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Walking around Bray Head/Cliff Walk after the Fires?

  • 01-08-2018 8:20pm
    #1
    Caryatnid
    Registered Users Posts: 555 ✭✭✭


    Hi, I have some foreign friends visiting this week, and I'd like to take them to Bray to do the Bray head walk, and also the cliff walk. However after the fires two weeks ago, I was wondering if maybe I should choose somewhere else this week?

    Thanks for any advice from anyone who has been there recently.


Comments

  • #2
    YakerK
    Registered Users Posts: 72 ✭✭YakerK


    It’s fine to walk around the usual trails. If a little bleek in places.


  • #3
    pixbyjohn
    Registered Users Posts: 6,250 ✭✭✭pixbyjohn


    Cliff walk is still a lovely way to spend 2 hours


  • #4
    Caryatnid
    Registered Users Posts: 555 ✭✭✭Caryatnid


    Thanks for the quick replies, much appreciated!!


  • #5
    Zebbedee
    Registered Users Posts: 443 ✭✭Zebbedee


    I walked it both ways 2 days ago.


    The recent fire resulted in a scorched earth depth down to about 6 inches in places.
    Temperatures must have been incredibly high.


    With all the gorse and scrub being burnt away now to nothing you can now see exactly where the lower cliff walk has tumbled down years ago.
    This is where you have to climb steepish steps up on to the upper cliff walk.
    What I didn't realize is that a portion of the upper cliff walk had also tumbled away and there is short section of 'upper' upper cliff walk that had been constructed for safety. (i.e. 2 sections above the original cliff walk).
    Anybody with access to a drone would get super footage of these exposed old paths now unusable.
    They'd want to do it soon though before new growth pushes through in a few weeks.

    When I was there Irish Rail were using a drone to take footage of cliff erosion. They said it was an ideal time as all the scrub was burnt away exposing the rock face.

    Being able to see these old paths under the ash makes it a much more interesting walk I think.
    I'd advise people to go out and have a look at them before they're covered over again.


  • #6
    Zebbedee
    Registered Users Posts: 443 ✭✭Zebbedee


    The gorse fires have also revealed the letters 'EIRE' on the side of Bray head.
    It's a left over from WW2.
    Not sure if it's visible from the cliff walk though.


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  • #7
    Alun
    Registered Users Posts: 21,418 ✭✭✭✭Alun


    Here it is ...

    https://www.rte.ie/news/leinster/2018/0804/983116-eire-sign-bray-head/

    There's a vague number 8 below it too, apparently they were all numbered. See http://eiremarkings.org

    I don't think you'd be able to see anything from the cliff path as it looks to be on sloping ground below the path.


  • #8
    Alun
    Registered Users Posts: 21,418 ✭✭✭✭Alun


    Here's the spot on Google Earth ...

    https://www.google.ie/maps/@53.1758432,-6.070495,230a,35y,270.84h,46.66t/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en

    Not even a hint of what lies under the grass and bracken from that view.

    I'm surprised that this has remained hidden for so long to be honest. Surely anyone local of a certain age would have knowledge of it being there?


  • #9
    Annasopra
    Registered Users Posts: 40,787 ✭✭✭✭Annasopra


    Alun wrote: »
    Here's the spot on Google Earth ...

    https://www.google.ie/maps/@53.1758432,-6.070495,230a,35y,270.84h,46.66t/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en

    Not even a hint of what lies under the grass and bracken from that view.

    I'm surprised that this has remained hidden for so long to be honest. Surely anyone local of a certain age would have knowledge of it being there?

    Yeah some people are now coming forward to say they knew but forgot. See facebook bray open forum.

    It was so much easier to blame it on Them. It was bleakly depressing to think that They were Us. If it was Them, then nothing was anyone's fault. If it was us, what did that make Me? After all, I'm one of Us. I must be. I've certainly never thought of myself as one of Them. No one ever thinks of themselves as one of Them. We're always one of Us. It's Them that do the bad things.

    Terry Pratchet



  • #10
    Alun
    Registered Users Posts: 21,418 ✭✭✭✭Alun


    Was up there just now. Someone has marked the letters out with sticks. You can also see the remains of the tent below it belonging to whoever started the whole fire off.

    Also between the cliff path and the sign there's the remains of what looks like quite a sizeable stone building, and a newer small concrete ruin, that looks like it may have been a lookout of some sorts.


  • #11
    DubOnHoliday
    Registered Users Posts: 1,292 ✭✭✭DubOnHoliday


    Was at the sign yesterday during a run... already bright green grass is shooting up from the scorched earth, given a couple of weeks it will be all covered. Amazing to see this part of our history revealed and the old ruin as mentioned above.


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  • #12
    Zebbedee
    Registered Users Posts: 443 ✭✭Zebbedee


    Alun wrote: »
    Was up there just now. Someone has marked the letters out with sticks. You can also see the remains of the tent below it belonging to whoever started the whole fire off.

    Also between the cliff path and the sign there's the remains of what looks like quite a sizeable stone building, and a newer small concrete ruin, that looks like it may have been a lookout of some sorts.
    DubOnHoliday wrote: »
    Was at the sign yesterday during a run... already bright green grass is shooting up from the scorched earth, given a couple of weeks it will be all covered. Amazing to see this part of our history revealed and the old ruin as mentioned above.


    Is there easy access to the old sign?


  • #13
    Alun
    Registered Users Posts: 21,418 ✭✭✭✭Alun


    Zebbedee wrote: »
    Is there easy access to the old sign?
    Yes, there's a big gap in the fence. If coming from the Bray end, walk about 2.5km, up and down the steps, past the broken sign pointing up to Bray Head and it's on your left. There's a bit of a clear path amongst all the burnt stuff still visible if you don't want your shoes to be covered in black soot :)


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