Ireland: The Cliffs of Moher

Ireland: The Cliffs of Moher

It’s been a busy week so far, which is why these photos are somewhat belated–we visited the Cliffs on Tuesday.

It was a beautiful day out, as you can see… The sun was in my face though, so I was squinting a bit. I make no apologies for my hair–the wind makes a mess of it so quickly!

me again

In the morning before heading to the Cliffs, we popped into town for a few things (including the newspaper. I help Papa with the crossword… Between the two of us, we do pretty well.)

Saw a lovely flock of sheep (including lambs!) on the way, and Papa stopped to let me take some pictures.

sheep

Such cute lambs! The scenery here is so gorgeous. Rolling hills and farmland as far as the eye can see.

When we got back, I took a picture of the cow grid (or cattle grid) in the entrance of the house to show a friend back home who’s done farming the past. A lot of houses in this area have these guards to keep cattle from walking into their yards–the cows don’t like the rolling bars under their feet.

cattle grid

We decided to get lunch on the way, and left for the Cliffs. When we arrived, we got our admission tickets, parked, and headed for a little cafe where we had sandwiches before we headed up the Cliffs.

The view is incredible.

the Cliffs of Moher

Now, the edge of the Cliffs is, of course, very dangerous. A section of the walkway near the entrance and the old castle (O’Brien’s Tower) had barricades, but the rest was clear down to the cliff edge.

by the barricades

Here’s me by the barricades–they’re short enough to climb over, and some idiots do. If you aren’t careful, it’s a long way down to the water.

O Briens Tower

O’Brien’s Tower in the distance. You have to pay extra to go inside and climb to the top, so we didn’t bother, but simply walking around it you get a sense of its age and history.

o brien's tower

Close up of the castle (with apparently a partial photobomb of my thumb. How embarrassing.)

cliffs

The view in the other direction, walking past the castle.

path

As you can see, the barricade has stopped, but the trail continues. You can actually hike around the coast of Ireland; this path that passes along the Cliffs of Moher is part of the trail. It’s a long backpacking trip, but if it’s your kind of thing, I can assure you the scenery would make every step worth it.

the stack

Although we didn’t walk far along the unbarricaded path, Papa wanted to show me this rock, called The Stack. It is coated, and I mean, coated with birds on every inch of perchable space. It’s over a hundred feet tall, and even from the distance, the birds are extremely loud–I can’t imagine how noisy it would close up.

the stack

As you can see, pretty far down from the Cliffs…but quite the ruckus!

On a clear day, you can see all the way out to the Aran Islands. There was some fog, but you could still see their shapes in the mist.

aran islands

My grandfather has ancestors who came from one of those islands. We may take a trip there with my sister before she and I leave.

heather

On the way down from the Cliffs, I saw these beautiful pink flowers growing beside the walkway and stopped to take a picture of them. Papa says they’re a species of heather, my namesake!

I have been to the Cliffs of Moher before, when I was twelve, but going back was a brand new experience for me. The sheer beauty of the Cliffs is astounding and awe-inspiring. Should you ever be in County Clare, Ireland, I highly recommend stopping by.

12 Comments

    1. It’s so gorgeous. I must have taken fifty photos while I was there, and I’ll take more if I end up going back with my sister before we leave. Took over two hundred at the Bridges of Ross… Going to post some of those later once I’ve weeded out some highlights. My grandfather has amazing cameras he’s letting me borrow–I’m so glad because it lets me capture the beauty of the area!

  1. So beautiful! Those cliffs are dizzying I’m sure. With the one being 100ft and that one being so much shorter than the rest . . .

    We have a lot of farm land here, but it’s not anywhere near that open. We like to sprinkle trees around the edges of fields, so it doesn’t have that same look to it.

    And sheep! No sheep here. Just cows and chickens and horses.

    It does look so beautiful and I’m glad you’re having a good time.

    1. Looking out across the water, it’s beautiful. Not sure how I would feel at the edge (I’m not great with heights), but from the path, it’s simply gorgeous.

      There are trees here and there, but for the most part farmland is hills and walls and sheep, cows, or horses. So very many sheep. Sorry you have none there–they’re so cute!

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