Eight kilometres of vertical Atlantic cliff rising 214 metres at their highest point, on the western edge of County Clare. On a clear day you can see the Aran Islands, Galway Bay, and the Twelve Bens of Connemara. On most days you can see the wind. The cliffs host one of Ireland’s biggest seabird colonies — puffins, razorbills, kittiwakes, fulmars — between April and July.

A signature stop on the Wild Atlantic Way, with a discreet visitor centre dug into the hillside and a path running along the cliff edge to O’Brien’s Tower (built 1835).

Pro tip: walk south from the main viewpoint for 20-30 minutes — the bus crowds thin dramatically and you get the best views back over the cliff face. Mind the wind near the edge; it can be genuinely dangerous.