Universally, the Burren is renowned for its landscape and its Ice Age legacy throughout.

Explore your worldAdventure Magazine • Issue 001

Burren & Cliffs of Mo-her Geopark : Just to the north of the Cliffs of Moher you will find the Burren, a strange

and beautiful karst landscape with its own extraordinary geological, natural and cultural distinctiveness. Together these two complimen-tary landscapes form the Bur-ren & Cliffs of Moher Geopark.In 2011 the region was awarded the prestigious UNESCO recognized Global and European Geopark sta-tus and its not hard to see why. As a Geopark, the Burren and Cliffs of Moher region has become inter-nationally recognised. Not only does the region have the geological impor-tance that is required of a Geopark, it also has the all-important network of organisations that oversee tourism in the area as well as coordinated edu-cation and conservation efforts. Mak-ing up over 530 square kilometres, the Burren and Cliffs of Moher region of-fers a diversity that is second to none. Alongside the extraordinary rock for-mations and called seabird on the rugged coastline of the Cliffs of Mo-her, the Burren is home to a vast array of flora, including Arctic and Alpine flowers that grow surprisingly along-side Mediterranean species. There is also the staggering amount of history in the Burren region with over 2,700 recorded monuments, some dating back over 6,000 years. This has led to the Burren being described as “one vast memorial to bygone cultures”. Universally, the Burren is renowned for its landscape and its Ice Age

As a Geopark, the Burren and Cliffs of Moher region has become internationally recognised.

legacy is apparent throughout. From the limestone pavement, the gorges, the springs and the swallow-holes, to the glacial striations, the boulders and erratics; every square metre of this distinctive landscape is under-standably important. Each doline and polje (flat depressions within the lime-stone), each dry valley and turlough, along with the hundreds of kilome-tres of underground caves, make up the uniqueness that is the Burren. But this is a living landscape that con-sists of People, Place, Learning and Livelihood and the Geopark sees tour-ism businesses, public bodies and lo-cal communities combine to welcome visitors to experience a host of activi-ties and encounters here. From walk-ing near Mullaghmore with the farmer whose family has farmed the land for centuries, to surfing or kayaking along the Flaggy Shore, to sleeping in a family run hostel, guesthouse or hotel, to feasting on local delicacies, to chatting to the locals while waiting for the ceili to begin all of these ex-periences can be enjoyed safe in the knowledge that you are also contrib-uting to the sustainable development of the area and the businesses you support are committed to conserva-tion and environmental protection. The Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experi-ence is committed to the ethos of sus-tainable tourism and business and we strive to reduce any negative impact on our environment or local culture. The Cliffs of Moher are one of Europe’s most visited natural attractions with almost one million visitors annually.

Beauty Amongthe RocksAlongside the extraordinary rock formations and called seabird on the rugged coastline of the Cliffs of Moher, the Burren is home to a vast array of flora, including Arctic and Alpine flowers that grow surprisingly alongside Mediterranean species.

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The Burren National Park is located in the southeastern corner of the Burren and is approximately 1500 hectares in size. The Park land was bought by the Government for nature conservation and public access. It contains examples of all the major habi-

tats within the Burren: Limestone Pavement, Calcareous grass-land, Hazel scrub, Ash/hazel woodland,

Turloughs, Lakes, Pet-rifying springs, cliffs and Fen. The highest point in the park is

Knockanes (207 me-tres) which continues as a curving terraced ridge to Mullaghmór to the south. East of

this ridge is an area of extensive, low lying limestone pavement containing a number

of semi-permanent lakes. West of this ridge the pavement sweeps down to par-tially drift-covered ground which gradu-ally rises again to reach the foot of a rocky escarpment. To the south of the park the limestone bedrock disappears under a layer of glacial till.

The word “Burren” comes from an Irish word “Boíreann” meaning a rocky place. This is an extremely appropriate name when you con-sider the lack of soil cover and the extent of exposed Limestone Pave-ment. However it has been referred to in the past as “Fertile rock” due to the mixture of nutrient rich herb and floral species. In 1651 a Crom-wellian Army Officer named Ludlow

remarked, “of this barony it is said that it is a country where there is not water enough to drown a man, wood enough to hang one, nor earth enough to bury them. This last is so scarce that the inhabitants steal it from one another and yet their cattle are very fat. The grass grows in tufts of earth of two or three foot square which lies between the limestone rocks and is very sweet and nourishing.”

The word “Burren” comes from an Irish word “Boíreann” meaning a rocky place.

Just to the north of the Cliffs of Moher you will find the Burren, a strange and beautiful

karst landscape with its own extraordinary geological, natural and cultural distinctiveness.

The Burren: The Legend of Bothar na Mias Cliff of the Eagle

The strange marks left in the

flat crags by the weathering of

softer portions and of fossils have

caused numerous legends. The

dish-like hollows in the crags

below the hermitage of St. Colman

MacDuach, at the great ‘Cliff of

the Eagle,’ in Kinallia, the name

Bohernameesh (bothar na mias, i.e.

road of the dishes), and marks like

the footprints of men and animals

all seem to have been seized

on by the saint’s biographers.

Colman, brother of King Guaire

‘the hospitable,’ of Hy Fiachrach

Aidhne (the district round Gort),

early in the seventh century retired

to fast and pray in the wilderness.

After a most austere observance of

Lent, a companion monk yearned

for meat, and Colman pitied him

and prayed. The King’s Easter feast

therefore flew to the hermitage,

pursued by the whole Court.

Terrified by the angry warriors

Colman again prayed, and their feet

and the hoofs of their horses stuck

fast in the rocks. The legend is still

told in a form identical with that in

the Life. The servant is said to have

died from the feast, and his grave is

shown beside the Boher.

Amongst the objec-tives of the new opera-tion was the protection and conservation of the Cliffs of Moher. Since autumn of 2008 a Green Team has been estab-lished to tackle environ-mental, conservation and waste/energy man-agement issues and to participate in local eco-tourism initiatives. The Cliffs of Moher are a Special Protected Area (SPA) under Irish & EU legislation. The area is of special impor-tance due to the pres-ence bird species such as Chough, Fulmar, Kit-

tiwake, Guillemot Ra-zorbill and Puffin. The site is also of conserva-tion interest as a breed-ing site for over 30,000 seabirds.The protected

area includes the area outside the walls as well as the cliff face. As part of an ecological re-construction of the SPA closest to the visitor cen-

tre and damaged cliff top habitats were reseeded during the construction stage with local cliff top grass seed which had been harvested by hand during the two autumns prior to the construction phase. Visitor flow is managed to discourage visitors from entering the protected areas. We are committed to envi-ronmental conservation and education. For more information on the Burren and Cliffs of Moher Geopark visit www.burrengeopark.

Puffins are any of three small species of alcids in the bird genus Fratercula with a brightly coloured beak during the breeding season.