Glen Beach Cliff Walk
About 4 km, or about 5.5 km on the longer variant · About 110 m ascent elevation
About
The Glen Beach Cliff Walk starts from a free car park just under two kilometres south of the town centre and follows the clifftop south toward Wicklow Head, past Glen Beach itself, Lime Kiln Bay and the headland at Bride's Head. It is usually described as a loop, but only the far end loops; most of it is out and back, which means you get the view twice. Reckon on about four kilometres and an hour and a half at an unhurried pace, with roughly 110 metres of climbing spread across the route, on ground that is grass, worn earth and rock rather than a made path. The draw, beyond the sea itself, is the grey seals: they haul out on the rocks below the cliffs from roughly August through to April and you will usually hear them before you see them. Watch from the path. Going down to them, or letting a dog off near them, risks a pup being abandoned by its mother.
Highlights
- ✓Free 24-hour car park with about 60 spaces, picnic tables and bins at the trailhead
- ✓Glen Beach, Lime Kiln Bay and the headland at Bride's Head
- ✓Grey seals on the rocks below the cliffs from around August to April
- ✓A longer variant that continues toward the old lighthouse towers on Wicklow Head
Tips
- →Do not approach the seals or let dogs near them; a disturbed pup can be abandoned and starve.
- →Sections are unfenced above a drop and the ground is worn earth rather than a surfaced path. Boots, not trainers.
- →The car park fills on fine weekends. Arrive early or walk out from town along the Dunbur Road.
