 |
Trip to Ireland, 2009
2009 06 22 HPS Cambs & Beds Irish Trip
Trip to Ireland, 2009
2009 06 22 HPS Cambs & Beds Irish Trip
Trip to Ireland, 2009
2009 06 22 HPS Cambs & Beds Irish Trip
Trip to Ireland, 2009
2009 06 22 HPS Cambs & Beds Irish Trip
Trip to Ireland, 2009
2009 06 22 HPS Cambs & Beds Irish Trip
Trip to Ireland, 2009
2009 06 22 HPS Cambs & Beds Irish Trip
Trip to Ireland, 2009
2009 06 22 HPS Cambs & Beds Irish Trip
Trip to Ireland, 2009
2009 06 22 HPS Cambs & Beds Irish Trip
Trip to Ireland, 2009
2009 06 22 HPS Cambs & Beds Irish Trip
Trip to Ireland, 2009
2009 06 22 HPS Cambs & Beds Irish Trip
Trip to Ireland, 2009
2009 06 22 HPS Cambs & Beds Irish Trip
Trip to Ireland, 2009
2009 06 22 HPS Cambs & Beds Irish Trip
Trip to Ireland, 2009
2009 06 22 HPS Cambs & Beds Irish Trip
Trip to Ireland, 2009
2009 06 22 HPS Cambs & Beds Irish Trip
Trip to Ireland, 2009
2009 06 22 HPS Cambs & Beds Irish Trip
Trip to Ireland, 2009
2009 06 22 HPS Cambs & Beds Irish Trip
Trip to Ireland, 2009
2009 06 22 HPS Cambs & Beds Irish Trip
Trip to Ireland, 2009
2009 06 22 HPS Cambs & Beds Irish Trip
Trip to Ireland, 2009
2009 06 22 HPS Cambs & Beds Irish Trip
A trip to the Burren was an opportunity not to be missed, so on Monday, very early in the morning, a large group of members and friends waited in Biggleswade, Sandy, Bedford and Sharnbrook for the coach which was to take us to Ireland. We travelled to Holyhead where we boarded the ferry bound for Dublin, and reached our hotel in Talbot Street in time for dinner.
Next morning we visited the Irish National Botanic Gardens. We were given an excellent 1½-hour tour, and saw many magnificent trees and shrubs. After this, there was time before lunch to see the alpine and herbaceous borders, and to look inside the impressive glasshouses. The Great Palm House, the largest of these, was simply superb, as it had recently been completely restored at a cost of 13 million euros. It housed many splendid exotics. Then, back to the coach for the final stage of our journey to Lisdoonvarna.
One Wednesday, we drove to the coast under the guidance of Paul Green, who is an expert in Irish botany. We visited three different sites where we were able to see some of the surprisingly large number of plants which grow in the Burren’s amazing limestone pavement. These included the burnet rose, maidenhair fern, mountain avens, bloody cranesbill and many types of orchid, including the white, endemic Irish, O’Kelly’s orchid. We were too late to find many gentians, unfortunately, as these had flowered unusually early this year.
On Thursday, after leaving Lisdoonvarna, we drove to a lough in the direction of Gort, where we again saw many orchids, including the lesser butterfly and the marsh orchid which we had not seen the previous day. Paul then took us to see a “turlough”, a kind of lough whose water levels rise and fall dramatically in response to local rainfall. After lunch we set out for the long drive back to Dublin.
On Friday we left early to catch the ferry, which this time was a smaller, faster catamaran, which took only two hours to reach Holyhead. From here we headed for the Crug Farm Plant Nursery, where there was a good selection of unusual plants, so we were all able to find one or two “treasures” to bring home! We arrived back in the early evening.
Many thanks must go to Roger Gray for once again organizing such an interesting trip, for ensuring that all the arrangements went so smoothly, and also for enrolling Paul Green to act as a most excellent guide to us all.
- Winifred Pratt
|
