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Published: June 28th 2017
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Early morning
View from Bansha Castle--looks good! Again, today, chartered a driver for six of us to go to the Cliffs of Mohrer (https://www.cliffsofmoher.ie/) which, we learned while there, ARE the Cliffs of Insanity (if you don't get that reference, woe to you). Also, in Harry Potter, the horcrux in the cave was filmed at the Cliffs. Ireland's most famous natural site, they are tremendous! It was not the clearest day but we certainly could get up the hill and see the cliffs and a good ways out to sea. The ranger said the winds were 35-40 miles per hour and that was about average--it was hard to walk at several points. There's a nice visitor's center with a short film, dedicated to the wildlife around the Cliffs. Mike and I walked up to the right, to O'Brien's Tower (of course, Susan headed for the tower; Mike's beginning to think I'm a nut case) which was built by an enterprising local so people could (pay and) admire the view from an even higher vantage point. Neither of us went beyond the 'official' area out to the walk along the cliffs--you can see lots of folks out there though. The walkway is a trail between two villages, one north
Cliffs of Mohrer
entry sign, not the best shot!! and one south of the Cliffs. There were also little gift shops in the hillside on the way back to the car park (lamb onesie for new granddaughter!). Near the end of our time there, the sun came out a bit and one of our group (the guy with the good camera) ran up and got some shots which I'll try and include.
Lunch was at the Hotel Doolin, in the town of Doolin. Yummy ham and a nice pub-brewed lager for me. While at lunch, we discussed our next spot and decided on taking up the recommendation of the guide from the Tower and drive up into The Burren (http://www.burren.ie/), for a completely different 'view' of Ireland. One of our little group had read about it being an ecosystem all it's own and we were intrigued. We knew that would mean we would probably not going to be able to get to Bunratty Castle and the Folk Park (a real tourist trap sounding place) in time but decided to "risk it". Good decision--it was beautiful, all limestone and rocks and 'loneliness'. The word "Burren" comes from an Irish word "Boíreann" meaning a rocky place. This is an extremely
Cliffs
There were two walkways; we went UP and towards a tower. appropriate name when you consider the lack of soil cover and the extent of exposed Limestone Pavement.
One of the attractions was the Poulnabrone Dolmen (http://www.burrengeopark.ie/discover-and-experience/geosites-discovery-points/poulnabrone/), again recommended by the Tower guide. Situated on the high Burren limestone plateau, Poulnabrone Dolmen is one of Ireland’s most iconic archaeological monuments and is the second most visited location in the Burren after the Cliffs of Moher. It is the oldest dated megalithic monument in Ireland. It's a portal tomb and I likened it to a modern-day mausoleum, built above ground since the ground is too hard to dig into. Excavations by archaeologist Anne Lynch in the 1980’s revealed the remains of 21 people in the main tomb chamber and radiocarbon dating of their bones indicates that the tomb was in continual use for a period of 600 years between 5,200 and 5,800 years ago. Later DNA testing of the recovered remains and local inhabitants connected them (again, info from the ranger). As we pulled away, one of the group realized that the dolmen is on the cover of her Rick Steves guide!!
We did stop at Bunratty Castle on the way home, to check out the gift shops and did
O'Brien's Tower
Cliffs of Mohrer some shopping so the driver fulfilled that 'duty'! Got back to the Castle a happy group, walked to the infamous 'gas station', picked out some great ready-to-cook meals and returned to the Castle to trade stories with the rest of the residents and pack--tomorrow, Mike and I head to Dublin for the night before flying off to the Isle of Man.
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