Yes, I admit, I shed a few tears at the Cliffs of Moher. Sometimes there aren’t words to express the beauty around you so the body uses another medium to do so. The Cliffs of Moher are located in County Clare, Ireland, one of my favorite areas in the world. There is an instrumental piece by Fiona Joy Hawkins titled, Calling County Clare, that really captures the magic of the area. Most tourists take a charter bus to the cliffs and spend an hour or so gazing out into the Atlantic Ocean followed by a quick bite to eat in the nearby town of Doolin. Don’t shortchange yourself. Spend at least one night in or around Doolin and make ample time to enjoy the natural beauty of the cliffs, the joyful spirit of local Irish Folk music and the genuine friendliness of the area residents.
Be sure to check out Gus O’ Connor’s Pub. They have the best Irish Coffee there, which on a blustery rainy day is simply divine. They give a generous pour of Irish whisky in it and top it off with fresh whipped cream. The pub features year-round music sessions at night. Doolin is famous for its local Irish folk music scene, and you can find live traditional music at multiple establishments. In the summer the town hosts a series of summer concerts as well as the popular Doolin Folk Festival.
While the music is a great reason to stay overnight in Doolin, it’s the Cliffs that take the center stage. To me, there is no better way to see the cliffs than to hike to them from the town of Doolin. The trail starts nearby the Doolin Inn that is a great place to stay on a budget. If you turn left out of the inn you will find the start of the trail that makes its way up towards the cliffs. Make sure you allot a full afternoon for the hike. We didn’t leave until 3:00 PM and we found ourselves worrying about running out of daylight later in the afternoon.
The trail snakes along the coast and ascends upward at a comfortable pace. It is a relatively easy trail outside of having to occasionally mount an occasional step stool to get over a livestock fence. Being that we had no idea what to expect, the coastal rock formations alone justified the trip there alone. Every new curve of the shoreline created a mesmerizing experience for me.
After a couple of hours, you will come across a sign that say’s Pat’s View. A few steps later will be your first full panoramic view of the cliffs. It is simply breathtaking. The size and majesty of the cliffs is like nothing else. Believe it or not, the trail continues running right along the edge up there.
Our initial plan was to hike to the main tourist area of the cliffs and catch a shuttle bus back into town. Linda and I had the entire trail to ourselves throughout the afternoon. By 6 PM we were starting to worry about getting off the cliffs and stumbled across a small group of people at a trailhead that led to a small parking area that drive by tourists stop off to snap some pictures of the cliffs. Being that both of us were completely worn out from the hike and dusk was less than an hour away, we approached several people to request a ride back into town. A sweet Spanish couple overlooked our muddy boots and agreed to drop us just outside of Doolin on their way to Galway. With our feet elevated above the floorboard so not to dirty their car, we expressed our appreciation as best we could.
We walked the final kilometer back into Doolin, stopping to watch an escaped farm horse hold up traffic going in and out of town. That night we enjoyed a couple of pints of Guinness and a lamb shank that night. We enjoyed our adventure that afternoon so much that we would visit County Clare again a year later.
