head | Lahinch Golf Club | Delphi Adventure Centre | Thoor Ballylee | The Collegiate Church of St. Nicholas | Galway Cathedral | Leisureland | Killary Adventure Centre | Inishmore | Errislannan Manor | Connemara Golf Links | Gort Golf Club |
