Day 76
The Burren
After a few days of rather pleasant but far from dramatic views, and busier roads than we like, we were eager for a return to more exciting scenery and little traffic. Within a mile of leaving Kinvara we were on quiet back roads taking us into the hills in an area called The Burren, or Boireann, meaning rocky place. It is made up of limestone cliffs and pavements, with little soil cover. It is also called fertile rock due to the nutrient rich herb and floral species. Tom and I were fascinated by the miles of hazel woodland, hard to explain but as we peeked through gaps in the trees it just looked like a window into a magical world. There is so much more to say about the importance of the Burren, suffice to say it fully deserves it’s Unesco Global Geopark Status. We were riding a the small tarmac road, but the route then took us onto an old drovers road, called the Green Road. Very narrow between dry stone walls, a rocky surface that eventually became covered in grass. A slightly hilly and challenging route that the mountain biker in me loved the bikes not so much!
Another more modern attraction in the Burren is the home of Father Ted, actually Glanquin House. It is a private family home, so we took a quick photo and whizzed on by.
By now we were only a few miles from our campsite for the next two nights, Nagles at Doolin. Though we were on a road designated as cycle friendly, it appeared to be used as a short cut by local drivers. The combination of very narrow road, a curved drop at the edge of the tarmac, then a 4 foot ditch made it a very unpleasant ride as car after car flew past. We as usual made every effort to get out of their way but at times there was simply nowhere to go. It was hardly a surprise but certainly a shock when Tom was forced into the ditch. The weight of Tom’s bike was pinning him down, he was battered and bruised but nothing broken. I jumped into the ditch to remove the panniers, Tom dragged himself onto the road and a lovely white van man stopped and helped calm us and move us and the bikes to safety. Tom was able to carry on and we learnt to try and avoid roads on a Friday tea time!
The campsite looked over to the Aran islands, the nearest to land we were to visit tomorrow. It is called Ines Oirr, or to TV fans, Craggy Island!
