In the foreground are the characteristic large, round boulders of Mulranny Beach. These boulders have been polished smooth by thousands of years of surf and consist of various types of rock, pointing to the glacial history of Clew Bay.
The striking parallel strips or ridges in the green field are 'lazy beds'. This was a very labor-intensive method of manual farming in which earth and seaweed were piled up to grow potatoes on poor or wet soil. Many of these ridges date back to the time of the Great Famine (c. 1845-1852) and have remained untouched since then.