A walk across a working farm
This is a walk across a working farm, not a manicured park path: 5.2km of waymarked Burren – hazel wood, bare limestone, a holy well and a lake shore – on land that Dutch-born organic farmer Harry Jeuken opened to walkers in 2011. It starts and finishes at the lay-by on Gortlecka Crossroads outside Corofin, inside Burren National Park, and takes most people two to two and a half hours, with 140m of climb. It’s waymarked with purple arrows and standing-stone slabs, so navigation is straightforward even where the land opens out. Do it clockwise if you can, so the tea house comes at the end rather than the start.
The route and its landscape
The loop threads a run of Burren habitats. You begin on sandy farm tracks and a short stretch of green road shared with the Burren Way, then drop into dense hazel woodland. Hand-built hazel gates and stiles mark the field boundaries – Harry Jeuken points out that they’re softwood and have to be remade every seven years – and a stack of hand-cut hazel walking sticks waits at the trailhead for anyone who wants one on the wetter or steeper ground.
Things to watch for along the way:
- Holy well: tucked in the hazel wood, stone-lined, with a couple of glass mugs hung from a branch. The water is said to help with diabetes – drunk on the spot three times a day for a fortnight, or on six days running, depending on who’s telling it.
- Standing stones and a mass rock: scattered over the limestone, marking old ritual sites and a place of clandestine Catholic worship.
- Stone cairn: the high point of the loop, with a wide view across the karst toward Lough Gealain.
- Limestone cliffs and pavement: a short line of natural ‘cliffs’ and open grike systems, the region’s 350-million-year-old geology laid bare.
- Lough Avalla shore: the trail skirts the quiet lake, where the farm’s goats and cattle graze.
The farm and the winterage
Harry and Maria Jeuken run a certified biodynamic farm that keeps the old Burren winterage going – the local form of transhumance in which stock move up onto the hills for the winter rather than down. They graze more than twenty white-belted Galloway cattle along with around fifty goats, and that grazing is what keeps the scrub off and lets the limestone’s rare flowers – spring gentian, rock rose – hold their ground. Opening a waymarked route across active farmland is a generous thing to do, and the trail is routed to keep walkers clear of sensitive grazing and nesting ground.
The tea house
The path finishes at the Jeukens’ homestead and a small, welcoming tea house. There’s no menu and no set price: you’re offered tea, coffee and home baking – the apple tart with fresh cream above all, sometimes brownies or scones – and a jar on the counter takes a donation, with €5 to €10 a head about right. Harry often comes out to talk to walkers and will show you the kitchen garden and fig tree if you’re interested. It’s the best part of the day and a proper end to the walk.
Before you go
- Footwear: proper boots with grip. Wet limestone is genuinely slippery.
- Weather: the Burren is exposed – waterproof and layers even in summer.
- When: March to September is the season; late spring and summer give the best of the weather and the wildflowers.
- Dogs: not allowed, to protect livestock and the limestone flora.
- Facilities: none on the route – no toilets, no shop until the tea house.
- Access: not a walk for wheelchairs or anyone with limited mobility; the pavement is uneven, with steep bits and the odd scramble.
Getting there and nearby
The trailhead is about 20 minutes from Ennis and roughly 30 from the Cliffs of Moher. From Ennis or Corofin, follow the R480 toward Kilnaboy, then the L1112 for about 5km to the Gortlecka Crossroads lay-by, where there’s free parking. If you’d rather not park there, a free shuttle runs from the Corofin genealogical centre to the crossroads.
Worth pairing with:
- Poulnabrone Dolmen: the much-photographed portal tomb, ten minutes north on the R480.
- Corofin: the southern gateway to the Burren, with pubs and the Clare Heritage Centre.
- Burren Way: the long-distance trail that shares a green-road stretch with this loop.
Trail quick reference
- Length: 5.2km
- Time: 2 to 2.5 hours
- Grade: moderate
- Ascent: 140m
- Waymarking: purple arrows and standing-stone slabs
- Dogs: not permitted
- Admission: free (donations welcome at the tea house)
Start early to beat the afternoon cloud, take a hazel stick if the ground looks damp, and leave time to sit over the apple tart at the end. Between the live farming, the old stone markers and the open limestone, it’s about as honest a walk as Clare has.