Rock climbing at Ailladie and the Burren

The Burren is considered as one of Ireland’s premier climbing destinations, and has a lot to offer the visiting climber. Easily accessible, quick drying, west facing limestone cliffs are in plentiful supply.  Ailladie is the stand out crag of the Burren region, and it is certainly where you will find the greatest concentration of high quality routes.

Ailladie is the finest of the Burren crags and is considered one of the best crags in Ireland.  The crag has many brilliant and challenging routes that along with its sunny aspect, ease of access and perfect Atlantic washed limestone rock, combine to give the ultimate west of Ireland climbing experience.

The limestone rock at Ailladie is generally vertical with sharp in-cut holds.  Most of the routes follow crack lines or corners that are well protected.  There are nearly 200 routes at Ailladie across a wide range of grades though most of the classic routes are graded at E2 and above.  The majority of the routes are approached on foot via the Dancing Ledges that is partly unaffected by the Atlantic swells. The ledges below Ailladie are a natural sun trap, which on occasion can be too hot in the summer, but this aspect enables climbing to continue late into the year.

Doolin is a quality bouldering destination and is like a mini Ailladie – mostly steep short walls yielding excellent problems.  Added to this are a range of stand-alone boulders giving problems of various steepness.  The boulders dry very quickly as they are west facing and get long periods of sunshine.  Some of the problems are tidal so for the best range of grades it is best to be there at low tide.

The limestone rock at Murroughkilly is generally good quality and the crag has an atmosphere all of its own – wild and ancient.  The routes typically follow corner and crack systems that range from 10m to 20m long, with the majority of the routes in the VS to E3 grade range.

Running from northwest to southwest the Atlantic side of Arainn is almost completely sheer with the same hard grey limestone rock found in the rest of the Burren region.  The crags at Arainn rise to 80m at their highest point and are spread across approximately 8km.  The climbing ranges from long exposed multi-pitch lines to short, sharp single pitch routes.  The style of these routes take devious lines of weakness through stepped overhangs and impressive sheer walls.  Protection is solid where found, although quite sparse due to the compact nature of the limestone rock.  Arainn is certainly the place for potential new routes with only 78 routes across 8km of crags – there is clearly room for many more.

The Climbs in the Burren and Aran Islands is the definitive guidebook for the Burren.  It covers over 500 routes across 11 different areas, including those at Ailladie, the bouldering at Doolin, Murroughkilly, and the island of Arainn. 

The Rock Climbing in Ireland guidebook describes over 400 classic routes throughout Ireland, including those at Ailladie.