Ireland Trip - Day 14 (July 26): The Burren; to Shannon

We woke early (something new and different), and were the first at breakfast in the morning. Marian had a nice cold buffet laid out, including some locally-produced jam (which I later bought four jars of to bring home as gifts). After breakfast we drove to Kilfenora, where we visited the Burren information centre. A quick stop there (we were a bit underwhelmed), and we were on our way to the Burren Perfumery. What a delightful little place! We watched the quick video about the Burren, and then spent a nice long time browsing through the various soaps, candles, scents, and other yummy things, talking with the owners as we went. We both purchased a number of soaps and candles, both for ourselves and for friends. After we had put our purchases in the car, we meandered through the herb garden – a beautiful little spot – and then purchased (really yummy) scones in the tea room. The owners had invited us to wander around their property a bit, which we took advantage of – we crawled over a stone wall and tramped around a bit, taking pictures of all the tiny little flowers that grow up through the rocks. Unfortunately, it was raining (our first day that we really had to deal with rain on the entire trip), so we didn’t stay out for long.

Burren Perfumery & Grounds

Once we left the perfumery grounds, we headed for Gort and walked around Coole Park (the rain had let up for a little while, thankfully). Coole Park was the home of Lady Augusta Gregory who, together with Edward Martyn and W. B. Yeats, founded the Abbey Theatre. The Park itself has some fantastic old trees, all gnarly and lumpy, and a path that borders a lake. We had a nice stroll, and then picnicked on our perfumery scones for lunch.

Coole Park

After Gort, we headed in the direction of Shannon. That evening we stayed at the Bunratty Courtyard – a very nice B&B run by Michael and Mary Walsh. We were given a nice large room – lots of space to unload all our bags, sort, and repack for the trip home. We ate the last of cheese, grapes, and crackers, and got everything squared away for the next morning’s flight back to Boston.

Bunratty Courtyard