Picture this: a character in a tragic love story -
Wuthering Heights perhaps - decides to end it all. Unrequited love, or star crossed lovers, or something like that.
The Cliffs of Moher look exactly like the kind of place you might find broken-hearted characters from Victorian novels, wracked with longing. They're stories all about drama and crazy, extravagant passion, after all. And there are few places as dramatic and passion-inspiring as these windswept Irish cliffs.
With views to startle the gold out of a leprechaun's pocket, this magnificent destination will virtually teleport you to a magical time, long before the mundane reality of parking tickets, office jobs and traffic jams.
There must be a pot of gold here somewhere...
Located on Ireland's west coast, an hour and a half south of Galway, and three hours from Dublin, the Cliffs of Moher are possibly the most wildly beautiful and spectacular natural feature you will ever witness. The Cliffs match Scotland's
Dunnottar Castle in terms of pure mindblowing magnificence.
Sitting 120 metres above the Atlantic Oceans, and stretching out over eight kilometres, the waves below range from wild and ferocious as they crash against the rocks to the type of peaceful vista that you could meditate in front of for hours.
Not the ideal location for roller blading.
The Cliffs are one of Ireland's most popular tourist attractions with one million visitors each year. But if you go in the winter, you may just find yourself looking out from the cliffs to the Aran Islands in complete and utter peace and solitude.
You might even hear the faraway sound of the
Irish tin whistle. Or perhaps you'll be inspired to pen a limerick, or failing that,
a Celtic poem.
More green here than you'll find at the Rainbow Serpent festival.
They're beautiful and they're famous – so naturally they pop up in movies from time-to-time. They were the "Cliffs of Insanity" in
The Princess Bride and they've also featured in
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,
Leap Year,
Ryan's Daughter, and
Bringing Out the Dead.
Westley scales the Cliffs of Insanity in The Princess Bride.
The Cliffs are also the subject of some marvellous folklore. One end of the cliffs is believed to resemble a woman's face and is named "Hags Head" accordingly. In Irish folklore, a hag by the name of Mal fell madly in love with the hero Cú Chulainn.
Unfortunately, dearest Cú just didn't feel the same. Alas. He ended up running all over Ireland trying to escape her desirous clutches. Mal tried to follow him – arms outstretched, lips pouted and puckered – but she tripped and fell accidentally and fell to her death at Hags Head, staining the sea with her blood.
Edges that you could ski off. Not that you would, of course.
In the first century, a fort was built on Hags Head, which was named Moher. It was demolished in 1808, but it was from this fort the cliffs took their name. In ancient Gaelic, the word "mothar" means "ruined fort". Hence the Cliffs of Moher mean "cliffs of the ruined fort".
Luckily, there's still a pretty little fort on the Cliffs. O'Brien's Tower was built in 1835 by Cornelius O'Brien, a descendant of an Irish king. Even back in the 19th century, O'Brien seemed to know a thing or two about tourism, and thought the tower would help attract visitors to the area and benefit the local area's economy. It was used as an observation tower. Definitely a fella ahead of his time.
A tower that knows the importance of being earnest.
The Cliffs are an enchanted location that will sweep you away from your Guinness and towards the spellbinding crashing waves, swooping birds and vast green plains.
Have fun stormin' da castle!
