Shannonside Ireland
Clare | Limerick
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The Burren in County Clare is unique in Ireland. It is an area of some 400 square kilometres of bare grey limestone. Come to visit it in late spring and early summer, and from the protection of the cracks which seam the rock appears a wonderful collection of over 600 species of flowers. They are not only beautiful to look at, but of a diversity which excites botanists, for here are species like gentians, more at home in the Alps, mixed with Arctic species like Mountain Avens and other flowers found elsewhere no nearer than the Mediterranean. But please don't pick flowers of take away plants, as they are irreplaceable. The rolling hills of the Burren are good to walk over, dry underfoot and mostly gently sloping. It has many old green tracks and by-roads, sheltered patches where bushes and small trees grow, and may signs of ancient occupation, stone forts, cairns and dolmens, relics of a time when the area was less barren. In the Burren, the visitor will find many small, welcoming villages and pubs, notably Doolin, internationally famous for Irish music. The Burren Way traverses this limestone plateau and will lead you to the Cliffs of Moher, one of Ireland's greatest natural wonders, falling vertically for 200 metres into the Atlantic.