Tuesday 8th June

Today we explored the Burren. At first light we looked out the window and thought it looked like it was going to be a nice day, a little overcast but okay. By the time we had finished breakfast, however, it was raining and miserable. We knew it probably wasn’t the best day to go out exploring the Burren, but we would rather have done that today then the Aran Islands!! Still, the weather made us a little fed up but we went out anyway.

First off we decided to do Ailwee Cave which I had been to before. It is a cave which was discovered by a farmer and his dog, he explored it using only an oil lamp and a box of matches, and inside there were European Brown Bear bones, proving that the cave was once used by them to hibernate. They have been extinct in Ireland (and the UK) for the last 1800 years or so. It was a good cave to go in, and there was quite a lot to see with regards to calcite formations, and even an underground waterfall. It was really very enjoyable, and this is also where we suddenly realised something - over here, or at least in the west of Ireland, “Craft Shop” means “Gift Shop”, meaning a shop which sells souvenirs loosely related to the attraction you have just visited, with only a couple of things which are actual craft items (such as locally made pottery, jewellery or glass created with innovative and interesting unique designs etc).

We didn’t buy anything, although there was a cute bear in a honey pot puppet which was tempting to buy, but I just didn’t like the idea of having half a bear, despite the honey pot…..! Oh, and the entrance fee was really very extortionate at E18 per person. This also covered the fee for the Burren Bird of Prey Centre which we weren’t really that interested in, but I guess its more worth it if you are. Unfortunately, you can’t just get a ticket for one, you have to pay for both before you get to either. Its definitely worth seeing the cave….just not worth E18 per person!

After coming out of the cave, it was still overcast and raining, but slightly brighter. We went to Poulnabroune which was a portal tomb, very much like the dolmens here in Ireland. I remember last time I was here with my parents and my brother, there was no car park or pathway leading up to it, nor was there a barrier like there is now. Mind you, it was 15 years ago when I was last here - I just remember my Dad getting really excited by seeing this huge thing in the middle of the limestone pavement of the Burren, parking and leaping across to it, the rest of us following and thinking how weird the limestone pavement was!

Anyway, we took some photos of the portal tomb before continuing on to Caherconnell Stone Fort and Visitors Centre. As usual, there was a GIFT shop (not a Craft shop!), and there was also a little restaurant or café. Now, a place like this I would normally think would not have much in the way of food, what with it being so remote and small, although it was a good stone fort with a little film to watch inside before you went to explore it. The place wasn’t even the size of Hadrian’s Wall in England which only has a small but good quality coffee dispenser with snacks, and this tiny place here had a café which served things like Irish Stew, which Mathew had. I had a toastie which included onion, ham and local Caherconnell cheese. I was expecting a toastie like the ones you make at home, but what I got was basically a sandwich which had been toasted in a Panini heater, which I thought made a nice change! I was really tasty, and came with a side salad and Pringles. What made is cute was that it had been cut into triangular quarters! Yum! I followed it up with a scone which was really nice too!

After lunch, we drove around to Kilforna where the Burren Visitors Centre was, and looked around but didn’t buy anything from the GIFT shop or the jam-packed one just outside. Still, we went to the Cathedral next door which housed some interesting architecture and had some items like carved crosses on display with plaques as you would expect to see them in a museum.

Next up was Lisdoonvarna which firstly, we noticed, seemed to be somewhat obsessed by the “Matchmakers Night” which was advertised absolutely everywhere, and there was even a “Matchmakers Bar”. The graphic for the promotion involved two cherubs - which I understand the use of - but why there was a white bearded fellow holding a loaf of bread and a glass of whiskey in his hand, I do not know - although he did seem to look like he got in the way when a photograph was taken, having an “Oh…er…sorry!” look on his face. Perhaps if you attend these evenings, you get free bread and whiskey from an apologetic man with a beard? I have no idea….

We stopped here because I had read in a leaflet (here we go…) there was a place called “The Smokehouse” which sold “crafts and gourmet foods”. The gourmet foods part was right, but it turned out to be such a tiny place, the “visitors centre” part was crammed in there with the GIFT shop, but Mathew ended up being rather enticed by all the salmon on offer, had a tasting session and ended up buying some, which we will eat later in the week I am sure!

Next up we went to Ballyvaughan which I thought was the place where we had seen some shops which finally looked like craft shops, but it turned out to be a pretty standard and plain sort of place. We stopped off to look for some places to eat out this evening but weren’t enticed by any of them, most of them being either pubs with the usual pub grub or pubs which didn’t have menus outside for perusal which made us think that the food was either normal pub grub or just non existent and more focused on alcohol than food.

On the way around Ballyvaughan I noticed a sign for an actual restaurant, so in the car we got and drove around looking for it. The map we had wasn’t exactly to scale, but we found it eventually after driving further around the corner than it was on the map, and had a look at the menu. It was a little pricey but we’re on holiday here and we were only going to eat out a couple of times, especially what with not having eaten out last week. We booked a table and headed back to Fanore, where Timmy was waiting for us. I said “Hello!” and he looked like he stomped off but he soon came back…..with his ball! I wasn’t really expecting this from the dog who had padded slowly up to us like an elderly gentleman, but we ended up playing ball with him for about 15 minutes until he got a bit tired and just sat down, panting. Enjoying the attention, I took a photo of him as he rested. I guess he’s still got some beans in him after seeing him run around after that ball!!

Later that evening we went out to “An Fulacht Fia” which was an appropriately Irish named place, which apparently is roughly translated as “Deer cooking pit”, which is a type of cooking pit found all over the Burren, used from prehistoric to medieval times. They are pits which are sunken into the ground and filled with water. Hot rocks were then put into the pits to boil the water away, then the animal thrown into the hot pit to cook.

Obviously, this was a restaurant where this method of cooking was no longer used….. Or at least I didn’t think so anyway! Mathew started with a chorizo and parmesan risotto which I had a nibble of before returning to my rather nice buttered soda bread which was served as an appetiser. The risotto was creamy and cheesy and went down a treat with Mathew! For our mains, he chose John Dory, a white fish fillet of which he had 4 despite us overhearing the waitress telling another customer he would have 3 fillets on his plate. I had the salmon which came with a spinach and parmesan sauce. Both dishes came with a creamy leek and potato mash which was delicious (and I’m not fond of mash!), and seasonal vegetables. I have to say that I had no idea what the carrots were cooked in but they were delicious. It think it must have been some sort of sweet oil, and there were nuts and seeds in there too. It was just scrumptious.

I had room for dessert (the reason why I don’t usually have a starter…), and I was enticed by the cheesecake, although it came with a Malibu cream which is a rum - and I am not fond of rum. So instead, I went for my other choice - the Crème Brulee which came with summer berries and a scoop of cappucino ice cream. Both were delicious, and the entire meal (with drinks) cost us just under E65 which I thought wasn’t too bad for some top notch posh nosh!

Leaving the restaurant, we noticed that the sun began to set, and we drove along the road up to the view point which we had stopped off at a few times before, and made out way out onto the Burren landscape once again, as the sun set to make the sky orange and red, and the clouds a pinky peachy colour. It wasn’t the best sunset, but it was a good one and given the bad weather, it was definitely worth seeing, even if it was a little breezy out there!! After the sun set, we made out way back to the car, and back to our holiday cottage.