The Burren, Ireland

ROAD TRIP THE BURREN, IRELAND ➤ Miles: 55 ● Days on the Road: 3 ● Scenic Overlook: Corkscrew Hill on Road N67 ● Archaeology: Poulnabrone Dolmen near Ballyvaughan Framed by its mighty Gaelic for “stony place,” Cliffs of Moher, the Burren and the dramatic rocky region of western Ireland setting has captivated is a wonder of lunar creatives from Tolkien to landscapes, megalithic Spielberg. It’ll take hold monuments, and beautiful of you too, especially if botany. The 205-square- you follow this route in the mile UNESCO Global spring, when wildflowers Geopark is one of the only paint the hillsides in hues places in the world where of pink, yellow, and blue. arctic, alpine, and Mediter- The narrow roads are more ranean plants grow side by fit for cows than cars, so side. The name “Burren” drive slowly and practice derives from the Irish the traditional one-finger salute—index finger, that is—with oncoming locals. —Serena Renner Paths edging the Cliffs of Moher offer broad views of the NATGEOTRAVEL.COM Atlantic Ocean. ROAD TRIP THE BURREN, IRELAND 7. CARRAN 9. FLAGGY SHORE On the Scent Fish and Scripts Tucked into the rocky high- If you miss the seafood lands of the Carran, the truck, you can still get Burren Perfumery distills your fill of local scallops, the essence of the sur- crab, lobster, and gigas rounding flora into small- oysters on the waterfront batch fragrances, lotions, at Linnane’s Bar, located soaps, and candles. The in a centuries-old former newest perfume, launching cottage-pub-post office. in spring, incorporates A sweet spot for dessert is meadowsweet and wild ivy, Café Linnalla Ice Cream. which visitors can smell in The most westerly ice the flourishing herb garden cream parlor in Europe out back. To get beneath scoops creative flavors, the Burren’s stone surface, from foraged blackberry however, book a tour of to Baileys Irish Cream the Slieve Carran Nature with sea salt to wild sea Reserve with Heart of buckthorn (which tastes Burren Walks. Enthusiastic surprisingly like peach). guide Tony Kirby shares Take your cone on a walk facts and legends about to the owners’ eighth- the Carran Turlough (a generation dairy farm, disappearing lake), Saint which supplies milk for Colman’s Hermitage, the ice cream. Then amble ancient monuments, and out to the fossil-strewn the hardy wildflowers that Flaggy Shore, described manage to bloom from by poet Seamus Heaney in cracks in the limestone. “Postscript” as a place that can “catch the heart off guard and blow it open.” 8. BELL HARBOUR 10. BALLYVAUGHAN 1. ENNISTYMON 3. CLIFFS OF MOHER 4. DOOLIN 6. KILFENORA Ocean Bound As you head back to Artists’ Retreat First Bite Sheer Beauty String Section Downright Divine the coast, turn into the 300-year-old family As twilight falls, settle in at Yes, there will be crowds, You know you’ve reached The birthplace of one of Gregans Castle Hotel, a Roughly 30 miles from Shannon Airport, the farm that houses Hazel but this extraordinary Doolin when you spot Ireland’s oldest ceili dance Mountain Chocolate. A luxe hideaway frequented Cheese Press in Ennistymon is the best place escarpment is a must-see. colorful sweater shops and bands, Kilfenora looks like window into the kitchen by Heaney as well as to stock up on road trip provisions and sample Brave the tour buses to perennial pubs such as it’s been petrified by the lets visitors watch as the J.R.R. Tolkien and Steven reach the Cliffs of Moher McGann’s, McDermott’s, surrounding peat bogs. Spielberg. In the rooms— delicious bites from the Burren Food Trail. The confections—infused with Visitor Centre, a concrete and O’Connor’s, where The gabled Kilfenora Burren honey, hazelnuts, named after local wild- specialty grocery, opened in 2017 by Sinéad Ní and stone edifice carved local music legends play. Cathedral is known for its elderberry, and seaweed— flowers, places, and Gháirbhith of the St. Tola goat cheese company, into a grassy headland. Check out Ekotree, a new high crosses, particularly are handcrafted from bean people—antique furnish- Displays themed around design studio that puts the oversize Doorty Cross ings sit beside family stocks more than 40 varieties of Irish cheese plus to bar. Continue to the late the local landscapes and a high-tech spin on that depicts Saint Peter 12th-century Corcomroe heirlooms and modern art. Burren-roasted Anam Coffee, organic veggies from culture fill the cavernous traditional Irish knits. blessing Kilfenora’s Abbey and the adjacent Tolkien fans should book Moy Hill Farm, sandwiches with house-baked interior, while walkways upgrade from a monastic remains of an Iron Age the Martyn Suite, the for- lead to viewing platforms to a diocesan site in the mer home’s kitchen, where sourdough, and local kombucha. Check the shop’s hilltop fort. Then hunt and the 19th-century 5. LISDOONVARNA 12th century. Agriculture’s for Julia’s Lobster Truck, the owner, Frank Martyn, Facebook page for events such as tastings and yoga. O’Brien’s Tower, which also key here. Learn about which slings fish and chips, and the author gathered marks the cliffs’ highest Smokin’ Hot it with Eva and Stephen steamed mussels, and for drinks in the 1950s. point (about 700 feet Hegarty on a tour of their lobster rolls on weekends For an end-of-the-road 2. LAHINCH above the roiling sea). On the drive in, crank up Burren Free Range Pork outside Daly’s bar. splurge, indulge in the On a clear day, the vista the Christy Moore tune Farm, complete with restaurant’s nine-course Tide Me Over extends from the puffin- “Lisdoonvarna.” Then head samples of products made tasting menu, which peppered Great Sea Stack to Burren Smokehouse to from the British Saddle- Top left and bottom right: features Irish delicacies In this salt-swept town, Ben’s Surf Clinic has a knack for get- to the Gaelic-speaking taste the smoked salmon back swine. A stay in the knitwear by Ekotree; such as spring lamb, ting aspiring shredders comfortable in North Atlantic waves. Aran Islands. For more that’s fed three U.S. presi- farm’s Burren Glamping clockwise from top right: rich cheeses, cherries, Those who prefer land can forage for edible seaweed on sights, explore the Cliffs dents. Park it for the night trailer comes with a break- foraged fare from Wild and wild mushrooms. walks with Wild Kitchen. After collecting sea lettuce, truffle- of Moher Coastal Walk or at Wild Honey Inn; its fast of thick-cut bacon, Kitchen, a guest room at Raise a glass of wine to flavored pepper dulse, and nutrient-rich dillisk, you can taste take a boat trip with the gastropub earned a tender sausage, eggs, and Gregans Castle Hotel, the craic (good times), them in dishes paired with elderflower “champagne.” Doolin Ferry Company. Michelin star in 2018. toast with homemade jam. (ILLUSTRATION) KOSELI TAMER (CLIFFS), MNSTUDIO/ISTOCK PAGE: PREVIOUS (MAP); TRAPIELLO GUILLERMO (BOTTLES) PERFUMERY BURREN ROOM), (GUEST HOTEL CASTLE GREGANS (PLANTS), O’DWYER KNITWEAR), AND OONAGH (ROAD NEILAN DIARMUID Burren Perfumery. and say, “Slainte!” NATGEOTRAVEL.COM DECEMBER 2018 /JANUARY 2019.

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