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The Burren in County Clare is a landscape like no other. The gray limestone karst topography formed beneath the sea and then rose upward, sculpted by a collision of tectonic plates to form a limestone lunar terrain that today supports a hugely diverse and unique ecosystem.
It is a lonely and absolutely beautiful place, the effect of which is to make the visitor pause. At the top of a plateau, along a steep, winding path lined with hand-built stone walls, a bright red gate marks the entrance to Summerage. This is a restored and revitalized 32 acre farm, a getaway dedicated to ‘quiet living’ in the heart of the Burren.
Summerage is the third movement of a slow trilogy that expresses founder Aoibheann MacNamara’s unique vision of life. In 2001 MacNamara opened Ard Bia café in its birthplace, the historic town of Ardara, County Donegal, serving healthy food with an innovative twist. An avid traveler, she used local ingredients and introduced combinations and ideas acquired on her numerous travels. In 2003 he moved the cafe to Galway where, under the direction of chef Thomas Corrigan, it is an award-winning restaurant with a slow food ethos. But more than that, it is a cultural center and a friendly place for the people of Galway to meet, eat and chat. She brought a different style of food to Galway and was at the forefront of the city’s culinary renaissance. In 2014, MacNamara also started The Tweed Projecta slow fashion brand that uses tweed and Irish linen, with her friend the seamstress Triona Lillis. All their clothes are made in Galway.
The name, Summerage, is a play on the old traditional cattle movement, unique to the Burren, called Winterage. Unlike transhumance in many countries, Burren farmers move livestock from the greener lowlands to the karst hills for the winter. Here the limestone, acting as a giant storage heater, keeps livestock warm and in turn enjoys a symbiotic relationship with the land, clearing the bush and allowing space and light for the diverse flora of over 1,100 to grow. species.
MacNamara has connected with a community of like-minded people – teachers, farmers, gardeners and craft builders – who have come together to revive Summerage. Mark Earley of OpenHive has created the Wild Irish Bee Apiary. The Gáirdín Bia (food garden) complements Ard Bia’s cuisine with vegetables and is run by Ciara Parsons, a teacher at the nearby Common Knowledge school. MacNamara has given his pasture to a local farmer (who is also his stonemason) for the winter.
It now has a new oak forest growing in the valley below the plateau as part of a carbon offset program (catch my carbon) and works closely with Burrenbeo Trust and Seed Savers on biodiversity. “It’s important to do things correctly,” he says, “the way it was done in the past, the way it worked best.” With no electricity grid, rainwater collection is essential, although a spring in a limestone fissure has been tapped to obtain fresh water that fills the tanks in one of the latrines. The valley is also home to a large grove of hazel trees growing through and around the ruins of 19th century cottages. The climate is completely different here and when the wind howls on the plateau, the valley remains calm and protected.
The Plateau Cottage is a conversion of an original farmhouse and has been designed by eco-architect Mike Haslam of Haslam & Co with a traditional and contemporary feel. Its Icelandic-feeling red roof takes on a modern slant with whitewashed dark gray walls, somewhat inspired by the tar houses of Dungeness.
The interiors are cozy and simple with touches of red and yellow. “My friend Irenie Cossey, an Irish designer based in London at Irenie Studio, has inspired me enormously. “His bold use of color and his incredible understanding of interior design and structure have given me the confidence to be bolder, bolder than usual,” he laughs. “Le Corbusier has also been an inspiration; I love their reds and yellows, but not so much their greens and blues.” Touches of modernism can be seen in furniture such as Vitra’s wire Eames chairs. The Maison Empereur of Marseille has been the source of many household items, such as bedding and kitchen knives.
When I ask MacNamara what he wants Summerage to offer, he says, “I’d like it to be a place for people to retreat into themselves. Many places offer things to do, such as forest bathing, yoga, etc. External things, for busy people who just can’t stop, so they stay busy. It’s not like that here.”
She explains: “As I get older, I want my trips to be super simple. I want space, the opportunity to really step away from my life and get down. The main thing is that the visitors. [it sleeps four] They will have 32 acres to themselves, they will have complete exclusivity, no one will come except the beekeeper maybe once a month.
“People can stock up on good food at the local Ennistymon market, sourdough at Hugo’s bakery in Lahinch and oysters from Flaggy Shore. [of the Seamus Heaney poem “Postscript”]. They can pick vegetables from the garden if they wish and enjoy the work of cooking. We will have small jobs for them, like gardening, if they feel like it, Buddhist style, and if not, that’s fine too.”
As we sit in the greenhouse with the door open and it’s cold outside, drops of condensation fall on the tomatoes, making MacNamara smile. This is a place to wander, stand in the gentle rain, lean into the wind, pause and observe. Sit by the stove, read a book, or not, and feel your presence in the world.
Summerage is available for weekly rental starting November 4th. ardbia.com