The Cliffs of Moher

Wild winds and heavy rain have been arriving off the Atlantic all night, making us grateful for having the night in the security of the Burren Bunkhouse. Climbing was out of the question as were almost all outdoor activities, but seeing how close we were to the famous Cliffs of Moher, we thought we ought to go and check them out. The visitor centre is based at an enormous tarmac car park, where even in todays conditions, people were being bused in by the coach load.

Wanting to avoid the tourist chaos, we looked at walking in along the coast from Doolin, but it wasn't exactly the conditions for a pleasant coastal walk. Instead, Clare found out that there was a farmer who owned the next field along from the visitors centre - we drove over to see him and for a fiver each, he let us drive up to his cliff top view point! We parked up on our own, literally less than 10m from the cliff edge (almost a bit too close to the cliff edge!). We had the most dramatic view without even getting out of the van!

A brief respite in the rain had us setting off along the cliff tops to get a closer view. We're no strangers to being near a cliff edge, but it was still really impressive. Especially with a gale blowing! It was difficult to get a handle on the scale as the waves were crashing up the base of the cliffs. It didn't look like much initially, but then we worked out that the spray must be washing at least 10m up the rock face!

We could see when various squalls were approaching and tucked behind the wall to take cover on occasions.

To get the full experience, we walked over to the tower above the visitor centre. It was different from the photos that I'd seen from Mum and Dad's visit, where people were lying on their bellies and looking over the cliff edge. It's now well cornered off and a big stone barrier prevents anyone getting too close to the precipice (not that you'd want to on a day like today!).

If you look closely at the photo below, you can see the van parked up on the cliff top in our VIP parking area.

This photo has the 'old' viewing platform on the cliff edge (for your info Mum!).

The rain really set in up at the Tower, signalling that it was time to call it a day. We scampered back along the path past flapping ponchos and bedraggled photographers.

Given the wet weather, an afternoon in the surf could have been a possibility, but the strong winds put pay to that idea. Down at Lahinch Beach (one of Ireland's best surf beaches I'm told), it was so windy that we could barely stand upright on the beach, and the thought of wrestling a surf board down into the ocean held little appeal. 

From the cliff top car park, we watched a couple of surfers battle out in the waves. They eventually caught a couple of rides, but nothing about it made us want to join in. We sat in the van as it rocked in the wind, before heading back to the Bunkhouse for some food by the fireside.