The Cliff Walk discussion thread

fortwilliam

As per the "New shops & business'" thread, we should have a separate thread for the Cliff Walk amenity.

I have made my thoughts on the ongoing closure clear:

I have met numerous visitors who have travelled out from Dublin and further only to be met with a shoddy gate and a sign saying CLOSED.

It's not erosion, it's just natural rockfall that can easily be predicted and prevented with regular inspection.#

Bray CC needs to be proactive about protecting one of the most valuable amenity assets in the area, not just shove up a barrier anytime there is a problem.

I am also aware of the issue on the Greystones side, walkers have just made their own diversion around this as has been "officially" closed for years with no action.

loyatemu

the Greystones issue IS erosion and the council can't reopen it without an official diversion or some major engineering in the form of a bridge or walkway over the affected stretch.

Their preference appears to be a diversion (this is what they've alway done in the past) but they don't seem to be making any progress with the adjacent landowner. Why they haven't moved to CPO the land, I don't know.

They're not clearing the rockfall at the Bray end I assume because they don't want people using the walk anyway while it's officially closed, so anything that provides an additional disincentive and obstacle is good from their POV.

murpho999

How is rockfalll easily predictable?

A picture was posted of a rockfall on the other thread as if it was nothing but I would not have liked to have been walking on the path when it happened. Very dangerous.

How can you say the issue is not erosion? Have you conducted a geological survey of the area? Perhaps you can share it with us and the council?

Also,your complaints like shoddy gate are just ridiculous. What do you want? An information centre explaining the situation?

Safety has to be the number one priority and the council are right not to take risks. If it was open and something did happen and somebody got injured or killed then people would be on here blaming the council.

fortwilliam

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120399278#Comment_120399278

"How is rockfalll easily predictable?" - Regular inspections by experts who will remove / net up any loose rockface.

"A picture was posted of a rockfall on the other thread as if it was nothing but I would not have liked to have been walking on the path when it happened. Very dangerous." - That was my picture, it was a rockfall that took about 5 seconds to happen in a history of over 100 years... pretty safe odds I'd say.

"How can you say the issue is not erosion? Have you conducted a geological survey of the area? Perhaps you can share it with us and the council?" - Have you?

"What do you want? An information centre explaining the situation" - Nope, I want action to clear the rockfall, make it safe and open the Cliff Walk.... Easy!

2011

I very much doubt that any budget has been allocated for “experts” to regularly inspect the rock face to determine how safe the cliff walk is.

beertons

Is the walk back open yet?

MangleBadger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120608283#Comment_120608283

It is even more closed than before. They've extended the barrier on the Greystones end.

beertons

Balls.

oinkely

Yeah, got caught out by the new extended barriers on the greystones side recently when i went for a dawn run over the hill. They have gone to some effort to discourage access, resulting in the need for a very sketchy climb around the extended piece of palisade fencing hanging over the cliffs, on three occasions. It's such a shame, as the more inland the walk goes the less appealing it is. The bits with the coastal views are the best bits. Anyway, with the effort they have gone to bar the way I wouldn't be holding my breath for any sort of speedy resolution and re-opening.

At this stage, the walk from the greystones side is rubbish, a wander uphill through a field or two and then turn around and back you go. At least from Bray you can get up to the cross and there are few other loops you can still access.

fortwilliam

...

Annasopra

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121536800#Comment_121536800

Shameful. It's closed for a reason.

Annasopra

https://bray.ie/wicklow-county-council-provide-an-update-on-the-reopening-of-bray-to-greystones-cliff-walk/

Still closed.

Likely to be a couple of years as the council has to purchase land..

loyatemu

there's a more recent update than that. The Bray rockfall is to be cleared and made safe early in 2024, and the diversion (via the road) at the Greystones side will be signposted properly.

Reopening of the Greystones side is dependent on CPOing some land which they're only starting to do now as they had been trying to negotiate a voluntary sale. CPO could take years, it's a farce. They should have made an offer, given them 3 months to accept and then started the CPO. If this was a road, it would have been re-opened within 6 months.

Pinkman

Does anyone know if it is just blocked on the Bray side still or can you go up Bray head and get onto the cliff walk from the back of Bray head (the loop trail) and walk the rest of the way to Greystones?

loyatemu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121562608#Comment_121562608

I haven't been along it recently but I believe it is blocked at the Greystones side as well and they've added extra obstacles recently. There is a steep path from the loop trail down to the cliff walk, but this may be blocked off as well as it connects on the Bray side of the landslide, I'm not sure.

fortwilliam

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121562608#Comment_121562608

Yes, you can do exactly that, I do it every week.

MOR316

Can you still do the walk to Greystones from the top of Bray head instead of the side?

fortwilliam

Brilliant.. The bray tourist information sign at the dart station has this display:

Alun

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121565128#Comment_121565128

How exactly? I've not been near the Greystones end of the walk in ages so don't know where the path is blocked at that end. So do you walk along the top as far as the path that heads off left down to the path near the (now invisible again!) EIRE 8 sign above the tunnel? And then continue along the Cliff Path, or is there another way?

fortwilliam

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121569781#Comment_121569781

Yes, exactly that.

Alun

Thanks! So the blockage at the the Greystones end is further along in the Bray direction then?

loyatemu

you can see the collapsed section here, and it's on the Greystones side of where the upper path (and Cliff Road) connect

the short term plan is to clear the Bray rockslide and then have a diversion up Cliff Road and along the main road as far as Ennis Lane to get around this section while they work on the CPO. Looking at the aerial map, I'd say they're planning on moving the whole thing into the adjacent fields to avoid having to do this again in the near future. This is basically what they did closer to Greystones some years ago - the walk used to go along the top of the clay cliffs, it now goes down the middle of a field.

Alun

So it's not possible to come off the top of Bray Head and continue on into Greystones without climbing over the obstacle blocking the path at the Greystones end after all then? I'm confused.

Annasopra

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121574807#Comment_121574807

I don't think it is no

fortwilliam

Did it today, Monday and last week.

But it is up to you... give it a go and report back..

An unofficial walk around is in place.. no problem.

fortwilliam

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121574626#Comment_121574626

Cliff road is a private road.

While we are happy for recreational walkers to use this road for access to Bray Head/Cliff walk, I find it surprising that a plan is being discussed to signpost a private road as an official route without consulting the residents of said private road.

Annasopra

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121575908#Comment_121575908

I'm surprised that there is signposting people to a route declared officially dangerous

Ronanc1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121574626#Comment_121574626

Gap bridge rememberers checking in hah!

fortwilliam

A (Non) update...

https://m.independent.ie/regionals/wicklow/bray-news/famous-bray-to-greystones-cliff-walk-plunged-into-project-purgatory-as-works-stall-yet-again/a1776225264.html

So looks like it will be years more delay....

Alun

Very disappointing. What about the company that did the previous remediation works?

SteM

This is awful. We're so bad at maintaining amenities in this country.

fortwilliam

So the people of Bray who feel that this is an unnecessary and unfair barrier took action to open it:

What's happening is now that the council have decided not to realise what the general public want, like vandals they have reinforced the barrier at the Bray end:

People are now deciding/being forced to take a risk that is multiples of the informed "risk" the barrier is failing to enforce, people who just want to walk the cliff walk are now shimmying around the edge of the barrier overhanging a ~30M drop onto the DART line.

Before the "Well they are just reckless" brigade chime in, this is human nature when something that is wanted by many is refused by few. The Bray town council just don't get this and are sticking their fingers in their ears and refusing to look at the solutions rather than having meetings and opening tenders that will drag out for years…. as I said already the council are acting as vandals to one of/the towns most popular attraction.

Annasopra

Absolutely not. The people vandalising the railings and climbing around are the vandals.

fortwilliam

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121956515#Comment_121956515

You should probably read your own signature quote…

Annasopra

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121956907#Comment_121956907

Ah OK. You think the council should allow a dangerous situation and you support people vandals vandalising fences.

fortwilliam

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121957886#Comment_121957886

Literally the exact opposite.

I do not think the council should have created such a dangerous situation and I do not support their vandalistic actions in trying (and failing) to create a barrier to the public amenity (That they heavily advertise as something they are so proud of).

SuperBowserWorld

...

Annasopra

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121959461#Comment_121959461

The council didnt create rockfall and path erosion 🙄🙄🙄

SteM

No but wicklow cc have ignored ongoing erosion issues at the Greystones end for decades now, certainly since I was walking it 35ish years ago.

jpd

Where's King Canute when you need him?

Alun

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121961128#Comment_121961128

Wicklow CC don't know the meaning of the word "proactive" when it comes to ongoing maintenance of anything, let alone a valuable asset like the Cliff Path.

Spanish Eyes

Our new Taoiseach might help the situ since he's a Greystones man. He will have some pull anyway I'd say. Let's see. Get on your 'puters and phones and email Simon asap.

Annasopra

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121961128#Comment_121961128

To be fair

A) some erosion of it is more recent

B) we didn't have the same suing compo culture 35 years ago

C) Coastal erosion is now more of a problem because of climate change

There are people vandalising the fence and the walk. It's disingenuous to call WCC the vandals in that circumstances.

Furze99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121965201#Comment_121965201

Wicklow CoCo have done little for public ROWs other than put up fences. It's hardly surprising that the public will knock them. The county should be full of public paths and ROWs documented and protected by the LA. If this were a road issue, it'd have been fixed long ago.

SteM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121965201#Comment_121965201

Of course some of the erosion is more recent. That's the nature of erosion, it will get worse if left unchecked like WCC have done for a long time. My point is this was an issue for WCC to start working on decades ago - it's not like they didn't know about it - but they ignored it and now their 'solution' is to put up fences to block access. You said

The council didnt create rockfall and path erosion 🙄🙄🙄

but the fact is their negligence in maintaining the amenity has contributed to it, there's no doubt about that.

recyclops

Nobody is calling that a solution, thats a preventive measure to protect themselves from someone suing when the inevitable happens, we have seen it where people injure themselves in a place they shouldnt be for whatever reason and look for someone to blame.

I loved the cliff walk and still enjoy walking up the cliffs and over the top and down along windgates and still end up in greystones so dont really see the fuss.

SteM

Update in the indo yesterday

http://archive.today/MCx0s

Alun

I'm losing track of how long all this has been going on … so, how long has it taken from the most recent rockfall which prompted the closure to them putting out the tender for repairs to the current situation where they're having to repeat the whole process? Ditto for the whole legal situation with CPO's etc. at the Greystones end.

SharkMX

We used to walk that at least once a month during the summer and meet family in Bray for dinner on the seafront. I dont think we have met in Bray once since they closed it.

Furze99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121978943#Comment_121978943

Maybe the term is 'constructive delay' or something like that. Is there truth in suggestions that part of the problem at the Greystones end is more concerned with landowners eye on potential development of the area for housing? Lots of development in that general area in recent years and large sums of money involved. You'd think a public path might be as asset to same but maybe also a legal nuisance. Could there be horse trading going on? You get your path if we get zoning etc??

loyatemu

the area in question is halfway up Bray Head and obviously quite close to the area that has collapsed, I don't think it's got development potential. There no real scope for more development on the seaward side of the railway.