Immerse yourself in the famous Burren landscape in this beautiful park!
Burren National Park is about a 25 minute drive from Ballyvaughan. Once there, there are a few different routes you can take. I took the path that goes towards Eagle's Rock past the gate. This looped trail takes you first down an old access road and then slowly after crossing through a rock wall it winds into some trees. It opens up again into a field to yet again end back in even thicker trees this time. Here you will run into the rock ruins of a small building. These are the remains of a church that was built over an original wooden chapel built by St. Colman MacDuagh in the 6th century! Next to the ruins you will see a holy well. There are a few hanging rag tree momentos and the well itself is very pretty.
You can either continue through the forrest for a bit or if it is too muddy for you you can go back the way you came and take a left turn to continue the loop. Either way you will go through a short field and end up in a forrest once again. After a short distance you will find yourself climbing some rocks. Soon enough you will find yourself with a beautiful view above the trees to see Eagle's Rock behind you and a large field of karsts in front of you. After a short decent you will be on the karsts themselves.
After making your way off the karsts you will find yourself yet again going through a rock wall. You will walk across an over grown karst field here. Eventually the path links back to the old service road you started on. Round trip with our photo breaks the trip probably took about an hour and a little. Overall it is a great little hike and gives you a little bit of everything in a short amount of time. Dress ready for anything though! The weather systems move in and out of the valley quickly and we hiked a bit of the trial in some harsh winds and mist. This was also in January though so I'm sure the weather is more dependable in the spring or summer for the area.
Find out more about the hike and Burren National Park here: