Here is Solomon being descrptive: ‘ Gracious words are honeycomb sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.’ Proverbs 16:24
And then James from the New Testament: ‘Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.’ James 1:19
Loop Head is a headland on the north side of the mouth of the river Shannon in County Clare in the west of Ireland. It has barely a mile of land saving it from island status. The Atlantic and Shannon Estuary being on each side.
We travel close to the estuary and the sea and sometimes directly through the countryside…
But soon we reach Loop Head Lighthouse built in 1854. It sits proudly where the River Shannon estuary meets the waves of the wild Atlantic.
The day is grey and we need a place to park for the night. Kilkee, a seaside town midway between Kilrush and Doonbeg suits us well. A public car park with the friendly locals taking an early swim, the next morning in the horseshoe bay, well protected from the harsh Atlantic.
Our car park opposite the beach and a newly painted mural for 2026 festival of art. The lady is Charlotte Brontë by Marcus Vallboehmer.
Dogs are allowed on the beach until 11 am. Most of us were out there at 8 am.
There are maps showing walks along the cliffs and if we had felt like coping with wind and rain we would have gone but decided to travel on to some cliffs with the greatness of height.
The Cliffs of Moher.
So how do these Irish cliffs compare to the many we have experienced.
The cliffs of Sagres Portugal at the south western tip of mainland Europe are called by historians the ‘ end of the world.’ They are 60 – 75 meters high. Loved by surfers, sunset seekers and historians.
The White Cliffs of Dover are soft white chalk formed from ancient micro-algae skeletons. They are a symbol of homecoming and wartime resilience facing continental Europe. They are up to 100m high.
Now what of these Cliffs of Moher? They have vast numbers of visitors and they need all the protection they have been given. They are highly commercialised and function as Ireland’s signature natural stop. They have a 214m vertical drop into the Atlantic with a 14km sweep and considered a prime edge of Europe landmark.
For my photographs I was interested to view vegetation in relationship to this dramatic fall of earth into sea. Here are three of my photographs of this spectacular place.
The wind swept grass reflecting the waters wind and current directed waves.
The thistle holding tall against dark rock. The small with the deeply fierce, dizziness of cut away rock face, zigzagging out to sea.
The white pressured water against turquoise and deep black looking into a cavern with green shrubs and grass still and straight in the foreground.
A wonderful place well organised for the public to negotiate safely. May it continue to be protected.
I then sat a while and enjoyed two scenes for how they felt. One with water colour the other oil pastels. It was a lovely time for me. Imagine living so close to ‘land fall’!
Cliffs of Moher with ‘their plants’.
And here is a photo taken by our son of us, Sandy and Roy.
We travel on.
Take care,
Sandyroybessbugzy.com