Meterologist Evelyn Cusack undetakes two challenging loops in the Burren in Co.Clare

Presenter
Evelyn Cusack

About
As Evelyn Cusack walks the Limestone landscape of the Burren she experiences first hand that there really are four seasons in one day in Ireland! However they both agree that walking in soft rain can be an enjoyable experience when it is not cold. At an erratic rock they meet with Burren Connect geologist Ronan Hennessy who teaches geology to school groups and local interest groups who were all part of the project that got Burren Unesco Geology Park status in recent months. Evelyn who has a keen interest in climate change discovers from Ronan that the Burren once was a tropical sea which formed into the unique landscape 350 million years ago. As they walk they discover a landscape teeming with tiered limestone pavements which shelter rare flora and come across local woman from Fanore Mary Howard who is on a mission to discover a rare Burren flower, the Alpine Gentian. The weather starts to get very wet as they walk along Gleninagh and our two walkers decide to come down off the mountain to visit Gleninagh Church and meet up with Clodagh Lynch who has recently found stone axes in the Burren at Fanore beach dating to 6,000 years ago. The hills that make up the Burren are actually like swiss cheese with some 300 caves created by disappearing streams. These labyrinthine caves include one that stretches some 2km in Ailiwee Mountain. Evelyn and Eimer decide to visit Ailiwee and then take up their walk in nearby Fenagh valley where they come down the mountain and back to Ballyvaughan via a hazel forest.

Grade
Challenging

Distance
26km

Estimated Time
5 -6 hours

Terrain underfoot
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Suitable for
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How to get to start point
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Notes
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