County Clare and the Burren - Ireland 2014 - page 411

Information: You'll find a TI and ATM in the visitors center—the Tolkienesque building
tucked under the grassy hillside—flanked by six hobbit garages housing gift shops
(across the street from the parking lot). Tel. [phone], www.cliffsofmoher.ie .
Self-Guided Tour
Start in the visitors center, built in a concentric-circle layout with local stone. Upstairs is
the Long Dock restaurant (which serves coffee and substantial cafeteria-style meals until
19:00); a photo diorama showing aerial views of the cliffs and underwater photos of local
marine life; and the toilets, where you can enjoy a huge panoramic photo of the cliffs on
the stall doors as you wait in line. Downstairs is a small café, a gift shop, and the Atlantic
Edge exhibit.
The Atlantic Edge exhibit focuses mainly on natural and geological history, native
bird and marine life, and virtual interactive exhibits aimed at children (often occupied by
adults). You may even learn why the cliffs are always windy. A small theater with an
IMAX-style screen shows The Ledge, a film following a gannet who's a Jonathan Living-
ston Seagull wannabe, as he flies along the cliffs and then dives underwater, encountering
puffins, seals, and even a humpback whale along the way.
After leaving the visitors center, walk 200 yards to the cliff edge and along the wall of
the local Liscannor slate. Notice the squiggles made by worms, eels, and snails long ago
when the slate was still mud on the seafloor.
For years, the Irish didn't believe in safety fences: just natural selection. Anyone
could walk right up to the cliffs, until numerous fatal accidents prompted the hiring of
“rangers”—ostensibly there to answer your questions and lead guided tours, but mainly
there to keep you from getting too close to the edge (wind gusts can be sudden, strong, and
deadly).
As you gaze down at the waves crashing far, far below you, consider this: Surfing in
wet suits is becoming popular in Ireland. Most sane Irish surfers stick to the predictable
waves at Lahinch (5 miles south of here). But the monster waves that rear up beneath the
Cliffs of Moher on stormy days are coveted by extreme surfers, who work in tandem with
tow/rescue helpers skimming the waves on Jet Skis. Don't strain your eyes looking for
them...there aren't too many surfers crazy enough to attempt this.