Gardens and Wildflowers of the Burren 5924

We depart from London on a flight to Shannon Airport (other airports available on request at a supplement) where on arrival we are met by our coach and tour manager and transfer to Knockpatrick, a garden of nearly three acres overlooking the Shannon estuary. Helen and Tim O’Brien are the fourth generation of the family to tend this 1930s garden with dedication and enthusiasm. The garden is endowed with running water and nourishment from the family farm. It featured in the April 2008 “The Irish Garden” magazine and contains many unusual varieties of magnolias, azaleas and rhododendrons. Other plants of note are calicanthus, clianthus, drymis, echium and dicksonia.
Following our visit we cross the Shannon by the Tarbert to Killimer ferry and continue to the Old Ground Hotel, Ennis, Co. Clare. Formerly an eighteenth-century manor house, it blends the warmth of a country home with the style and comfort of a modern hotel. All rooms are en-suite with TV, telephone, hair dryer and hospitality tray.

Following breakfast we drive to Doolin where we take a ferry to Inis Oírr, the smallest of the Aran Islands.  The combination of the island’s geological features, coastal setting and traditional agricultural practices contribute to the richness of its flora and fauna, making Inis Oírr a unique and picturesque destination. On the plant side we can expect to find wildflowers, coastal species such as sea thrift and sea campion, ferns and mosses and, as the island is part of the Burren habitat, species such as bloody cranesbill, spring gentian and mountain avens. Wildlife may include seals and seabirds such as puffins, guillemots and razorbills as well as butterflies and dragonflies. After exploring the island (just three square kilometres in area) and an opportunity for lunch (not included) we depart on a 50-minute cruise beneath the Cliffs of Moher, perhaps Ireland’s most dramatically impressive natural attraction, especially when viewed from the water.
On arrival back at Doolin we return to our hotel.

Following breakfast we drive into the beautiful valley of the River Caher, where from dense hazel and blackthorn scrub the owner has created a wonderfully varied plantsman’s limestone garden, Caher Bridge Garden, in the true “cottage” style. The limestone river flows through the one acre garden of many very unusual plants; “Irish” cultivars and collections of daylilies, hostas and geraniums. The beds are all easily viewed and photographed from the pathways.
Next we visit Doreen Drennan’s Garden near the Cliffs of Moher. As an award-winning gardener with two previous gardens behind her, this third garden was to be Doreen’s most challenging to date and it is still evolving. Presently there is a walled garden with raised beds and a water feature. Planted rolling lawns give way to a wild river walk that evokes a feeling of serenity and calm. Doreen is also a talented artist, specialising in impressionist paintings of the Wild Atlantic Way and the Burren, and we will also visit her studio/gallery, an opportunity perhaps to buy a unique souvenir of our holiday.
On our way back to the hotel we will briefly visit the Poulnabrone Dolmen, an impressive megalithic tomb which, when it was excavated in 1986, was found to contain the bodies of 16 people and various artefacts which dated the tomb to 3600BC.

This morning after breakfast we will explore the Burren with a local expert. In the course of our full day excursion we can expect to see a good selection of plants typical of the area, with ‘textbook’ examples of pavement, flower-rich grasslands and associated limestone features such as disappearing lakes. There are some intriguing aspects to the flora of the Burren, such as the curious juxtaposition of species from differing habitats, such as Arctic, Alpine and Mediterranean, and hopefully we will see examples of these.  Please note we will be walking for around five hours so a good degree of mobility is required, along with good walking boots and waterproofs.

After breakfast we check out of the hotel and depart for a visit to Bunratty Castle, Gardens and Folk Park. The site on which Bunratty Castle stands was in origin a Viking trading camp in 970. The present structure is the last of four castles to be built on the site and claims to be the most complete and authentic castle in Ireland. Set in 26 acres of idyllic Clare countryside, Bunratty Folk Park features over 30 buildings in a ‘living’ village. Rural farmhouses, village shops and streets are recreated and furnished as they would have appeared at the time according to their social standing, from the poorest one room dwelling to the grand Georgian residence Bunratty House. Here we also find a beautiful walled garden from the Regency era, a surviving part of the demesne which was originally formed around Bunratty Castle.
In the afternoon we transfer back to Shannon Airport in time for our return flight to London, where the group will disperse.