Cliffs of Moher

Before we get to the main event, I want to share some pictures (no, really?!) on our way to County Clare. Leaving Dingle…

… we were headed toward Limerick…

… through the Conor Pass…

… which gets a bit narrow at times.

Yes, that is a “two-lane” road, with no pulloffs for quite awhile.

Luckily, we didn’t meet anyone coming the other way as we descended.

We stayed overnight in Limerick, and visited King John’s Castle (just ok), which gave us this great view over the countryside and the River Shannon -

So that was County Limerick. Now on to County Clare -

That’s Doonagore Castle above, with the Aran Islands in the background. They are the home of the famous sweaters you may have heard of. We unfortunately didn’t get to visit them, because the day we were planning to go, it rained miserably hard all day.

Luckily, as we drove to Doolin, the town that sits at one end of the Cliffs, the weather was decent (i.e., not raining).

The picture above is the south end of the Cliffs of Moher, where we started our 9 mile out and back hike along the cliffs. Looking north…

… you can see the scale by noticing the people at the top of the cliff in the next picture -

I think this was where…

… Steve took this picture -

[I was careful. I never stood right on the edge. ;) ]

The cliffs were just magnificent…

… and it just pains me that we couldn’t have had pretty blue skies and sun for our outing.

I loved the narrow spires -

As we approached the Visitor’s Center, which is about at the halfway point of the length of the cliffs, we started meeting hordes of people. I was still able to get the shots I wanted…

… but it detracted some from the beauty and expansiveness of it all.

We turned around when it started misting…

… because we had to return to our car. Just as we reached the end (our beginning), the sun came out briefly, brightening the colors -

This sunset the next evening helped us say goodbye to this beautiful area -

P.S. If you’re planning on hiking the Cliffs, please send me an email and I can give you good tips on where to park for your out and back trip (not relying on the shuttle bus).