Burren Way

The Burren Way (Irish: Slí Bhoirne)^[2] is a long-distance trail in County Clare, Republic of Ireland. It is 114 kilometres (71 miles) long and begins in Lahinch and ends in Corofin. It crosses The Burren, one of the largest karst limestone landscapes in Europe. It is typically completed in five days.^[1] The terrain consists of tarmac roads, boreens, droving roads, paths and forestry tracks.^[1] It is designated as a National Waymarked Trail by the National Trails Office of the Irish Sports Council and is managed by the Burren Way Committee.^[3]

The trail begins at the beach at Lahinch and follows minor roads to reach the Cliffs of Moher before continuing on roads to the village of Doolin.^[4][5] The route continues on roads to Lisdoonvarna.^[6] North of Lisdoonvarna, the Way joins a boreen between the townlands of Ballinalacken and Formoyle, crossing the plateau above the Caher Valley below Slieve Elva mountain.^[7] This section passes a number of places of historical interest, including Ballinalacken Castle, several ruined stone forts and Newtown Castle.^[7] The trail rejoins the road to reach Ballyvaughan.^[8] From Ballyvaughan, the route mostly follows roads to Corofin via Carran and Killinaboy.^[9]

The Burren Way originally followed a trail above the Cliffs of Moher from Hag's Head.^[10] Many walkers now start from Ballyvaughan to walk the boreen the Way follows in its northern sections and eschew the southern sections altogether.^[11] A review of the National Waymarked Trails in 2010 found low usage of the Burren Way by multiday walkers but high usage by day walkers on certain sections.^[3] The report found that route has good potential to be developed as a National Long Distance Trail, a new standard of trail in Ireland intended to meet international standards for outstanding trails, but significant work to achieve this is required.^[12] The report recommended that the proportion of road used by the trail be reduced as a matter of priority.^[3]

References

Notes

Bibliography

• Fewer, Michael (1996). The Way-marked Trails of Ireland. Dublin: Gill & Macmillan. ISBN 0-7171-2386-3. 
• National Trails Office (2010). "Setting New Directions. A review of National Waymarked Ways in Ireland" (PDF). Dublin: Irish Sports Council. Archived from the original (pdf) on 31 May 2011. Retrieved 30 April 2011. 

External links

• Burren Way at IrishTrails.ie
• Burren Way at Shannon Region Trails

Long-distance trails in the Republic of Ireland
National Waymarked Trails	Ballyhoura Way Barrow Way Bealach na Gaeltachta, Dún na nGall Beara Way Blackwater Way Bluestack Way Burren Way Cavan Way Croagh Patrick Heritage Trail Dingle Way Dublin Mountains Way East Clare Way East Munster Way Grand Canal Way Hymany Way Kerry Way Lough Derg Way Mid Clare Way Miners Way and Historical Trail Monaghan Way Multeen Way Nore Valley Way North Kerry Way Offaly Way Royal Canal Way Sheep's Head Way Slieve Bloom Way Slieve Felim Way Sligo Way South Leinster Way Suck Valley Way Táin Way Tipperary Heritage Way Western Way Westmeath Way Wicklow Way
Pilgrim Paths	Cosán na Naomh Lough Derg Saint Kevin's Way
Greenways	Boyne Greenway Dublin-Galway Greenway Great Southern Trail Great Western Greenway
Other	Bangor Trail Malin to Mizen