Mizen Head Cork
Mizen Head marks the southwesternmost point of mainland Ireland and has been the first or last piece of Ireland seen by generations of travellers crossing the Atlantic. The headland reaches into the Atlantic Ocean from the far end of the Mizen Peninsula in west County Cork, a position that has made it both a navigational landmark of crucial importance and one of the most dramatically beautiful coastal locations in Ireland. The cliffs at Mizen Head drop to the sea from heights of over 45 metres, the dark red sandstone faces pounded by Atlantic swells that have been building across thousands of kilometres of open ocean. The power and scale of the waves here during winter storms is genuinely astonishing, and even on calmer summer days the surge and suck of the water through the sea caves and gullies below the cliffs creates a sound of impressive elemental force. The rugged coastal scenery here is characteristic of the west Cork coast at its most dramatic. The lighthouse station at Mizen Head was established in 1910 and the signal station, originally built to house fog horns and signalling equipment, has been converted into a visitor centre that tells the story of maritime navigation in this treacherous corner of the Irish coast. A dramatic pedestrian suspension bridge spanning the gorge that separates the lighthouse rock from the mainland allows visitors to cross to the lighthouse and signal station, providing a vantage point from which the full drama of the Atlantic coast can be appreciated. The visitor centre contains exhibits about the history of the lighthouse service, the geology of the headland and the wildlife of the surrounding waters. Chough, a red-billed member of the crow family now rare in Ireland, can often be seen along the clifftops, and seabirds including gannets, razorbills and guillemots use the cliffs during the breeding season. Grey seals are regularly spotted in the coves below. Mizen Head is the most westerly point on the Wild Atlantic Way, the long-distance touring route that follows the Irish Atlantic coast from Donegal to Cork. Its location at the extreme southwest of Ireland and the clarity of light that characterises the far west make it a destination that rewards photography at almost any time of year.