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Don't go to Cliffs of Moher

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Cliffs of Moher - a no-go destination?

I did some travelling over the weekend. One of the places on my itinerary was the famous Cliffs of Moher, probably the most famous touristic gathering point in the west of Ireland. At 214 m, they are the highest cliffs on the whole island and the view is... well... magnificent. BUT (and this is really a huge, huge but) one day someone decided it would be a good idea to pour a lot of concrete all over the place and to start charging an outrageous amount of money from people wishing to see the nearly-spoilt masterpiece of Mother Nature.

Photo source

Visiting Cliffs of Moher

So, let me quickly tell you what happens when you arrive on the spot.
After a picturesque drive along a winding road you are finally there. Not much of anything around - pastures, stone walls, and lovely double yellow line on both sides of the road for good few hundred meters. If you're not from Ireland you may not know - double yellow line means YOU CANNOT PARK THERE. Never ever, under no circumstances. What you can do instead - and what owners of the place really badly want you to do - is to drive to the car park. Spacious, within convenient distance... And charged for at 6.50 a person. Which, if you have a full car, means you're paying thirty quid on the spot. Now, let me tell you what thirty quid can buy you these days. Enough petrol to go from Galway to Dublin and back (well, unless you have a monster of a car with huge engine). About fifteen frozen pizzas. A plane ticket to UK and back if you book in advance. Broadband for a month - and there will still be some left for your mobile credit. I could go on.
But what you're actually paying for? In theory, the offer sounds pretty generous. You get the parking. You're allowed to go and have a look at the cliffs. You can enter the museum. How lovely.
What are the tricky bits, then?

Tricky bits

If you happen not to be in the mood for education - woe is you. You can not pass on the museum ticket - at least on paying for it.
What if your idea of a museum consists of something more than a few enlarged pictures with uninteresting subtitles? Bad luck, because basically this is what you're getting.
What if you've seen the cliffs a hundred times and want to have a quiet smoke in the car while your Auntie is oohing and aaaahing over the views? It's still going to cost you 6.50.
Don't know how about you, but I like to choose what I'm paying for. I hate being forced to splash out for the whole package if I'm only interested in a tiny bit. I feel it's a cheap trick trying to squeeze money out of customers and I hate being cheaply tricked. Anyone with me?
And you know what is the best part?

Best part

Not so long ago, there was no concrete over the Cliffs. There was no museum, no restaurant, no 'Do not go there' signs, just pure, stunning, magnificent nature. Just a few warnings - well, you have to be careful if you don't want to be blown off. Then the enterpreneurs arrived and ruined the place, killed the atmosphere. The whole complex stinks of commercialism, of making money, of milking the tourists. Officially, the stone walls are there to stop suiciders from jumping off. If I wanted to kill myself in this showy way, no waist-high wall would stop me, that's for sure.
Those people killed one of the prettiest places in Ireland. For that, I'm supposed to pay them substantial money and feel grateful. Goddamnit!

Cliffs on Amazon

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So, what can you do?

The Cliffs are worth seeing and no greedy bastards should stop you from going there. Well, you will have to shut your eyes for all the concrete and pretend it's simply not there, but fortunately nothing happened to the actual cliff face and to the ocean. The waves still break furiously far, far below you. Plus, there are ways to get around the rules.
You can not park at the very site, but drive few hundred meters on and you'll find good few driveways with locked gates and lonely pastures behind them. Leaving your car there is not completely riskless, but those spots look so unused that there is no real gamble. Then it's only a bit further to walk and you can enjoy the views completely free, whether there's two or ten of you.
If you don't feel adventurous and don't want to leave your vehicle in a not-exactly-legal place, just remember - if you drive along the coast road, what you'll see will be mostly... cliffs, cliffs and some more cliffs. You can stop anywhere, take pictures, enjoy the views. These cliffs may be a few meters lower than The Magnificent Mohers, but it does not take anything away from their beauty. It does take swarms of tourists away, though, and I definitely can live with that. I bet that you can, too.

What do you think?

What is your favourite way of experiencing nature? Do you prefer broad walkways and a restaurant or some wilderness and a muddy path? What did you like better: the Cliffs before or after the 'developments'? In short...

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Fight for it!

Since I'm getting a lot of feedback with contrasting opinions, why not turn it into a debate? Go on, say it, are you pro or contra? (And thank you, Pat, for giving me the idea)

Do you like Cliffs of Moher these days?

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Oh, where are the Cliffs of yesteryear? I loved them rough and free!

dannystaple says:

One good thing about Porttowan was how rugged the cliffs and Dunes were. Sure - there was a couple of places to eat and drink not far off (I like having somewhere to dash to when the weather turns nasty), but nothing on the actual cliffs and sand itself. Nice. And nobody charging me to see it. Not seen the Cliffs of Moher, but I am likely to go to the ones down the road instead after reading this.

susannaduffy says:

Oh my, the thought of overpriced commercialism has depressed me

Psycho-Gamer says:

People do not accuse the business men...they are doing their best to make some money and it is totally fine......instead accuse YOUR GOVERNMENT for giving them permission to build there. Someone gave them permission to build this monstrosity....if not gather as much people as you can find get a caterpillar and demolish this place at once

poddys says:

I don't like people messing with natural beauty, spoiling it and then charging you for the privilege or enjoying it. They have done something similar with Lands End in Cornwall as well, putting in a Doctor Who exhibition amongst other things.

You kidding? Finally some civilization! I love the way things are now

 

Your opinion on Cliffs of Moher matters

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  • generalinfo Apr 8, 2012 @ 6:16 pm | delete
    believe me, us locals don't like it either! i work in Doolin and many tourists come in looking for information re. the cliffs and the burren, the Doolin Stalactite and other attractions in north clare, including father ted's house.. and of course i give them the directions but tell them to stop outside the car park and empty their cars! that way only the driver has to pay.. nobody else is in the car so they can't charge you! (6.50 is still steep!) as for stripping the place of it's charachter? we all think it's terrible.. in fact we call the new building the tellytubby house! an alternative to visiting the cliffs is going for the cruise. If you go from Doolin Pier, you get to experience the new and fantastic views from sea-level.. trust me, as a local it's way better and as far as i know kids go free.. it can even be incorporated into the return from the aran islands if you are visiting there.. however, regardless of the tellietubby house, the concrete and the car park, i feel the warning signs are a must. those waves are scary and mask dangerous hidden currents.. when a person jumps or falls from those cliffs a whole team of the coast guard members put their lives at risk to try locate and obtain the remains.
  • sherridan Apr 1, 2012 @ 1:01 pm | delete
    I have never been, but that does all sound steep. I heard a story of someone charging at a hospital carpark for 20 yrs and then one day not turning up. The hospital phoned the council to say that no one was on duty and the council said, 'We thought it was the hospital was charging!' Someone is having a comfortable retirement!
  • CountrySunshine Apr 1, 2012 @ 8:20 am | delete
    Ah, the price of progress. It stinks, doesn't it? I don't know how these things happen, but it is ruining so much of our natural beauty. The same thing happened to a place I used to visit in New Mexico. I can't bear to go there anymore, as it is now just a commercial hotspot.
  • dannystaple Jan 5, 2012 @ 12:49 pm | delete
    Hold on - charged per person, per car? Ouch - surely it should be per car. Money grabbing g*ts. I definitely support your rant here. I am sure there was a time before somebody put a fence and a pay booth around Stonehenge too. They should be finding some other way to make money instead.
  • terracroatia Nov 28, 2011 @ 2:08 pm | delete
    Unacceptable and disgusting. Civilians should be encouraged to take steps against this but I'm afraid many locals are glad to get some extra income. You've made the first step by drawing attention to this case.
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