325-Step Stairway To Cliff Walk Heaven?

A GG mockup

o one knows quite sure who suggested the idea in the first place (Eugene Finnegan being a contender), but one of the solutions to our never-ending Cliff Walk debacle was apparently a ruddy great big stairway.

One running from the North Beach right up to a choice viewing spot along the walk.

Nollaig’s nugget

It would be 325 steps in total at a height of roughly 58 metres, and we reckon the logical next step would be two ziplines, one to take you back to Greystones, and the other right into The Harbour Bar.

Or maybe we can bring the Bray chairlift out of retirement? Nollaig Wilson still has one of the original seats in his garage.

The 325-step proposal was revealed following a Freedom Of Information Act request from the Social Democrats, the engineering records for the Bray to Greystones Cliff Walk repairs also putting the timeframe for such a radical solution at four years.

Which sounds about right, given the pace of action when it comes to reopening one of the entire country’s finest seafront hikes. The estimated cost of €350,000 also sounds about right.

Arranmore Island

Halfway up the steps would be a resting point, at the old railway cutting, where you can hopefully buy some smelling salts. All sponsored by Halfway Up The Stairs, of course.

Besides the cost of such a move, the engineers also pointed out that there were other challenges, including stepping within the Bray Head Special Area of Conservation, and the fact that much of the lower cliff face was made up of unstable soil slopes that have a habit of slip slidin’ away.

Also worth noting, they said, was the fact that the North Beach was particularly exposed to ‘wave action’.

The original plan had been to have the steps start at Marina Park, but storm damage earlier in the year changed the focus to the end of the North Beach. A hike in itself.

Oh, and the engineers stated that the steps couldn’t be used during high tide.

With no final design confirmed, natural stone or precast concrete have been considered, with wood and metal alternatives also on the list for the eco-conscious. And those happy to keep maintaining the steps.

In the meantime, Wicklow County Council are still advising people to stay the feck away from The Cliff Walk, closed now for a staggering five agus a half years.

You can find out more about recent Cliff Walk shenanigans here, explore its history here, and check out Friends of The Cliff Walk here.