Cliffs of Moher, Ireland

That right there is what took us to Ireland the first time and what had us desiring to come back! A path winds it's way along the cliff's edge all the way out to the furthest point in the distance.  The path was not accessible when we came the first time unless you trespassed or knew someone.  It seemed that they were discouraging people from accessing these paths.  They can be dangerous if you're not careful.  We just so happened to know someone (our B&B host) that had property on the cliff's edge.  They told us how to get to their field and to the cliffs. Since the first time was before kids we walked the cliffs from their property (very close to the tourist point of O'Brien Tower) to Hag's Head, in the distance. Based on that trip and learning that you now have to have a ticket to go to the visitor center of the cliffs I assumed that the paths had all been cut off.  Upon arriving I learned I was wrong.  Instead of cutting off the path, lengths have been made to make the path safer.  They've been widened and set back further from the edge.

O'Brien Tower, build in 1835.  It looks so much older! Instead of taking the cliff's edge path to Hag's Head we drove as close as we could and walked out to it.

If you're traveling to the cliffs with children, be aware that the winds can catch you off guard.  At one point I had to grab my 7 year old twins' hands and walk low until we were a bit more protected and we weren't even close to the edge. We got caught in a down pour.  The tower was without a roof, but it kept us a little drier.

Irish legend tells the story of an old hag or witch. Her names and variations are quite numerous. She is often linked to the golden fire goddess Brigit as her darker half. At Hag's Head, she is called Mal.

Mal fell madly in love with the great Irish hero, Cú (pronounced Koo) Chulainn. Sadly for her, Cú Chulainn did not return her feelings, finding her advances distasteful. He ran all over Ireland trying to get away from her.

Mal thought she had him cornered with nowhere left to run. But, being Cú Chulainn, he escaped by jumping using the sea stacks as stepping stones (as only a legendary Irish hero could..)

Poor Mal was not as nimble on her feet as the mighty Cú Chulainn - she tried to follow him, but missed her footing and was dashed to pieces against the cliff. She fell to her death at Hags Head where her blood is said to have stained all the sea.

A little tip if you plan to visit the Cliffs of Moher vistor area.  There is a bit of a tricky and confusing ticket system for entering the lookout point and visitor center.  Looking online, ticket pricing is given per person.  However, you can actually approach the cliffs without a ticket.  It is the parking attendants who check the number of people in your car and ticket you accordingly.  We were given 2 unused tickets by friends and then I purchased 2 more tickets online for €6 each, children under 16 are free. Tickets are never checked again (or it wasn't at the time of this post).  Pull off parking is further away, however, there are very few places and it's only a small pull off on the side of the road.  So, do what you will with that bit of information. Such a beautiful place to sit and take in all of God's beauty that surrounds you! I'm linking up again with Bonnie for another round of Travel Tuesday.

 

County Clare on Dwellable