The Loop Head Peninsula, Slowly
The coastal road most people skip on their way to the Cliffs of Moher.
Loop Head sits about forty minutes south of the Cliffs of Moher and receives roughly one percent of the visitors. Its cliffs are lower, quieter and, if you catch them on the right afternoon, more dramatic. The R487, which runs the length of the peninsula, is a slow single lane road that follows the coast most of the way. Give it a day, not a stop.
The drive out from Kilkee
Start at Kilkee, a Victorian holiday town on the north side of the peninsula. The Diamond Rocks car park at the western edge of the town is your first natural pause. From there, the Kilkee Cliff Walk runs eight kilometers along a grass path, past sea stacks and a natural amphitheatre the locals call the Amphitheatre for good reason. It is possible to do the walk as an out and back, but the loop back on the road is fast and worth it.
Back in the car, continue south on the R487. The road passes tiny hamlets, Cross being the main one, and stone-walled fields the size of small rooms. You will pass more cattle than cars.
Loop Head lighthouse
The lighthouse itself is a working Commissioners of Irish Lights station, first lit in 1854. The current tower replaced an earlier cottage-style lighthouse and is open to visitors from March to October. A guided climb up the narrow spiral costs about ten euros and the view from the balcony, west across the Atlantic and north to the Cliffs of Moher, is one of the best on the entire Wild Atlantic Way.
The clifftop path around the head is unfenced. Give the edge a wide margin, especially in wind, and stay well clear of the small blowholes that dot the grass. On a calm summer evening you can sometimes see basking sharks moving slowly north along the coast.
Eating and staying
For lunch, drive fifteen minutes back east to Carrigaholt and eat at the Long Dock, a stone pub with a fish menu that leans local. The seafood chowder is the reliable order. If you are staying overnight, the Loop Head Lightkeeper's House can be rented through the Irish Landmark Trust and is worth booking months ahead. Otherwise, Kilbaha Bay has two small guesthouses that mostly serve people walking the coastal loop.
In the evening, if the weather cooperates, walk down to Kilbaha's stone pier for the sunset. The pier is short, low, and mostly used by lobster boats. On a clear night, the horizon holds nothing between you and Newfoundland.
Practical notes
- Fuel up in Kilkee. The peninsula has one small station and it closes early.
- The lighthouse tour needs to be booked online in July and August; walk-ups work outside those months.
- The R487 is single lane in places. Yield in the passing bays, especially to farm vehicles.
- Bring a windproof layer. The forecast rarely captures the wind on the head itself.
Loop Head is what people hope the Cliffs of Moher will be. Fewer buses, more weather, and a lighthouse that still marks a working sea lane.
