Following the Wild Atlantic Way to the south alongside the Kilkee Cliffs from Kilkee, you soon come across the Loop Head Drive. This drive hugs the coastline and ultimately brings you to the end of the Loop Head peninsula at the Loop Head Lighthouse.
Bridges of Ross on the Loop Head Drive
On your way, however, it is worth taking a detour and following signs for the Bridges of Ross. Once there you can leave your car in the small car park and walk along the coastline taking in some spectacular rock formations and watching the waves break on the rocks just a few feet away from you.
The Bridges of Ross refers to what at one time were three natural sea arches along this short stretch of coastline, but nowadays there is only one remaining (the others having long since fallen into the sea). You can’t see the remaining arch from the car park, but if you follow the path around the coast for a couple of hundred meters, you will see it. This is an easy walk and offers a chance to get close to the Atlantic, as the walk is not too high above sea level.
Loop Head Lighthouse
After your walk, continue on to Loop Head Lighthouse. Part of the Great Lighthouses of Ireland initiative and standing some 90m above the Atlantic, this lighthouse is open to visitors with visitor information, a tea room, interpretive centre and guided tours, it is well worth the visit.
Watching Dolphins off the Loop Head Coast
If you prefer to spend your day on the Atlantic, rather then looking out at it, then you need to take a trip to Carrigaholt and the Dolphin Watch group there. Take a tour out into the Shannon estuary, home of Europe’s largest group of bottlenose dolphins with Geoff and Susan Magee who began dolphin watching in the area in the early 90s. With over 25 years experience behind them, there is no-one better qualified to teach you about the wildlife in the estuary and their intimate knowledge of the dolphins means that they are your best chance at getting to experience them in their natural habitat.