The walk
Erris Head (Irish: Ceann Iorrais) is the northernmost tip of the Mullet Peninsula, and its north-facing cliffs are among the most exposed in the country. There’s no road to the point. A small car park at the edge of the fields marks the start of the Erris Head Loop Walk, a 5 km circuit of about two hours that follows an old earth bank around the headland, waymarked the whole way.
The total ascent is only about 70 m, so this is an easy walk in dry weather and a boggy one after rain. A short wooden footbridge crosses a stream early on, and a few stiles take you across fenced fields. If you only have twenty minutes to spare, walk the first stretch as far as the railed viewing point: it looks out over Illandavuck Island, Pigeon Rock and the sea arches gouged into the cliffs below, and it’s the best single view on the loop.
Note that dogs aren’t allowed on the trail.
The wartime lookout
The headland was a watching post during the Second World War. Along the route you pass the remains of the marine and coastguard service lookout, and, cut into the ground beside it, the large letters ÉIRE 62 – one of more than 80 markers laid around the Irish coast in 1942 and 1943 so that pilots could identify the land below as neutral Ireland. Erris Head is still a working landmark: mariners and weather forecasters use it as a reference point, and it lends its name to sea areas in the shipping forecast.
Wildlife
The cliffs are a breeding ground for fulmars, great black-backed gulls, peregrine falcons and the red-legged chough. In summer you may see gannets and guillemots hunting offshore; in winter, barnacle geese graze the grasslands and Irish hares dart across the heath. On a calm day seals, common dolphins and harbour porpoises surface close in below the cliffs.
The ground itself is a mix of dry heath, wet flushes and grassy slope, holding juniper, bearberry and crowberry on the drier parts and, in the wet ground, blunt-flowered rush and three species of sundew. The marsh helleborine orchid flowers in late summer. Spring and autumn bring passage migrants, so this is a rewarding stretch for anyone carrying binoculars.
A marine reserve extends 200 m out from the base of the cliffs, and the headland itself is a Special Area of Conservation under the EU Habitats Directive.
Practical information
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Access | No public road reaches the point. From the R313, turn off about 4 km north of Belmullet and follow signs to the Erris Head Loop Walk car park. |
| Parking | Small car park with room for around 11 cars. Come early on summer weekends. |
| Trail length | About 5 km (3.1 mi); 1.5–2 hours at an easy pace, 70 m of ascent. |
| Surface | Grass and compacted earth, boggy after rain; a wooden footbridge and a few stiles. |
| Facilities | Portaloos and a seasonal coffee truck are often at the car park; the nearest shops and toilets are in Belmullet, about 9.5 km south. |
| Dogs | Not allowed on the trail. |
| Admission | Free. |
| Accessibility | Uneven ground, stiles and a footbridge; not suitable for wheelchairs. |
| Safety | The cliffs are sheer and unfenced. Keep back from the edge, and stay on the marked path if mist comes in – visibility drops fast here. |
Getting there
By car from Belmullet, take the R313 north for about 4 km, then follow the local signs. The simplest way to find the start is to search ‘Erris Head Loop Walk’ on Google Maps, which drops you straight at the car park; there’s no other road onto the headland, and public transport reaches Belmullet but no further. After the walk, Benwee Head and the Inishkea Islands are the natural next stops along this coast.