Clare & The Burren Tour
8 days - 7 nights Cycling Vacation in Ireland
Day 1 Saturday: Arrival in Ennis
You meet up with the guide at 6.30pm in the West County Hotel (065 6828421). Located on the N18 Limerick to Galway road, the West County Hotel in Ennis is on the left hand side as you enter Ennis from Limerick/Shannon. Watch out for sign posts.
You can check in anytime after 2pm. If you arrive earlier you can leave your bags in the left luggage room at the Hotel Reception and then go for a stroll around the town.
After an introductory talk, an evening meal is organised in the hotel.
Day 2 Sunday: Ennis to Spanish Point 30 ml/48 km
Having being fitted out with your bicycle we head out towards West Clare, cycling along quiet country roads through rolling green fields to the coast, where we stay the night at Spanish Point named after those Spanish Ships from the Armada which sank here in 1588. We spend the night in a Hotel overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.
Day 3 Monday: Spanish Point to Doolin 29 ml/46 km
Cycling along quiet roads we eventually come to the popular holiday town of Lahinch where we stop for lunch. In the afternoon we visit the Cliffs of Moher rising a spectacular 660ft up from the Atlantic waves below. You can stroll along the cliff face and watch the birds gliding in the updraft. After visiting the cliffs we head to the village of Doolin. That night we have a pub meal and enjoy the wealth of traditional music for which the village is famous.
Day 4 Tuesday: Doolin to Ballyvaughan 31 ml/50 km
In the morning we begin to see the first hints of the limestone landscape of the Burren and visit the monastic site at Kilfenora and its stone high crosses. Kilfenora is also home to the Burren Heritage Centre that gives you an excellent insight into the formation and history of the Burren. Later we stop off for lunch at the matchmaking town of Lisdoonvarna. The afternoon's cycle is a beautiful run where the road hugs the coastline with Galway Bay and the Aran Islands on your left and the limestone cliffs of the Burren on your right. We stop for two nights in a comfortable hotel in the seaside village of Ballyvaughan.
Day 5 Wednesday: Rest Day in Ballyvaughan
The day can be spent doing a wide variety of activities. The guide can organise a wonderful four-hour walking tour of the Burren with a local man who is a very entertaining character and an encyclopaedia of knowledge on the area. There is also an optional short cycle to the impressive ruins of a Cistercian Abbey or you can visit the nearby Ailwee Caves. Alternatively the day could be spent relaxing in this attractive village.
Day 6 Thursday: Ballyvaughan to Kinvarra 24 ml/38 km
The cycle heads straight into the heart of the Burren where we visit the localities most famous historical sight, the Poulnabrone Dolmen a small ancient burial site dating back to 2500BC. Veering off the beaten track we stop at the village of Carran for lunch in an old police barracks. In the afternoon we cycle through quiet backroads to visit the Burren Perfumery that makes a wide variety of perfumes using the local flora and has a wonderful slide show illustrating the beautiful and unique botany of this region. You then descend through a limestone lunar landscape to the pretty seaside village of Kinvarra where we spend the night.
Day 7 Friday: Kinvarra to Ennis 31 ml/49 km
For the last day we head back into the Burren through limestone moonscape, passing Lough Buny and the impressive Mullaghmore before stopping for lunch in Corafin. In the afternoon we visit a 16th Century Tower House and an even older monastic sight. This is also the site of the famous battle of Dysert O’Dea where the Irish Chieftains defeated the Normans and kept them out of Clare for another 200 years. We then cycle back into Ennis for a final farewell night on the town together.
Day 8 Saturday: Departure