Taking a walk on the wild side: the Faoi Bhláth tour on Inis Meáin

“Inis Meáin has such a unique landscape, it’s so unspoiled and through spring and summer, wildflowers burst through every crevice of the land."

Sat, 06 May, 2023 - 02:00

Tom Breathnach

As Ireland’s staycation scene grows all the stronger, our sustainable tourism industry continues to blossom in various hues of green. The desire for slow tourism, to unplug and reconnect with nature, has never been greater, and with that comes a budding emergence of nature guides across the island, bringing intimate insights into our landscapes, flora, and fauna.

This week, I chatted to Aédin Ní Thiarnaigh, a wildflower enthusiast whose Instagram page @blathannafiaine led to her acclaimed RTÉ nature series Faoi Bhláth. Following the series, she is combining her myriad passions and skills by offering her Bláthanna Fiáine Wildflower Walks tours on Inis Meáin and giving tourists a growing appreciation for their roots — in every sense.

For Aedín, her foray into guided wildflower tours started, well, quite organically. During a conversation with her friend and islander Máirtín Ó Fatharta, he planted the seed of bringing people around the island for tours and so began her eco-venture. “It was the most natural conclusion in the world to start doing guided tours on the island,” Aedín begins.

“Inis Meain has such a unique landscape, it’s so unspoiled and through spring and summer, wildflowers burst through every crevice of the land. I was already spending any free time I had walking the roads and the fields, on the hunt for wildflowers in every nook and cranny so I could research the folklore, uses, and Irish names for the plants, so starting up Bláthanna Fiáine Wildflower Walks was a great excuse to spend more time doing just that, and in good company.”

Aedin’s tours, which take her guests along the craggy shoreline and tufty boreens of Inis Meáin, tap into the budding demand of outdoor pursuits with a sustainable foundation.

“I think people are more aware than ever of the natural world around us. We understand that our biodiversity is in danger and we’re more aware now of how precious our natural landscape is,” she explains. “And with this renewed value comes curiosity — people want to learn the names of the flowers that they see around them every day and they want to reconnect with the vast knowledge previous generations had about the uses of these flowers long ago.”

And when it comes to a backdrop, Aedín doesn’t hold back when laying claim to the island’s floral superpower. “I think there is nowhere better in Ireland to see wildflowers than on Inis Meáin,” she tells me.

“It’s a bold statement, but I haven’t experienced anything like the flora here elsewhere. The sheer abundance of flowers from late April onwards is breathtaking. We have a karst landscape here of course, so the geology is the same as that of the Burren and it’s a total haven for wildflowers.”

Inis Meáin makes a dramatic setting for a tour

Right now is Aedín’s favourite time of year for wildflowers on Inis Meáin, as hawthorns deliver their perennial profusion of blooms and more unique blooms native to the karst landscape begin to flower.

“The early purple orchids are in full bloom too in stunning cerise pink all across the island and everyone is chatting about where they’ve spotted tiny spring gentians — whose quintessential blue petals are a sure sign that summer is on its way.

“People on my tours love seeing the island’s rare plants like the orchids and Irish saxifrage but they also love more common plants too that they recognise but know little about; like red clover and ribwort plantain which grow all over Ireland and have amazing culinary and medicinal uses,” she says.

The island's unique flora stops visitors in their tracks

Aedín, a trained folklorist, also adds elements of béaloideas into her tours and encourages visitors to share their tales of plants and traditions.

“So much plant lore still survives in oral tradition and I love to incorporate that into my walks. For example, I’ll describe some uses associated with a flower, chat about interesting names it has in Irish and what they mean, then I’ll ask the group to share some of their own stories. It’s a really nostalgic experience for some — people often find themselves remembering old names or superstitions their grandparents had for the flowers or maybe games they used to play with plants when they were young. In that way each tour becomes a sort of collective experience and every walk is unique.”

Foraging, another rebooted lifestyle trend, also features in Aedín’s tours: “Lots of delicious things grow wild and free on Inis Meáin, like sea spinach, sorrel, and Babington’s leek,” she says. “We sample them all during a tour and chat about how to forage sustainably, leaving enough for others and for animals, while benefiting from free, healthy food that grows right on our doorstep.”

All these colourful aspects mean visitors of Aedin’s tours feeling sustained in more ways than one while also feeling the benefits from unplugging from the daily grind in this scenic settings.

“Our lives are so wrapped up in technology now and I think that’s created a demand for natural escapism — a way to really switch off,” she says. “I find that there’s no better way to disconnect from the pace of the working world, than heading out for a walk and seeing what wonders you’ll find growing wild.”