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Day 7
Where we'll go today....Destination: The Burren & Galway
I think it will be fair to say, that you will experience a hint of sadness upon departing Kenmare. Heading in a North-westerly direction, you will find the first hour of your journey un-interesting. Our first stop will be for morning coffee in Glin Castle. A wonderful place and home to the occupying Knight of Glin. Log fires etc. will make it difficult for your driver to usher you back into your vehicle. We board a little ferry and cross the Shannon (longest river in Ireland) to the contrasting landscape of Clare & the Burren.
The word Burren derives from the Irish Boireann, which means "rocky land". An apt name for this austere limestone landscape, described in the 1640's by Cromwell's surveyors as, "a savage land, yielding neither water enough to drown a man, nor tree to hang him, nor soil enough to bury". Despite the lack of trees, the Burren is a unique botanical environment where Mediterranean and Alpine plants rare to Ireland grow side by side. Whilst exploring the Burren, you can visit the famous Poulnabrone Dolmen, a striking portal tomb dating back to 2500-2000 BC. In the Southern part of the Burren the limestone gives way to the black shale and sandstone that form the dramatic Cliffs of Moher. A good Lunch stop in this area is the Black Oak.
Continuing onwards you will head uninterrupted to Galway and your next overnight. Again after the long journey you might appreciate the comfort of having dinner in you hotel.