A Trip to the Burren
the plants seem to be able contend with the weather changes better than we can. Amid lots of laughter we left for the Aillwee Cave about two miles from the town.
This area is rich in vegetation and the hills behind the cave have lot of plants naturally dwarfed by a combination of a restricted root run and the constant wind. These include Purging Buckthorn, Rhamnus cathartica, Alder Buckthorn, Frangula alnus, and Guilder Rose, Viburnum 0pulus. There was even a few Ash, Fraxinus excelsior. As there were no Ash trees anywhere in the vicinity, a bird or animal of some sort must have carried the seed. Hazel, Corylus Avellana, was covering most of the lower slopes in this area, and children could be seen searching for ripe nuts. On the higher outcrops above the cave a few plants of Crowberry, Empetrum nigrum, were to be seen with a scattering of Cotoneaster, Cotoneaster microphyllus, and Holly,Ilex Aquifolium, peeping out of the cracks in the rocks.
The sun was starting to sink over Galway Bay so it was time to return to the car and make our way home, after a most enjoyable day in one of the most unique places in Europe.
Remember if you visit the Burren that the plants are protected and it is illegal to remove them.
MICHAEL J CAMPBELL
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