Tuesday, June 2, 2009

The Burren in County Clarke, Ireland


What a trip, we'll visit The Burren in County Clarke, Ireland.

The name Burren is from the Irish - bhoireann meaning a stony place. Its formation has lain unspoiled since the ice-age and is composed of karstic limestone, the largest area of such in western Europe.

It is a place of surprise and delight to botanists, archaeologists and ecologists alike and occupies an area of approximately 300 sq. kilometres. The area itself is very bleak in appearance with glacial soil loss at a maximum. However is does have sufficient soil to grow a wide variety of the most unusual and rarest of plants, many of them strange bedfellows.

This area has some of the finest archaeological megalithic tombs in Ireland, if not in Western Europe. There are relics of human habitation dating back almost 6000 years and the most famous is the vortal tomb, or portal dolman, at Poulnabrone. In this area alone there are more than 60 wedge tombs and the densest concentration in Ireland. There are also numerous examples of raths (earthen ring forts) and stone cashels. This area is also rich in historical ecclesiastical sites

Come along and travel with us, see what we see, go where we go, do what we do, see how kids, Boy and Girl Scouts, from West Texas and The Panhandle of Texas represent the area, region, State of Texas, family, Scouting and themselves. You'll be PROUD!

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