Clare · Easy · Circular

Loop Head: the cliff path round the headland

A short loop round the cliff tops of Loop Head from the lighthouse, past Cú Chulainn's Leap to the wartime ÉIRE sign at the tip.

Distance
1.7 km (1.1 mi)
Ascent
52 m
Time
About 30 min
High point
68 m
Grade
Easy

Line © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), checked by Global Adventurer.

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Loop Head: the cliff path round the headland
Gordon Hatton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

The walk

From the lighthouse car park, go round the outside of the lighthouse wall and west along the northern cliff tops, past the chasm of Cú Chulainn's Leap and the sea stack of Diarmuid and Gráinne's Rock, where legend says the lovers hid from Fionn. At the tip lie the big ÉIRE letters, laid out in the Second World War to tell aircraft they were over neutral Ireland. Return east along the southern cliffs and north past the lighthouse. The loop goes anticlockwise.

It is 1.7 km round with 52 m of ascent; allow about half an hour. The grade is Easy: a short, grassy path along the cliff tops.

The cliffs are unfenced all round, with sheer drops and undercut edges: keep well back, above all in wind, when gusts and spray sweep the tops. The grass can be slippery. Outside the lighthouse wall the headland is commonage, walked by the landowners' goodwill. A light has stood here since 1670. The lighthouse and its tower tours open daily from May to late September and at weekends and bank holidays in spring and October, until 26 October in 2026; the path is open all year.

Parking at the lighthouse is free. TFI Local Link route 339 from Kilrush, via Kilkee and Kilbaha, runs to Loop Head twice a day.

Route drawn by Global Adventurer along OpenStreetMap paths (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), with figures worked out from it. Check the forecast and the ground on the day: paths change.

Good to know

  • Loop Head is the tip of the long Clare peninsula between the Shannon estuary and the open Atlantic.
  • A light has guarded the mouth of the Shannon here since 1670; the present tower dates from 1854.
  • The big white ÉIRE letters on the headland were laid out in the Second World War to tell aircraft they were over neutral Ireland.
  • Legend says Diarmuid and Gráinne hid from Fionn on the sea stack off the north cliffs, and Cú Chulainn leapt the gap to it.

Getting there

Start: Loop Head lighthouse car park · Free parking. 52.56099, -9.93046

Directions to the start

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Places to stay nearby

Rooms in and around Clare: Booking.com → Expedia → Hotels.com →

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Paths change, and the weather decides the day. The line and figures come from OpenStreetMap and our own checks; take a map, check the forecast, and turn back if it isn't right.