Along the west coast of Ireland, about an hour's drive from Limerick, stand the Cliffs of Moher. These sheer cliffs rise as much as 600 feet straight out of the sea, offering a dizzying view straight down to anyone courageous enough to belly up to the edge.
It's all quite safe, of course, unless you do something stupid. From the parking lot, there's a walkway with a barrier to keep you away from harm and many people get enough of a view walking the half-mile of so to the gift shop/tower to the north.
However, if you want to climb over the fence, past the 'do not go beyond this point' type signs and walk south along the cliffs, we've been told its permitted though not encouraged. According to our source, the walk along the cliffs is part of the Burren Way hiking path and continues a full three miles further, to Hag's Head.
Naturally, we had to explore this. To one side, the cliffs; to the other, pastures with grazing cows. The path did get uncomfortably close to the edge in places . . . most uncomfortably where the ground was a bit wet and muddy . . . but it was wonderful to get away from the milling crowds on the main walkway to experience the wild wind, occasional salt spray (blown 600 feet up from the waves below!) and sounds of the sea birds