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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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’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.
Close up of the castle (with apparently a partial photobomb of my thumb. How embarrassing.)
The view in the other direction, walking past the castle.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
