THE BURREN revisited Part 2

This post continues our recent trip across the magnificent landscape of The Burren.

LOUGH BUNNY

Despite the name this lough has nothing to do with rabbits. The English name is loosely based upon the phonetic of the Irish name (as are all anglicised names in Ireland) Today's Irish name is Lough Buinne, 'buinne' meaning a torrent or gush of water however in 1660 the name was spelt as Loughbuna, in 1685 Loughbunagh and in 1787 Lough Buneah, all of which have a similar phonetic. There are two rough translations for these names: Lake of the flood or Lake at the foot of the mountain.

Lough Bunny is a permanent lake in a karstic limestone area of County Clare.The lough's length is 2.4 km with the greatest width at 740m, the depth ranges from 2.7M to 14m.

The fish are Perch,Rudd,Pike and the European eel.

Further information see -: http://www.burrengeopark.ie/wp-content/uploads/ArchiveFiles/BurrenGeology/A_hydrographic_study_of_Lough_Bunny.pdf

A Portal Tomb

Parknabinnia (Parc na binnia) Is a townland whose name means field of the peak. There are about six or seven similar portal tombs within a few metres of each other in this townland.

Front end of the tomb

(I  do not know of a better place to be & rest my bones)

The name Burren comes from the Gaelic, meaning 'a rocky place'. Historically the name Burren referred to the Barony of Burren situated in north-west County Clare. Geographically, the name has a far wider and more complex sense and meaning. The Burren area extends some 40.2 km from east to west, and 32.2 km from north to south. It lies between Galway Bay on the north, the Atlantic coast on the west and a line drawn roughly through Doolin, Kilfenora, Gort and Kinvara. However, there is some characteristic 'Burren' outside this area to the east where one can find the same rocky features, though not as concentrated. 

The rocks in the Burren region were deposited when Ireland was located ~ 10°S of the Equator, during the Carboniferous period in the Earths' history, approximately 359-299 millions of years ago. The limestones were deposited during the Viséan stage (345-326 millions of years ago) of the Carboniferous, and the sandstones, siltstones and shales, during the Namurian stage (326-315 millions of years ago).

Slieve Carron  or Eagles Rock

Slieve Carron Nature Reserve (or Eagle’s Rock as it is known to locals) is state-managed land located in the heart of the north Burren, not too far from Kinvara. It has diverse habitats including grassland, limestone pavements, heathland, mature hazel woodland and grazing pastures, all of which hold a richness of species. Aside from its ecology Slieve Carron NR is also the host to a fulacht fiadh, a holy well, the site of a hermitage cave and oratory. 

Not a Quarry.

One of the most distinctive features of the Burren hills are the stepped, terraced sides. It is easy for a visitor to believe they are looking at man-made quarries, rather than natural features. For these terraces were formed because the limestone layers are actually separated by thin bands of mudstone,rainwater gradually washes away the layers of mudstone, eating into the hillside. 

Eventually, so much of the mudstone layer is washed away that
the overlying layer of limestone layer on top becomes unstable and eventually collapses under its own weight. This often leaves piles of loose blocks and boulders at the base of the terrace.  

We shall return again on a future day when the mood takes us and visit other parts of this magical landscape for there is so much more to share with you.