We decided to see the Cliffs of Moher from the "bottom" instead of the "top" - a few reasons - we'd at this point, already seen a lot of cliffs from the top, cliffs which were higher and more impressive. And, in the case of Kerry Cliffs, you can go right out to the edge because there is a fence (better views from the bitter edge 😬) This cliff is an unprotected edge, meaning, you can't get all that close to the edge anyway, because it's unsafe. We'd been to unprotected edges - and my nerves - This country isn't really made for people with anxiety or fears, be aware 😂A week or so after we left the country they actually closed the cliffs/tours from the top-side, because of high winds and general danger of being up there. I feel like we made the exact right choice!
We really felt like these were Cliffs to be seen from the water view. We were able to buy combo tickets to visit the Aran Isand of Inis Oirr and go see the cliff "on our way back". Perfect.
This tower (O'Brien's Tower) marks the highest point of the cliffs - It was built in 1835 by Cornelius O'Brien, a descendant of Brian Boru, the first High King of Ireland.
The Cliffs of Moher are featured in the movie, The Princess Bride - Fezzik climbs them with a rope. They are about 700ft above sea level. Compare this to Kerry Cliffs, which are about 1000ft above sea level.
Yet again, I wish a camera's lens could capture the beauty and magnitude - alas, it comes no where near.
Below is a signal tower, known as a Martello tower - mostly built in the 19th century, England was very afraid of a naval attack against Ireland, especially from France. They built a series of towers around the entire perimeter of the country. If attackers were seen coming, they would light a massive fire from the roof of the tower - this fire could be seen from the next tower, and they would light theirs up - like a game of telephone, or fire dominos, the entire country would light their towers in turn when seeing the fire from their neighbour, and everyone would know - we are under attack!!
As it turns out - there was never any such attack, and this warning signal system was never utilized. But there is something to be said for defensive preparedness, and these warriors at heart have always seemed to have that in spades.
This cave being formed in pic below, is I think, one that was used/made popular by a Harry Potter movie - I haven't seen them, so I am only saying this from what I've been told - but apparently it's very recognizable from that.
Here is a cave being formed by the constant crashing of the sea against the side of the cliff. See a few pics down for what will eventually happen with this space.
O'Brien's Tower
Below is a sea spire - This is a piece of the cliffs that used to be attached to the main part of the land. As in the pic above where I mention the Harry Potter cave - the ocean bashing constantly against the wall of the cliff causes erosion over time - and caves start to form. They get bigger and bigger over time, and eventually, as the relentless nature of the wild water keeps pounding away at the earth, the stone is worn through all the way. As the water does it's work, the edges become thinner, and the ground above becomes too heavy to be supported by the eroding wall on the sea side, and the top of the cave will come crashing down into the sea, leaving behind the "wall" of the cave that was created. A sea spire.
Here is that big cave again. You can see over the left, a few other areas where the sea has begun to erode
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