A quiet night with a few vans for company. I set off back on my travels late morning. Initially I followed a narrow yet N grade road but soon turned off to a more coastal narrower route. This started as gentle terrain whilst heading west but became more rocky and wild as it reached the corner to turn southward. At an area known as The Burren, low cliffs provided a good walking area for the coach day trippers, not that the road was really big enough for such vehicles.
Avoiding the coaches it was clear I was on a day trippers route. It was inevitable I arrived at the Cliffs of Moher, one of Ireland's most popular attractions. In theory you can view for free, but would need to have walked from a couple of miles away. Parking and the visitor experience are included in your €12 fee. Around 2 pm it was certainly busy and walking some of the footpaths beyond the main area became tedious as in single file they were too narrow. The visitor experience centre was underwhelming with a cgi created film show of the wildlife that was poor and any decent TV natural history programme would do better. The cliffs themselves are OK, more extensive than Slieve League, steeper, but not as high. It was not easy to get near for a good look as with so many people barriers are formed with cut stones to keep everyone well back from edges. I wouldn't need to rush back.
Moving on the terrain flattened out and became more agricultural with gentle hills. The coastline took the form of large dunes, which is probably why there is a Trump Golf Course resort, with some beaches.
Past Kilkee out towards the peninsula the ground rises slightly remaining fairly flat, but low cliffs emerge. This north western facing shore gets the full force of the Atlantic and has little protection from wind of any direction. There is limited habitation.
Tonight's stopover will be real wild camping. It was the location of the storm scene in the 1970 film Ryan's Daughter, and winds tonight may gust over 50kph. Droichid Rois or Bridges of Ross is a cliff edge where natural bridges formed in the cliffs with arches under, although two of the three have now collapsed.
Avoiding the coaches it was clear I was on a day trippers route. It was inevitable I arrived at the Cliffs of Moher, one of Ireland's most popular attractions. In theory you can view for free, but would need to have walked from a couple of miles away. Parking and the visitor experience are included in your €12 fee. Around 2 pm it was certainly busy and walking some of the footpaths beyond the main area became tedious as in single file they were too narrow. The visitor experience centre was underwhelming with a cgi created film show of the wildlife that was poor and any decent TV natural history programme would do better. The cliffs themselves are OK, more extensive than Slieve League, steeper, but not as high. It was not easy to get near for a good look as with so many people barriers are formed with cut stones to keep everyone well back from edges. I wouldn't need to rush back.
Moving on the terrain flattened out and became more agricultural with gentle hills. The coastline took the form of large dunes, which is probably why there is a Trump Golf Course resort, with some beaches.
Past Kilkee out towards the peninsula the ground rises slightly remaining fairly flat, but low cliffs emerge. This north western facing shore gets the full force of the Atlantic and has little protection from wind of any direction. There is limited habitation.
Tonight's stopover will be real wild camping. It was the location of the storm scene in the 1970 film Ryan's Daughter, and winds tonight may gust over 50kph. Droichid Rois or Bridges of Ross is a cliff edge where natural bridges formed in the cliffs with arches under, although two of the three have now collapsed.
