Our Travels since 2017: Barren but Beautiful

I omitted to mention in yesterday’s blog that on the way to Rossaveel we drove in the area of The Burren which is a globally unique 530 square kilometre limestone landscape with extraordinary biodiversity, glaciokarst terrain and rich archaeological history. Despite its barren appearance it supports over 70% of Ireland’s native flora, where Artic, Alpine and Mediterranean plants grow side by side.

Looks like all greenery has been shaved off the landscape

There are three islands in the heart of the Bay of Galway a 40 minute ferry trip from Rossaveel, Inis Mor, Inis Marin and Inis Oirr, which make up the Aran Islands. The islands date back more than 350 million years and while they are renowned for their well-preserved Christian and Celtic monuments, and over 4800 kilometres of dry stone walls they are equally renowned for being the home of the woollen Aran sweater or perhaps more accurately the ancient Celtic stitch patterns (9 in all) that are used to knit an Aran sweater.

Our sole purpose in staying in Rossaveel was to take the ferry from there to the islands, in fact to Inis Mor the largest of the three so having purchased the tickets before leaving NZ we arrived at 10.00 at the wharf for the 10.30 ferry. We showed our tickets and without delay were ushered on to the ferry which was full and which left the wharf immediately at around 10.05.

We can only presume that those arriving later for their booked 10.30 sailing were taken to the island by another vessel - by late morning we had seen 3 ferries each with I guess 250-300 folk onboard arrive at the island and disgorge the passengers however given the size of the island (15 kms in length and 5 kms in width) it didn’t fell crowded as there were hop on hop off vans, jaunting carts and about 3 bicycle hire places which soon dispersed the people all over the island.

We went to the tourist information office and got advice of some walks and then set off from Kilronan, where the ferries arrive, along the foreshore and around the/a lake before returning to Kilronan. What struck us were the numerous rock walls running in all directions and the barrenness of the landscape (reminded of travelling along the Desert Rd) which created a beautiful environment to look at.

At Kilronan there were cafes, restaurants and retail shops selling among other items Aran sweaters of all size, colours and design. We had lunch at one of the pubs, walked the shops and then started walking a different route than in the morning all the time admiring the beauty around us.

As the ferry we were booked on was scheduled to depart at 4.00pm we got ourselves back to the pier at 3.30ish and left the tranquility of Inis Mor bang on 4pm in a full ferry.

Back to our accommodation, checked locations for a reasonable meal “locally”, and found one 30kms away so it was back in the car and to Bearna for a very acceptable pub meal in a nice environment.

A very enjoyable day in a barren but beautiful environment.