Kilkee Cliffs

Kilkee grew as a Victorian bathing resort around a horseshoe bay protected by a reef called the Duggerna Rocks, which breaks the Atlantic swell and leaves the strand unusually calm for this coast. West of the town the coast turns to cliffs and a waymarked loop of about eight kilometres runs along the top past sea stacks, blowholes and the Diamond Rocks. Cut into the rock platform below are the Pollock Holes, natural pools that empty at low tide and fill with clear water, used for swimming and snorkelling by generations and still popular - though only accessible for a couple of hours either side of low water and slippery to reach. The cliffs on the loop are unfenced and the edge is undercut in places. Kilkee has a long tradition of scuba and cliff diving, and Richard Harris, who grew up summering here, is commemorated in the town.

What you actually see

• The Pollock Holes - natural rock pools that clear at low tide.
• The cliff loop - eight kilometres past stacks, blowholes and Diamond Rocks.
• The horseshoe bay - sheltered by the Duggerna reef.
• The Victorian town - built as a bathing resort in the nineteenth century.

When to go

May to September. The Pollock Holes only work for about two hours either side of low tide - check the tables. The cliff loop is exposed in wind.

Honest expectations

Unfenced cliff edges, undercut in places. The rock platform down to the pools is slippery and washes over as the tide turns. Outside summer much of the town closes.

Nearby

Loop Head and the Bridges of Ross are west; Spanish Point is north.