Hiking, Biking, Boating, Touring, Climbing, Riding, Flying, Running,
and Exploring in HOME AT FIRST's destinations.
Visit this page often to find new adventures!

ADVENTURE OF THE MONTH—NOVEMBER, 2004

Walk through 1,500 years in the forest of County Clare...
        We love the mistiness of Irish history. Its uncertainty, its subjectivity, its influence by myth and fabrication equate it perfectly with the Irish character and invite you to make your own interpretation.
        In Ireland, only scant remains of early history and prehistory may be found. Layers of invasions by marauding Vikings, Normans, and English armies have largely eradicated the historic landscape. Warring Celtic tribes, famine, and the slow eroding forces of wind and water have played no small part in decimating the past.
        But what exists is tantalizing, inviting the speculation of the viewer. One site in Central Ireland offers glimpses of several eras of Irish prehistory and history. At Craggaunowen in County Clare, visitors return briefly to the Bronze Age, the Iron Age, the Dark Ages, and the Middle Ages, all, as it were, on a walk in the park. And the people you meet along the way will help you come to know why life in the past wasn’t always "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short."
        Come along on a day trip to the past amid the soft scenery of Central Ireland.

CRAGGAUNOWEN CASTLE TOWER

OUT OF THE DARK AGES
        Craggaunowen is the idea of John Hunt, scholar of medieval history, collector of artifacts, and advisor to the noted auction house, Sotheby’s, on medieval art. In the 1960’s Hunt purchased an obscure parcel of land in remote eastern County Clare, Ireland, upon which sat a partially restored 16th century fortified castle tower. Hunt’s ambition went beyond finishing the small castle’s restoration. He hoped to develop the adjoining land into a series of (pre-)historic steps showing how people lived in Ireland (and throughout much of Europe) from pre-Roman tribal times through the feudal Middle Ages. The resulting living museum permits visitors to wander along pleasantly wooded pathways, past ponds, marshes, and small streams, through thickets and a dense, stony-floored forest, with surprises from the past awaiting round every bend in the trail.

CASTLE & CRANNOG
        Once you pass through the small visitor center, the trail leads to the impressive stone tower house, looking perfectly impregnable perched on a rocky hillock. You may explore the little castle—its height permits the only overview of the Craggaunowen property—in less than 10 minutes. The trail leads from the castle down to a hidden pond. On a man-made island in the pond is a reconstructed Bronze Age "crannog" settlement connected by a causeway bridge. Its low thatched roof huts, rude earth floors and open fire pits make this Irish crannog look like it belongs on the African savanna. The prehistoric Bronze Age dwelling offered shelter with a fair measure of protection from marauders on two legs and four.

THATCHED HUT AT CRAGGAUNOWEN CRANNOG

A LIVING MUSEUM
        Back on shore, turn left and follow the trail into the forest. Pass an Iron Age farmer’s field planted as thought typical of the millennium from 600BC-400AD. A few steps further and you arrive at an Iron Age ring fort, exemplar of an Irish farmstead from 400AD until the Anglo-Norman invasions of the 12th century.

IRON AGE RING FORT AT CRAGGAUNOWEN

        So commonplace were these fenced-in circular farms in the British Isles that some 40,000 such sites are known in Ireland alone. Seeing one as it may well have been—with thatched huts for humans and animals, fire pits and grinding stones—only raises questions. How did these people survive harsh times: too much or too little rain, clan warfare, Viking invasion, disease, injury, even childbirth? Fortunately, Craggaunowen is a "living museum" with staff dressed appropriately for the times featured along the walk and demonstrating skills and crafts representative of the periods.

GOOD-BYE COLUMBUS?
        Every corner along the way hides some new surprise—a Celtic standing stone, a dugout canoe, a high cross. But no surprise is greater than finding an ocean-going boat in a glass house on a wooded hillside. The boat is none-other than "The Brendan", the Kon-Tiki of Ireland. This leather-bound, super-sized Irish currach boat was built in 1976 by Tim Severin, who sailed it from nearby County Kerry across the North Atlantic to Newfoundland. Severin proved that such a boat could indeed have carried St. Brendan to America in the early 6th century, 400 years before Leif Ericson, and almost 1,000 years before Columbus. The boat is now as high and dry as Noah’s Arc on a hillside in County Clare.                         "THE BRENDAN" AT CRAGGAUNOWEN

A WALK IN THE PARK
        You can walk the Craggaunowen walkway, experiencing at least 1,500 years of murky history and mysterious pre-history all in about 1 hour. There’s a pleasant souvenir shop and garden café at the entrance/exit. Best of all, a visit to Craggaunowen requires that you leave Ireland’s well-beaten tourist track and for a few hours drive the winding back roads of scenic eastern County Clare.

FOREST PATH THROUGH CRAGGAUNOWEN

VISITING CRAGGAUNOWEN
        Getting to Craggaunowen is part of the fun. You will need a good map, a sense of adventure and a keen eye for the few signs pointing the way. Please note that the map below shows numbered routes, but that in Ireland the custom is not to refer to roads by route number but by destination ("the road to Quin", "the road to Tulla", "the road to Sixmilebridge", etc.), so when you ask locally for directions be sure to have your destination ready.
Location: Near Quin, Co. Clare, off the R462 from Cratloe and the R469 from Ennis. See map below.
Open daily mid-April to October 10AM-6PM (last admission at 5PM). Times subject to change.
Admission: Adults €7.50; Children €4.50; Family (2 adults & up to 4 children) €17.50. (Subject to change.)
Website: for current information, visit: http://www.shannonheritage.com
Other Points of Interest in the Region: Knappogue Castle, Dromoland Castle, Bunratty Castle and Folk Park, Ennis old town, Quin Friary, Clare Abbey.

Go back in time… travel with Home at First to CENTRAL IRELAND

This article is excerpted from Home at First's exclusive "Ireland Activity Guide".
The "Ireland Activity Guide" is the accompanying guidebook keyed to Home at First's
Ireland travel programs. It is issued only to Home at First Ireland guests.
Copyright © Home at First—all rights reserved.
Get your "Ireland Activity Guide" by traveling to Ireland with Home at First.