A new lobby group, which will spearhead the campaign to reopen a scenic 5 km cliff walk between Bray and Greystones, will be launched today.
The walk, which opened in 1861, has been a casualty of costal erosion, particularly on the Bray side, and has been closed officially for three years. However, every weekend hundreds of walkers ignore signs erected by Wicklow County Council and set out on the scenic cliff walk.
The new group, Friends of the Cliff Walk, will campaign to have the path made safe and reopened as soon as possible, according to Cllr George Jones from Greystones.
Proposals for the reopening of the walk will be unveiled tomorrow afternoon by a joint committee representing Wicklow County Council, Bray Town Council and Greystones Town Council, Cllr Jones said.
Talks are underway with two landowners with a view to purchasing some land to reroute the walk away from the more dangerous sections of the cliff edge, he added.
These proposals and other plans will be discussed at the Friends of the Cliff Walk public meeting this evening.
In the long term, plans need to be developed to maximise the potential of the route, such as integrating it into a walk from Killiney to Wexford, similar to the Wicklow Way, Mr Jones said.
With the dramatic views it offers, the cliff walk should be regarded as one of the most spectacular walks anybody visiting Ireland could take, according to Cllr John Ryan, Bray. More than 400 people use the cliff walk every weekend and it was ridiculous it had remained officially closed for so long, Cllr Ryan said. The walk had not been been maintained and as a result sections were dangerous, he added.
Proper funding for the maintenance of the walk needed to be secured, as well as the development of a promotion strategy to integrate it into wider Wicklow tourism plans, Mr Ryan said.
The Friends of the Cliff Walk will hold inaugural meetings today in La Touche Hotel, Greystones, at 8 p.m., and in the Heather House Hotel, Bray, on Wednesday at 8 p.m.