The Burren Way.

The Burren Way is a marked and signposted walking route developed between Lahinch and Ballyvaughan in North Clare. The 45km route brings the walker inland from Lahinch, passing near the magnificent Cliffs of Moher, to Doolin and on to Ballinalackan. It then continues through the heartland of the Burren, mostly along Green Roads, across the Caher valley to Rathborney and, by the back route, on to Ballyvaughan. It brings the visitor through both the shale uplands of the southern Burren and the limestone pavements of the northern part. It may be travelled in either direction.

The Burren Way brings you actively through many thousands of years of Irish history. But this is no dry textbook: here are the very stones and landscapes which created those stories over six thousand years, not to speak of the 330 million year old story in the limestone itself or the story of the scouring of the limestone by successive glaciers.

The Way will bring you by the megalithic tombs of stone-age settlers, and the barrows, forts and cahers of the Celts. The history of the middle ages also leaves its mark. Once O'Loughlin and O'Connor territory, the O'Briens as overlords of Thomond held sway here throughout medieval times, albeit uneasily. The castles of Ballinalackan, Doonagore and Newtown are magnificent surviving examples of these ruling families.

The landscapes and seascapes, too, hold much of interest and there are many breathtaking vistas along the route. From the shale uplands north of Lahinch the walker travels to the sea at Doolin, a mecca for traditional Irish musicians. Follow the road to Ballinalackan, and join the Green Road and the valleys of Oughtdarra and Ballyryan and travel between the shale and the limestone. After dipping into the Caher valley we climb the limestone plateau once more before entering the long Feenagh and Rathborney valley. Skirt the eastern slopes of Cappanawalla, by Newtown towerhouse and the Burren College of Art before joining the road from Black Head to Ballyvaughan. The seaside village is a pleasant and colourful place to end or indeed start your journey along the Burren Way.