Today we are in ‘The Burren’, just south of Galway in western Eire.
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The Burren is one of the most fascinating parts of Ireland. It’s a huge limestone plateau of shattered rocks where many rare plants and flowers grow. It may look like a barren and stony wasteland in places, but if you take the time to stop and explore like we have been able to do, it’s a place of fascinating geology, a paradise for looking for wildflowers like the ones below. I haven’t named them all properly yet but will do so when I get home again.
Harebell
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A meadow orchid
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Road through the Burren
It’s amazing how quickly you move between areas of the burren plateau to farm land that has been wrested from the rocks. The roads are narrow, windy and very uneven – to meet a bus on this road is a bit of an adventure !
A Burren platform of rocks
There are several areas of burren rock to explore – carefully – as it is very uneven.
A tiny rock garden
And tiny bit of soil between the rocks is likely to become a small natural rock garden.
Fissure – or grykes – in the rocks.
These platforms of rocks are split in many ways into grykes, making walking across them a little tricky.
A tiny garden like this in a fissure makes the exploring worthwhile.
Poulnabrone Portal Tomb on the Burren
This tomb was built 150 meters above sea level over 5,00o years ago !
The remains of more than 30 people have been found on and around this site on the Burren.
Fences in this area are made of the most available product – rocks!.
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A wide view across the Burren Plateau.
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Rock Garden
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Early Purple Orchid
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Herb Robert growing in a crevice in the rocks.
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Ferns
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Moss in a damper crevice
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Growing by the side of the car park.
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Bright face of a buttercup
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Thistle
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This section of the plateau shows how the rocks split over time.
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As the rocks recede into the distance they take on a purple hue.
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We are thoroughly enjoying exploring this fascinating part of Ireland.
J and A