Today we visit an iconic movie site, The Cliffs of Moher. But first, we have to drive two and a half hours to county Clare. And, we have another tour before the Cliffs of Moher. So let’s get started.

The weather is supposed to be rainy this morning, so we grabbed our raincoats and water bottles and left about 7am. We premapped the drive to stay on main motorways most of the way, so the drive was not stressful, until the last bit, some narrow roads are unavoidable when the venue is on them.

First stop, Aillwee cave, the Birds of Prey, and the Burren Cheese and Fudge shop.

Aillwee Cave

This was one of my favorite stops. The Aillwee cave was so cool. The tour guide was entertaining and the group we were in was nice. The caves had some neat waterfalls in them and we learned about the extinction of the bear in Ireland, and the repopulation of the bat. Not sure what type of bat, but he said the body was about the size of my thumb, small! They live in the cave and eat bugs at night. Last year the population was 100, this year 120. That’s progress. We didn’t get to see the bats, just the tunnel in the cave that is blocked off just for them.

Birds of Prey Centre

Outside the cave we went over to the Birds of Prey area. They had some very cool birds and we got to watch as the handlers showed off some of their more impressive birds. The first bird they brought out was so fun, he would swoop down through the crown, almost brushing your head as he passed. They said his eye sight was like four times that of a human and that is why he can maneuver through the group so accurately. Then they let some of the kids wear a glove and the bird landed on their arm for a treat. They brought out three birds in total, a hawk, a falcon, and a golden tailed eagle, or something like that. Each was amazing, Molly was a little scared. I got some very cool videos. It rained almost the whole time, but that almost made the bird even cooler to watch and we got to stand under a roof canopy thing anyways.

Burren Cheese and Fudge Shop

After the birds of Prey, we walked over to the Burren, where they make cheese and fudge. We tasted some different cheeses and flavors of fudge, and we bought some of both. Cheese and four flavors of fudge. Then we sat at a picnic table under the trees and ate lunch.

Cliffs of Moher

Ok, Cliffs of Moher are only a 20ish minute drive so we got there in no time. The walk from the car park was close and the rain had stopped so we ditched the raincoats. The cliffs were a popular place, a lot of people here. The first neat thing I noticed was that the visitor center and a few shops were actually embedded in the hillside. I don’t know how far they went into the ground, but all you could see from outside was the doors, the rest was a green grass covered hill. Once you walked to the edge of the hill, you could see the cliffs stretching down below you to the sea. A scan of a QR code led you to a website of recorded information on the Cliffs. The movies they are featured in, the music they have inspired, the people who have found inspiration there. We took a lot of pictures and walked from one end to the other, and saw O’Brians Tower. We were a little disappointed to find some of the trail walkways closed, but the views were incredible.

Kilmacduagh

Back at the car, and a nibble of fudge, we headed for home. But on the way we saw some ruins and thought to stop. Kilmacduagh ruins were just off the little road from Moher. Molly sat in the car, she was done and just wanted to read. So Jonathan and I took about 15 minutes to walk around and wonder why these ruins were here. There was what looked like a church, it was surrounded by a gavetard that had very old and some almost new headstones. There were three other buildings, all closed off and in ruins, but you could feel the history in each set of stones.

Cheesecake!

Our drive home was long but not bad. A big plus today, cheesecake! When we got home Molly and I went into Weir’s restaurant and got two pieces of berry cheesecake. Molly was able to eat some of the whipped berry cheesecake topping but had to avoid the crust. It was so light and fluffy, delicious! Great way to end the day.

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