SPRING FLOWERS at THE BURREN, COUNTY CLARE, IRELAND: Guest Post by Marianne Wallace

Flowers blooming in Burren National Park, Ireland.

Many thanks to my friend Marianne Wallace, for sharing her beautiful photos of spring wildflowers in Burren National Park, taken on her trip to Ireland earlier this year. 

Ferns poking up among the rocks of the Burren.

My favorite place in Ireland is The Burren in County Clare, a 2-hour drive west of Dublin. It is a unique place of exposed rocky pavement--its name means “rocky place”. Deep fissures in the rocks support microclimates where ferns and orchids flourish. 

Drystone wall. Trail head to Parknabinnia.

Parknabinnia.

On a recent visit, after my usual stop to climb through the drystone wall and check out Parknabinnia, a Paleolithic tomb, I lingered and took photos of the many tiny wildflowers growing among the surface grassy clumps at the site. 

It’s amazing they survive the grazing of the ubiquitous cows and sheep. 

For more about Burren National Park, check out Marianne’s earlier post at The Intrepid Tourist about her visit there in May 2013.

The Burren, County Clare, Ireland.

IRELAND, Part 2: The West and Southwest, Guest Post by Tom and Susan Weisner

Ireland. Irish musicians play in bars and restaurants everywhere!

In September, our friends Tom and Susan Weisner took a driving trip in Scotland and Ireland. They have graciously agreed to share a few of their photos and thoughts about the trip. Here is their report of the second half of their ten days on the road in Ireland.

The Cliffs of Moher in County Clare on the southwest coast of Ireland are beautiful, but incredibly windy and cold. They were a long day’s drive from Galway, where we were staying.

Susan and Tom at the Cliffs of Moher on the Southwest Coast of Ireland

Another beautiful day's drive was to Roundstone, Ireland, a small village along the Connemara District coastal drive outside of Galway. 

Shop in Roundstone, Ireland, with Irish music, crafts, blankets and wool weaving.

It was a good place for crafts and gift shopping--like this place for example.

Beer, books, eggs, marble, wool, for sale!

The Ring of Kerry is a beautiful all-day drive around the southwest coast, departing from the town of Killarney, which is about 2.5 hours drive from Galway. Charlie Chaplin had a place in a small town along the way that he visited all his life. Who knew?!

With Charlie Chaplin statue

Killarney lakes and castle in County Kerry are part of a  Killarney National Park (the first national park in Ireland) and make a beautiful day's outing, with walks to ruins of Abbeys and the lake itself.

Killarney

Did we mention the importance of Irish writers to be found in restaurants, bars, hotels? In a lovely Irish restaurant at our last stop, the town of Kilkenny, southwest of Dublin, we saw this poster.

Some Famous Irish Writers

Here are some of the beautiful Irish throws, blankets, scarves and Irish music CDs that we brought back home in the extra suitcase we had to buy!

Beautiful Irish textiles

Many thanks to Tom and Susan for sharing the highlights of their Scotland/Ireland trip!