Just because it’s winter doesn’t mean you can’t visit the Cliffs of Moher’s majestic beauty. Here’s my experience visiting the Cliffs of Moher from Dublin in December.
This was the question I came across when planning my trip to Ireland, “Can you visit the Cliffs of Moher in December?” It’s cold, it’s rainy, the sun sets right before 5PM, and most of the time when you get to the cliffs all you see is fog and no cliffs. Everything I read said, best not to. Call us crazy, but we made the 4-hour drive out to the Cliffs of Moher from Dublin, knowing very well that we were risking not seeing anything at all. And I am here to let you know that it was completely WORTH IT.
We had picked up some pastries for the road from Bread 41 in Dublin. Owner Eoin Cluskey had recommended we take some of his famous Christmas minced pies for the road. Boy, did we need them after our experience! We departed Trinity City Hotel and headed towards Dublin airport to pick up our rental car. On our way there, we drove under a very distinct rainbow. What a good omen! Our day was off to a good start. We picked up our Sixt rental car and Patrick drove us all the way to Cliffs of Moher.
The drive was supposed to take us 3.5 hours, it took us more like 4.5-5 after stopping for gas a few times and having to squirm our way through the narrow stone walled streets in County Clare. No one warns you that driving through Country Clare is one of the most nerve-wrecking moments in Ireland, especially if it’s your first day driving on the left of everything. If you have a large SUV, go the longer way because you’ll never make it through these streets.
Once we arrived we parked the car in the parking lot across from the Cliffs. The drive here had been a mix of rain and shine, rain and shine. Typical Irish weather. We could hear the strong winds blow through the car, nudging it every so often. I got a bit scared…is this a good idea? I don’t want to get blown off the cliff. I had asked the woman at the parking lot entrance if the Cliffs of Moher were open. She looked at me and said “of course they are!” I guess, wind isn’t going to shut this attraction down. We bundled ourselves up in as many layers as possible and headed out.
Cliffs of Moher has an indoor center dug into one of the cliffs with bathrooms, cafés, and rest areas for when you need to catch your breath and shield yourself from the windy cliffs. They even have a viewing area upstairs. On this cold December day, we decided to brave the cold and do it all in one shot. It wasn’t so much the cold as it was the wind. The first overlook looks out directly onto the Cliffs of Moher. It was a clear day with intermittent clouds and rays of sunshine breaking through. Apparently people of the area said it was one of the clearest days they’ve had in months. More often then not, people do the 5 hour drive to the Cliffs of Moher and come back disappointed not having been able to see anything due to the fog. Once again…we got lucky!!! Must’ve been the rainbow.
We decided we would head right first, go up some stairs, and reach O’Brien’s Tower at the edge of the cliff. O’Brien’s tower is the highest point at the Cliffs of Moher.
Now I cannot emphasize, how important it is to dress appropriately for the Cliffs of Moher. The above video doesn’t do the wind justice. The wind from the Cliffs was creating wind tunnels that were pushing light weight people like myself around. That’s how strong the winds were. On top of it, the water from the ocean was being wind tunneled up into the air and onto people so it felt like it was raining. Thank god I had Patrick to ground me or I would’ve gone flying. I had to duck behind a few of the stone walls a few times to avoid being blown away when the wind would get too strong.
Just behind O’Brien’s tower is an overlook that looks out onto Burren Way. A small path leads to Lucas Viewpoint as well as a few other gorgeous viewpoints along the cliffs. Given the weather and the tight, slippery, and muddy trail that literally surrounded the perimeter of the Cliffs, I didn’t think it was wise to go down that trail. Especially given that the wind was knocking me around so easily. A sign read not to go that way when the wind and weather was ideal, but some careless people made there way out there anyway. I recommend you not. There are views at every corner of the Cliffs of Moher, there is no need to risk your life going down one path during poor weather. Save that for another time and just be grateful you’re even able to see the Cliffs!
After spending a bit of time at O’Brien’s Tower, we headed to the left towards the actual Guerin’s Path. The path takes you around the perimeter of the Cliffs. On a good day you can reach the Moher Fortsite Telegraph Station. For those who don’t know the Cliffs of Moher stretch out for 8km along the coastline so on a good day you can walk for a long time enjoying the views from every point. The cliffs go down about 200 meter with the oldest base rock of the cliffs being over 300 million years old.
This path was much better looking, repaired from the wind and water, and safer than the one next to O’Brien’s Tower. We decided to walk along it for a while. We came across a fence covered in locks that overlooked a steep rock formation breaking out of the ocean water surrounded by rough waves that crashed into it. It was dramatic to say the least.
Once again, I will insist you stay on the path. There’s a reason there have been 66 deaths in the last 20 years here. The wind was strong, even on this side and Pat and I watched a girls hat fly off her head and towards the edge of the cliff. Rather than let the hat go, the girl jumped out of the path and ran towards the edge of the cliff to grab it! Insanity!! The wind was so strong she could’ve tumbled down. And all this for a hat.
We hit a point where we couldn’t walk any longer in the cold, windy, and muddy path so decided to head back to the center in the cliff to warm up and use the restroom. We headed back into the car and proceeded to snack on some minced pied we had bought from Bread 41 in Dublin before driving a little over an hour to Galway for the night. I must say, even in winter, the Cliffs of Moher have this certain mystical beauty about them. I don’t now if it’s the faint fog, the rough winds and ocean, or the dreary and bipolar weather, but don’t skip out on the Cliffs of Moher in December. Fight the cold, come equipped with the right gear, and go see what some consider to be one of the world’s natural wonders.
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