The Hidden Landscape of the Burren
The area of the Burren is 530 square kilometres or 200 square miles of limestone. This area is dotted with hundreds if not thousands of ancient Christian and pre Christian sites, wildflowers, towns and villages, farmhouses and farmland. Not all of the Burren is bare expanses of limestone (known to geologists as karst). The Burren is, in fact, a living landscape, supporting its residents, farm animals and businesses, as well as a huge variety of flora and wildlife.
Beyond the Famous Burren Sites
While most visitors will be familiar with certain iconic ancient sites and landscapes, these comprise only a tiny proportion of the sights to see in the Burren. Many of the other sites are accessible to visitors, though may be difficult to find.
There are thousands of ancient sites to see in the Burren, but only a few are listed on a typical car or coach tour itinerary. While these few sites may be very interesting and easily accessible by car or by coach, you will not be alone when you get there. For that reason, it’s always nice to be able to explore a bit deeper and to find some hidden and less visited gems.
These ‘hidden in plain sight’ places include pre-Christian tombs, early Christian ring forts, holy wells, 12th century churches, expanses of wildflowers and karst (bare limestone).
Wildflowers, Wildlife and the Burren Ecosystem
Many people travel to the Burren to see the wildflowers, but often the well-travelled routes don’t deliver when it comes to finding and seeing both the iconic and the rarer varieties. It’s also important to know that different varieties bloom in different environments and at different times of the year, so you need to make sure you are looking for the right flowers in the right place and in the right season.
From a geological point of view, many of the best views of the karst (bare limestone) features are not necessarily next to the road used by cars and coaches.
The truly Hidden Burren is contained in the landscape itself – the farming and the ecosystem which has supported the population of the Burren for over 8,000 years. This Burren landscape has been preserved and protected over the years, and remains a wonderland of incredible rock formations, flora and wildlife.
It may surprise some to think of people farming this landscape, but it is the fact that it is grazed by domestic farm animals (mainly beef cattle) as well as feral goats, that it looks the way it does today.
Without the animals grazing the limestone in the winter, the Burren would not have the variety of wildflowers or the plant species and environment to support rare butterflies, endangered birds and small wild animals such as the red squirrel and the pine marten.
There is no better place than the Burren to hear the cuckoo in springtime, or see an unrivalled variety of wildflowers: 75% of Ireland’s native wildflower varieties grow in the Burren. These include the rare Spring Gentian in May, the Bloody Cranesbill geranium in June and July and the delicate harebells in August and September.
How to Experience the Hidden Burren
So how do you experience the Hidden Burren while visiting? You will need to get out of the car, and explore deeper into the landscape, where the only sounds are the birds singing and the wind blowing. To find the hidden places you may need to do a lot of background research and still it may be hit and miss to find what you want to see.
Better still, join one of our regular e-bike tours or book your very own private guided tour, and go deeper into the Burren with a local guide who knows where to find what in every season of the year. The hidden gems, the native wildflowers, the ancient holy sites and settlements, the limestone rock formations are all waiting for you, whatever month you visit, so take the time to get off the beaten track and explore the hidden Burren with e-whizz Electric Bike Tours.