Overview
Keelhilla, also called Slieve Carron or Eagle’s Rock, sits on the north-east edge of the Burren – 145.5 hectares (about 360 acres) of limestone pavement, hazel scrub and grassland that the state protected as a national nature reserve in 1986. It’s managed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, free, and open all year. It also stays off most Burren itineraries, which is much of the appeal: you can walk out to a medieval hermitage across bare limestone and not meet anyone.
The landscape
The ground is the first thing to notice. This is textbook karst – centuries of rain have dissolved the limestone into deep fissures, known as grikes, that shelter lichens, mosses and ferns, and on the hazel a rare glue fungus. Between the slabs, thin lime-rich soil supports three European priority habitats: orchid-rich grassland, limestone pavement and petrifying springs.
Spring is the time to come. From late February the lower slopes fill with the smell of wild garlic, and by April and May dark-red helleborine and other orchids push up through the grassland. Above, the cliffs of Eagle’s Rock are worked by feral goats, ravens, red-billed choughs and peregrine falcons.
History and legend
Nature and human history run together here. Surveys have turned up Bronze Age remains, including two fulacht fiadh (ancient cooking pits). By the early medieval period the site was linked to St Colman mac Duagh, and the remains of his settlement still stand: a small stone oratory, a holy well, the ruins of a later church and a bullaun stone.
The best-known story is Bothar na Mias, the Path of the Dishes. As tradition has it, St Colman was fasting through Lent when a feast laid on by King Guaire in Kinvara rose from the table and flew across the hills to feed him, the plates coming to rest on the pavement here. Believers point to hoof-shaped marks in the limestone as the proof.
The walks
Two waymarked routes start from Slieve Carran, part of a wider network of Burren National Park trails that run from about half an hour to three hours. They cross open limestone pavement past the oratory and holy well and along the line of Bothar na Mias, with the option of climbing to the summit cairn for a long view over the Burren. If you only do one thing here, make it the short walk out to St Colman’s oratory and well.
The pavement is uneven and ankle-turning, and the routes are not wheelchair accessible, so wear boots with support and watch your footing.
Practical information
- Opening and admission: open all year, no set closing time, free.
- Parking: a rough roadside lay-by, with an interpretive panel put up by local volunteers.
- Facilities: none – no toilets, café or shelter. Bring water and layers, as the exposed plateau catches the wind and the weather turns quickly.
- Getting there: from Corofin, take the R476 towards Kilnaboy, and past Leamaneh Castle turn right onto the R480, then right again onto the L1014 signed for Carran; the reserve is a few kilometres on, near the village of Carran. It’s roughly 45 minutes to an hour from Ennis, and public transport doesn’t really reach it, so you’ll need a car.
Nearby
A ten-minute drive north brings you to the Aillwee Cave and Birds of Prey Centre. The Burren Way long-distance trail passes close by if you want to link up a longer walk, and Carran itself has a pub for a pint or a bite afterwards.
There’s little or no phone signal out on the pavement, so tell someone your plan before you set off – don’t count on calling for help if you go over on an ankle.