Lisdoonvarna, County Clare, holds a world famous Matchmaking Festival each September. Since it was only June and, anyhow, Carmen and I had, of course, already met our match, we drank a quick cup of coffee, ate a swift slice of cake, and journeyed on ...
... into the stark limestone landscape of the Burren (from the Irish 'Boireann' meaning 'Great Rock'). I'd heard and read a lot about the Burren, and had always wanted to go there.We were too late in the year to see its signature flower, the Spring gentian, but we did spot mountain avens, and this orchid ...
... and many other flowers and ferns in the 'grikes' ('grikes' are the crevices between the slabby limestone blocks or 'clints'). Don't you just love those words, 'clints' and 'grikes'? I remember them fondly from school geography lessons long ago ...
This is a unique and wonderful habitat - the largest area of limestone pavement in Europe, I believe. A signboard explained a little of its ecology and rare flora ...
There are also various burial sites, dolmens, standing stones and ancient settlements dotted about the region, such as this megalithic portal tomb at Poulnabrone ...
