Trying to beat the crowds, Fran and Conal get to the Cliffs of Mohir just after dawn and were able to enjoy one of Ireland’s top attractions in peace.
By Conal Healy
Thursday, October 12, 2023 (6.30am, Morning): We find ourselves in Lahinch, County Clare, on a cold late-autumn morning. Fran and I are on the Wild Atlantic Way, in Ireland, on the very edge of Europe.
From the front door of the Airbnb we can see the Atlantic Ocean. Just over the horizon (ie 3000kms away) is America.
It is still early morning. Outside it is close to freezing, about two degrees, there is frost on the windows of the hire car.
The stars are still visible in the sky, sunrise is due at about 8.15am. The good thing is the forecast is for a clear and sunny morning, the afternoon … who knows?
This is Ireland. If you don’t like the weather here .. just wait two hours. Or two weeks.
The plan is to make hay while the sun shines. Fran and I are out the door early. The day is just about brightening up and the ground is covered in dew, or frost.
We drive through the empty streets of Lahinch. As we go past the Lahinch Golf Course we notice the golden light of dawn, we pull over and grab our cameras. In the process we are both almost run off the road by angry motorists eager to get to work.
Our first stop is the Cliffs of Moher, but we know they are not open yet. There is time to enjoy and explore. In the still morning air, we see the early bird flit across the mudflats. There is almost silence.
On this bright morning it seems we have the world to ourselves. We stop at a small harbour to watch a beautiful golden dawn slip over the countryside and the water.
We slowly make our way to the Cliffs. There is a large (and manned) car park. We wish the ticket keeper a bright “G’day”, he smiles and helpfully directs us to a lower car park which is closer to the entrance gate.
“It will be easier for you when you are leaving later on” he tells us.
There are already cars, vans, campervans, caravans in the areas so Fran and I are either running late, some people are super-early … or they have parked (probably illegally) overnight.
No matter what we have the Cliffs of Moher practically to ourselves. We have beaten the tour buses.
Fran and I walk along a path made from “squiggly pattern” fossils, we even ventured along part of the Burren Way (the ground is sodden underfoot), before turning back to climb O’Brien’s Castle.
For me this was the best way to the cliffs. The path (for safety reasons) keeps visitors away from the edge. There is a great view from the top of the castle.
With not a cloud in the sky the view went forever. We saw out to the Aran Islands, in nearby Galway Bay. Inland we saw the starkness of the Burren.
As we climbed back down we asked the tower gatekeeper was the weather usually this good?
He told: “The rain started the first day of July and lasted until the end of August. We never saw the sun this year”. Given this is the Irish summer, the Cliffs of Moher must have been a real disappointment to the many tourist who flock to Ireland’s top attraction that summer.
(We heard of one Irish person who had been to the Cliffs of Moher many times … but it was always shrouded in mist.)
As Fran and I left, the first tour bus of the day arrived. Some were puffing up the fossil footstep, they were eager to get to the cliffs. I didn’t have the heart to tell them there was a far easier pathway just metres away.
We hit the souvenir shop, grabbed a coffee and hit the road. We had laundry to wash.
FOOTNOTE: We got to the cliffs just after dawn, and yes it was amazing. As I drove away, I wondered what the Cliffs looked like at sunset? At dawn, the light was behind us. At dusk, the sun would be setting into the ocean and the layers of the cliffs would have been more apparent. It might have looked spectacular?
It’s a valid point: Dawn or dusk? In my time in Ireland, morning is usually the best – the sun has a chance to sneak under any cloud cover. A clear, bright morning is no guarantee of clear evening for a sunset at sea. The weather could change, a sea mist could develop … we considered ourselves to see the cliffs on a bright day, and while it was almost deserted. As it turned out, on the morning we visited, the weather changed and cliffs that afternoon (I suspect) would be shrouded in mist.
FACTS ABOUT THE CLIFFS OF MOHIR
The Cliffs of Moher were formed over 300 million years ago during the Carboniferous Period. At that time, the land that would later form Ireland was located close to the equator almost 6,000 km from where they are now.
Here is what the cliffsofmoher.ie says: “Looking at the Cliffs of Moher you will notice individual horizontal layers of rock or strata. These layers are clearly defined bands of rock of different thickness and composition.
“The lighter coloured layers that form narrow ledges are sandstone. The darker layers which make up most of the Cliffs are made of softer siltstone and shale. The sandstone ledges are slightly more resistant to erosion, however, they cannot support their own weight for long and eventually crash into the sea below.
“The layers are mud, silt, and sand that was carried into an ancient sea by large rivers that flowed from distant mountains that have been eroded.
“These sediments built up in the shallow sea and formed a delta like the modern Mississippi delta, eventually filling in the sea and forming land. We know that some of the shale layers contain marine fossils such as ammonoids and crinoids. We know the sea was eventually filled in to become land because we find fossil roots preserved within fossil soils in these rocks further along the coast.
“The typical squiggly patterns on many of the walls and pavements along the cliffs are the remains of the burrows of organisms that lived in the shallow mudflats at the edge of the ancient sea. The creature that formed them has yet to be discovered.
“These sediments were buried deeper by more layers and eventually turned to rock. It took 300 million years for those rocks to get to where they are now.
“So, when you look at the magnificent Cliffs of Moher you are watching a 320-million-year-old story of rivers, mud, mountains and continents colliding and the tracks of mysterious creatures that lived and died and are preserved in those layers of rock.”
Cliffs of Moher Ticket Prices
To receive the best rates book online. Visit outside of peak times which are between 11 am – 4 pm for a more pleasant and peaceful experience. Sunrise and sunset visits are incredibly special and memorable.
Off-Peak AM: 8am -11am
Peak times: 11am – 4pm
Off-Peak PM: 4pm – Close
If you do not to make an online booking, you will be subject to the full gate rate admission charge.
Gate Rates:
Adult €12.00
Student €10.00
Senior €10.00
Family €24.00
DID YOU KNOW…
Did you know that the Cliffs of Moher have made appearances in some well-known movies?
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.
Ryan’s Daughter.
The Princess Bride.
Leap Year.
Into the West.
Hear My Song.
The Mackintosh Man.
on the road less travelled in Ireland and france 