Wild Atlantic Way: Cliffs of Moher to Malin Head

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Cliffs of Moher

   The cliffs rise sheer out of the Atlantic for about eight kilometres along the west coast of County Clare, reaching just over two hundred metres at their highest point, and on a clear day the whole line of black shale and sandstone glows in the afternoon light. They are Ireland's most visited natural attraction, and they deserve it, although a good many of the visitors arrive by coach at the same hour, and the car park gets busy. The main viewing area is a small piece of the whole, and the further you walk along the coastal path, the quieter and wilder it becomes.

   Read the complete Cliffs of Moher write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Cliffs of Moher is where the day begins. Next is Galway.

2. 2. Galway

   Galway is a small city with a big personality, and most of that personality comes out on the street. It sits at the mouth of the River Corrib on the west coast of Ireland, with Galway Bay opening to the Atlantic and the hills of Connemara beginning just beyond the suburbs. It is known as the city of the tribes, after the fourteen merchant families who ran it in the Middle Ages, and a few of their house names, like Lynch and Blake, are still common in the area. The Spanish Arch beside the river is a reminder of the trade with Spain that brought wine and prosperity here.

   Read the complete Galway write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Galway comes up about 77 km into the recorded legs. Next is Achill Island.

3. 3. Achill Island

   Achill is Ireland's largest island, and you reach it by driving across a bridge, which takes a little of the romance away until you see the landscape. It lies off the coast of County Mayo, joined to the mainland at Achill Sound, and it is a rough, treeless land of heather bog, steep headlands and wide empty beaches. At Slievemore, the mountain that rises above the northern shore, a ruined village of stone cottages known as the deserted village stands on the slope, abandoned over generations after the Famine. At its foot, the winds sweep across the grass.

   Read the complete Achill Island write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 207 km into the recorded legs you reach Achill Island. Next is Slieve League.

4. 4. Slieve League

   Slieve League is one of the tallest sea cliffs in Europe, and it is a very different thing from the more famous cliffs on the other side of the country. The mountain drops about six hundred metres straight into the Atlantic, in bands of red, yellow and grey rock that look like a painter's palette in clear light. From the viewpoint at Bunglass, you look along a curtain of cliff that is far taller than anything you have seen on the coast of Clare, and the sound of the sea reaches you from a very long way down.

   Read the complete Slieve League write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Slieve League, late in the day. Next is Malin Head.

5. 5. Malin Head

   The headland has a name that most people know without knowing why: Malin is one of the sea areas in the shipping forecast, and the weather reports for it are read out on radio across the British Isles. Standing here in a gale, you understand why.

   Read the complete Malin Head write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Finish at Malin Head. That is the ride.