On the edge of The Cliffs of Moher

I don't remember the exact year the Harry Potter books hit the stands. What I do remember is being utterly fascinated by them.

Every time I would finish one of the books in the series, the story would stay with me for days. I discussed the Slytherin and Gryffindor rivalry with friends, pondered over Ron’s lack of progress in the potions class or imagined what ‘snitch’, the ball with wings looked like.

When the books were reimagined into movies, I was skeptical. Films based on famous books tend to be oddly disappointing. Never quite recreating the magic the written work weaves.

But, what I do appreciate are the people who make these movies - the creatives, who find and piece together the characters and locations.

"Who is the perfect Hermione Granger?" they ask or

"Where can we find the darkest and gloomiest location for that final face-off between Harry and Voldemort?" they wonder.

When a dear friend suggested The Cliffs of Moher for my Ireland itinerary, I was mildly curious. One of its claims to fame was that it was featured in the movie Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

However, Hollywood and music video guest appearances are not The Cliffs' only claim to fame (3). They stand tall on other merits, such as being an ancient geological wonder and a UNESCO Global Geopark, among others (4).

We decided they were worth a stop.

So, what are The Cliffs of Moher?

• The Cliffs of Moher are a visually striking steep rock face that are over 700ft tall and stretches along the coast for about 8 kilometers, or 5 miles, in the Clare county of Ireland.
• They were formed over 319 million years ago.
• They are one of the star attractions along the Wild Atlantic Way, a 1600 mile coastal route that passes through some of Ireland's most unique and breathtaking scenery.
• The Cliffs are also famous as a nesting site for many birds, including the famous Atlantic puffin.
• For a beautiful drone footage of the Cliffs, click here.

What is a UNESCO Global Geopark?

• A UNESCO Global Geopark is an internationally recognized place with unique geology, landscape, history, and culture.(4)
• As of today, there are 127 UNESCO Global Geoparks in 35 countries.
• The neighboring Burren and Cliffs of Moher are one of them.
• To learn more about the Geopark, click here.

What will I see at the Cliffs of Moher?

• 360-degree stunning views of the Atlantic ocean, the Cliffs, and the neighbouring islands.
• There are 3 platforms with viewing points and pathways - The Main, the North and the South platform. Each offers a different vantage point to the sights in the area.
• We started from the visitor center. For the more adventurous amongst you, a cliff walk runs along the entire stretch of The Cliffs for a more immersive experience.
• We took the paved walkways along the cliff making for a fairly easy hike.

• As is evident from my photography, the free roaming cattle continued to fascinate me :). If you missed my previous post on the subject, click here.

The O’Briens Tower

• At the midpoint of the Cliffs, there is a round stone tower called The O'Briens Tower named after its maker, a local landlord named Sir Cornelius O’Brien.
• This tower was built as an observation point for the English tourists who frequented the area.

We spent about 3 hours at The Cliffs. My son ran up and down the paved path, while my husband and I meandered a safe distance away from the edge, with no particular thoughts in our head.

We walked half the distance and turned around when our feet couldn't go any further. Another part of the world appreciated and 'ooh'ed and 'aah'ed at.

The Cliffs and the creatives

Once back home, as I was researching this post, I became curious as to where exactly the Cliffs were in the Harry Potter movie."How did the creatives interpret it?" I wondered.

The scene below popped up after some initial browsing.

What was your first reaction?

Mine was, "it doesn’t look or feel like the same place at all."

Gone was the sense of brightness and peace from my trip only to be replaced with a feeling of darkness and foreboding.

But then again, maybe that's where the beauty of The Cliffs and the creatives lie - in their power to make us feel both dark and light.

A power that also makes some of us cross oceans just to see them and the same power that makes most of us add the next Harry Potter movie to our Netflix playlist.

"Popcorn, anyone?"

References

1. The Official Cliffs of Moher site https://www.cliffsofmoher.ie
2. About the Cliffs https://www.cliffsofmoher.ie/about-the-cliffs-of-moher/
3. Movies at the Moher https://www.cliffsofmoher.ie/unesco-global-geopark/conservation/culture/
4. UNESCO Global Geopark https://www.cliffsofmoher.ie/unesco-global-geopark/