Thursday, June 27, 2013

Bromore Cliffs, Ballybunion

Our afternoon outing yesterday was to Bromore Cliffs. Now unless you like the sea view and cliff rock formations, this is not the place for you.  Prices are as follows;  Car €5, Motorcycle €3, after that it is €2 per person whether you come on foot, bicycle or bus. (although I do wonder how a tour bus would manage, with parking).
Through the gate and first up is The Fairy Wind Field on your right.  It is supposed to get mini twisters and tornados.  Or as folklore would have it, tis the Fairies conjuring up the Fairy wind from fort to fort.
There are information plaques dotted around the whole site, which are really the highlight of the short walk.  Without them it would be pretty disappointing.
So you head down and the path splits, we went to the left first and it seems most visitors do the same, this is the longer part of the walk.  Below is the view to the right.
Out on that point is Leck or Lick castle, which is just a ruin. We were rather hoping that it would be in the walk, but alas it is not. That was a dissapointment, perhaps it will be included at a later date?
Here is a close up.
I'm curious as to the entrance in the rock face? I will have to google and see what comes up.   Moving forward on the walk you will have plenty sea views and information plaques on a plane crash, The Seals Rock, not that we saw any seals,  Devils island which is more of a stack, whcich Eagles once nested on, but today it belongs to the gulls. Although someone else was caught resting on it.
 
I think it is about time I get myself a bird book, it's not the first time I have been left wondering what exactly kind of bird it is, or might be. Below is the actual rock.
Futher on it mentions seal caves, again we found the view lacking of seals. The Bromore Fox which lives on the cliff ledge, again a rare sight. puzzles me as why it would want to live in such a place (if it does).



The ledges


The next bay has much to take in according to the plaque, but it's good as you can then try and find each location.
The ruins, we could not find, but then there wasn't much left of them to see I guess.  It seems to be the case here, most ruins are just mounds in the grass, just like the ring fort in the field which you don't get near.
At least you can see the Hole in the rock, caves and rock layer colourings, as well as the rock formations. Towards the end of the track is The Pigs Jump, I have to say I love how some things get thier names :)

We sat on the bench for quite a while, just enjoying the peace & quiet. The whole area is cordened off with wire.... we wondered whether or not they were charged.... certainly must have been where the Cows where kept. Well I wasn't going to be the tester!




So we moved on the the final part, over towards the rare breed of Kerry cattle. Ahh the smell of cows, grass and the outdoors on a warm day, reminds me of my childhood.
This is obviously a well behaved Kerry cow as it still had it's horns, below is one of the many calves.
AAAAaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwww!
Okay back to the touristy bit. The cliffs, featuring the Starlings cave and The Mermaids caves and Rock......... yes I did just say Mermaids!! Well alright I didn't see them today but check out the bubbles ;)
 
More information on Bown Loss Strand, The Droinningen shipwreck and Glenachoor Waterfall, due to the dry spell not much water to spout today.
All in all we enjoyed our short stroll, even though we spent 2 hours there. I'm sure you can cover it in 20 mins, but like I said I love being outside.  I can say I came, I saw and took it all in. I just love the folklore bits. Most of the fauna had flowered, but I did spot some heather and a couple of other flowers.  
This is a relatively new walk, hopefully it will be further developed and expanded. Perhaps even a wee shop.  I suppose it will depend on how many visitors it attracts, as to how and if more is to be made of it.
If you want a free Cliff walk then visit Ballybunion, you can follow it up with the beach walk. You never know what you might see dolphins or porpoises perhaps. I have to go back there the next nice day and take some photos with my new camera (which I am still learning how to get the best out of).