Save Our Cliff Walk

Save our Cliff Walk Mid section: The cliff walk, just south of Wicklow The mid section extends from the Glen Town is an area of outstanding natural beauty. Beach as far as Lime Kiln Bay and Bride’s This old traditional walk is slightly more than Head three kilometres in length and follows the cliff We have here the remains of an old lime edge for most of the way. It is best to consider kiln which gives its name to Lime Kiln Bay. the walk in three different sections, each about These lime kilns were built around the coastline one kilometre in length. for convenience in transporting very heavy loads of limestone and coal. Lime was used as a The First Section: building material and also for agriculture. They started using those limekilns in the mid 1600s. This extends from the Black Castle at Wicklow Town Lime Kiln One can see the foundations of an old penal The Black Castle church, which would have served the local community during the time of the penal laws. to the Glen Strand, which is just underneath the Dunbur car park on the edge of the town. The Black Castle was built by Maurice Fitzgerald, a Foundations of Penal Church Norman, in 1176 and little remains of the structure today. About 150 metres west of here, there is a fresh water well – Brides Well, and many of the fishermen liked to take along some of the water The Glen Strand from this well in the belief that it would keep The O’Byrnes and O’Tooles of Wicklow them safe while at sea. didn’t get on too well with the Normans and the castle was destroyed in 1301. Nearby, at Travel- a-Hawk Strand, tradition has it that Saint Patrick St. Brigid’s Well attempted to land but it is reported that he didn’t get a very warm welcome at the time so he There are caves here where workings continued on his way up North. Two very old have been found dating from the new stone-age stiles can be seen at the beginning and end of this period. Apparently a knapper carried on his pathway to facilitate people walking these cliffs. business there, making flints for arrowheads and Just off the coast in that area the sea covers the axes about 3-5,000 years ago. Another knapper remains of an ancient forest. As it is, the trail operated on a promontory near the Salt Rock, suffers from coastal erosion on one side while the which is about half way back to the Glen Strand, golf course has extended its boundaries in many but this site dates from about 2,000 years earlier. parts right up to the cliff edge; it might be wiser So, there has obviously been human habitation to take the roadway from the Black Castle on and activity in this area for a very long time. The towards the car park leading to the Glen Beach. spiritual, temporal and commercial needs of our Together with the Wicklow Head ancestors were all well catered for. Heritage Group we recently explored the possibility of up-grading this first section of the walkway, with the local landowner – Wicklow Cave where flints were shaped Golf Club, which could have been to everyone’s benefit, but we were unable to reach an agreement. Section of crowd at Lime Kiln Bay during Heritage Week Closures: Unfortunately, the first few hundred yards of this mid section has been Bluebells and Furze officially closed one year ago because of coastal erosion.

It was also closed in 2002 because it was Primroses considered unsafe. People continued to walk the pathway and to our knowledge no one was ever injured but this time the problem is more serious. Even though it is an official right of way nothing Wild Orchids was ever done to address the problem. We at Friends of the Murrough had many surveys and some costings done in the hope of securing grants to upgrade these last two sections. The pathway Third section: would need to be re-routed to a higher level in places and signage and interpretive panels put in On the southern end, the last section of position. We sought permission in 2014 from the this walk extends from Lime Kiln Bay on Golf Club to get this work done and they replied towards Wicklow Head, the most easterly point that they would have to consult with the Council. in the Republic. Nothing ever materialised. The only solution the Authorities could see for the moment at least was to close it down. Wicklow Head as seen from Brides Head This is a particularly beautiful stretch of coastline comparable in ways to Bray Head, which can be seen from here. There is a lot of An old octagonal lighthouse stands history attached to this area and it also holds a there, 95 feet tall with walls six feet thick at the huge variety of birdlife and flora. One can see base; this structure dates from 1781. This colonies of seals in the many little coves; they building is in a perfect state of repair and is well breed around here in early winter and can often worth seeing. It is now a holiday home with a be seen during the breeding season attending to series of six rooms, each one stacked on top of their little pups. the other. There are 109 steps leading up to the kitchen, which is at the top of the building. When it functioned as a lighthouse, it was Seals in mid winter originally powered by 20 tallow candles. The At Lime Kiln Bay present lighthouse at the Head, which is currently in use, went automatic in 1994.

Octagonal Lighthouse

Sea Arches These areas have two designations: it is a Special Protection Area and a Special Area of Selection of Flora on the Cliffs Conservation. Just off the coast we have very productive seed mussel beds and also coral reefs, which have been built up by coastal worms (Sabellaria Alveolata). The tidal current at Heather Wicklow Head can run at a speed of almost 7 mph - among the fastest along our coasts. A lot of energy potential there! The cliffs at the Head Sea Pinks are 60 metres high and are home to Fulmars, Our organisation, Friends of the Shags, Herring Gulls, Kittiwakes, Guillemots, Murrough have tried for many years to secure a Razorbills, Peregrines, Ravens and also the Special Amenity Order covering the coastline Stonechat, the Whitethroat Pipits, Kestrels and from Wicklow Head up as far as Kilcoole. Bray Linnets. One can hear the cry of the seabirds Head and Howth already enjoy the protection of echoing and re-echoing all round the cliffs at such an order. However, we have not been Wicklow Head – a whole different world out successful in generating the same level of there. enthusiasm among the authorities. We all welcomed the recent initiative “Ireland’s Ancient East” but so far, it does not seem to include this area, which is the most Easterly point Bird Life of the Irish Republic. Grants are available for projects such as these; if we do not avail of these grants they will pass us by and go on to other areas. This coastal strip, and the Murrough are part of our heritage and we have an obligation to Problem: We did have a problem with a future generations to see that they are preserved. local landowner regarding the last few yards of Places such as these are essential towards pathway but in fairness to the Wicklow Town maintaining a healthy lifestyle; they exercise the Council, we now have an unobstructed pathway body and calm the spirit. Our neighbours in over their property leading on to the tarmac road, Wales have recently opened up all their coastal which goes to the lighthouse. This roadway won areas to the public. The people there enjoy 1000 the ‘Pure Mile’ award in 2012. Reference to Irish kilometres of coastal pathway, which is a great Light’s website clearly states that the lighthouses boost to their tourism and economic activity. are accessible by road and that two of the Coincidentally, their pathway also runs adjacent lighthouse sites are open to the public. to very many golf courses. Sometimes sections of the lakes on the Rights of Way: ‘Friends of the Murrough’ are Murrough are blocked off with illegal fencing. very anxious to preserve these walkways. These We are continually fighting these issues as well walks have been used by generations of Wicklow as commissioning a number of surveys of these people and visitors to our town; they are part of coastal areas. A number of our members are our natural heritage. involved with Coastcare and we make a The Local Authorities, in the Wicklow continual effort to clean up the coastline and river Development Plan “recognise the entire coastal estuary. area of County Wicklow as an area of Anyone seeking further information about outstanding natural beauty”. In their Coastal our activities and our aims can do so by visiting Management Plan they pledge to “conserve the our website at www.friendsofthemurrough.com right of way from Wicklow Town boundary where they can sign on in support. We are also along the coastline to Bride’s Head and Lime on Facebook. We currently have more than two Kiln Bay”. Unfortunately, this worthy aspiration and a half thousand signatures on paper in has not become a reality. This area and the support of our campaign together with a further Murrough, including the Broadlough area, are the thousand signed on electronically on Facebook only natural parklands, away from traffic and and our website. adjacent to our town, that Wicklow Town has to offer and if we lose them – they are gone forever. Some more views from the It is somewhat ironic that an Irish person has much more freedom to roam in the UK and trail continental mainland than that which they enjoy at home. Old Photo

Section of Cliff Walk

View of Wicklow mountains from Brides Head

Canyon leading to Lime Kiln Bay and Brides Head

North Head Strand