Cliffs of Moher, Ireland

 

Cliffs of Moher, Ireland

Tonight, I am reprising a tour of Ireland with focus on the ever popular Cliffs of Moher which form part of the country's west coast.

First, we departed our lodgings in Killarney in the S.W. of Ireland and drove north with a short stop at Shannon. We arrived early afternoon at our principal destination of the Cliffs of Moher which border the Atlantic Ocean, stretching for 5 miles and reaching heights of 702 feet. This is Ireland’s most visited natural attraction.

Summary information concerning the Cliffs:

  • Form part of the Burren and Cliffs of Moher Geopark situated in County Clare.
  • Almost diametrically opposite Dublin, on the east coast.  Each year about 1.0m people visit the site to facilitate which a large visitor centre has been built into the landscape.
  •  To the N.W. can be seen the Aran Islands.
  • The site features O’Brien’s Tower which was built by a far-sighted, eponymous landowner in 1835 to stimulate tourism.
  • The site is of geological significance, dating back to the Upper Carboniferous period, 320m years ago. Here can be seen bands of sandstone, siltstone and shale which contain fossil formations.
  • The nearest community is Liscannor, about 6 km distant.

Unfortunately, our arrival coincided with spells of rain notwithstanding which we did manage to obtain a full appreciation of the site.

Cliffs of Moher, Ireland

Cliffs of Moher, Ireland

Cliffs of Moher, Ireland

After about two hours at the Moher site we continued north towards our final destination for the day of Galway. However, we made a detour across the rugged Burren landscape to visit the prehistoric, Poulnabrone Portal Tomb which may date back about 5000 years and is one of 90 megalithic tombs in the Burren region. This tomb is situated in a karst limestone plateau 150 meters above sea level. Here archaeologists have discovered the remains of over 30 people. Information on Burren geology can be found here.

Poulnabrone Portal Tomb at Burren, Ireland

Limestone, karst landscape at Poulnabrone site

We finally arrived at our Galway lodgings about 6.00 pm.

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