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A Camping trip to the Burren in the Mog - Aug. '02
Day2 - Camping on Black Head.
Revised Sept 02
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Moving from the dry east Burren to the Nort-west tip at Black Head gave us the chance to see if the Mog would make the climb to the old Green Road which runs some 600 feet over the modern road. Using second gear and setting the hand throttle, the Mog easily rolled up the hill, needing four-wheel-drive briefly only on two steep muddy patches. Here Adrian and Dermot take a rest during the ascent - Galway Bay is in the background with County Galway on the horizon. |
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The rainy summer of 2002 brought the Burren flora in profusion. This huge clump of harebells on the roadside between Fanore and Black Head was typical. It's hard to imagine that these are extremely rare plants when you see them here in such numbers. |
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Black Head mountain was where the sea water melted the glacier 10,000 years ago - and on the lower slope, hundreds of dramatic glacial erratic boulders can be found. Centuries of weathering have split many of them like the larger one in this picture. Close examination shows that each boulder is positioned on a slight rise in the limestone pavement - this is because the surrounding pavement surfaces have been slowly dissolved by rainfall, leaving the boulders perched on their pedestals. The rate of limestone erosion can be scientifically measured, yielding an accurate date for the last glaciation. | |
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No mention of Burren flora would be complete without the celebrated Spring Gentian Gentiana Verna which appears here at sea level in April and May, far from its high altitude Alpine home. The incredible deep blue of the flowers, which only open on fine days when the mood takes them, is never properly recorded on film - that blue includes reflected light at frequencies that film cannot properly capture. | |
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Finally we made camp on the Green Road. Adrian slept out
overnight in his 'bivvy bag', while Dermot and I enjoyed the mog.
Unforgettable. |
"A week is no good - three months is better - a lifetime isn't long enough"
Hugh McKenna on getting to know the Burren.
To learn more about the Burren, I recommend a search on Google.com, also visit Yahoo! -this link will take you direct to the Burren pictures, use your BACK button to return here.
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