Our Days in Dublin: Skellig Michael: The stairs

After doing a loop around the Little Skellig, we headed over to the Skellig Michael landing.

It was a bit awkward getting out and you had to be careful of the wet steps. The boat would lurch up and down as you were stepping out but the skipper was there to give us a hand.

Once off the boat you took a path up toward the other side of the rock.

Lynne on the wall heading up.

Our skipper heading out to fish while we explored the island.

Looking back at the wall and Little Skellig.

I'm just going to focus on the stairs on this post. Sorry, it'll be heavy on the picture and light on text, but I just want to get across the beauty of the island. I will take forward pictures and pictures looking back so you can get some perspective. What is astonishing is that the monastery was founded in the 6th century. It is impossible not to imagine the monks out on this island in the middle of the ocean working to build the stairs and living throughout the year in the cold and wet. Living the most simple and sublime of lives. They had three different ways up and down the island. Tourists now only use one of their sets of stairs up. I will show photos of another way down. There is a lighthouse on the north side of the island (we did not get to see it) and up until recently workers took shifts at the lighthouse. It is now automatic.

There are five guides that share duties on the island at the moment. They take two week shifts where they live in little portable houses, do work and receive tourists.

I would love to see what it would be like to live on the island for a bit.

After hearing a brief overview about the dangers of hiking up to the monastery by one of the guides, Lynne and I headed up.

First flight up.

View of first turn.

I think Lynne got a little frightened at this point. If you look down in front of her there is a very narrow path with a chain rope to hang on to. The path is also very wet. I have to admit that at that point I thought, if the path is anything like this at the top of the cliff, I'm turning around. You can see the guides' huts to Lynne's right. The lighthouse is around the island behind her.

Second turnaround and flight up.

Third switchback and flight up.

View from behind at this point. See the wall below and Little Skellig across.

This little rocky outcrop is called "The Wailing Woman."

A view of the wall from above.

Little Skellig

Fourth flight up.

Looking back.

Looking forward. Notice the little holes in the side of the grassy tufts? Those are puffin nests! There were loads of puffins in them as well. I guess the pairs take turns fishing and sitting on their eggs. Had we been there at night we would have seen them everywhere (I got to see a couple). In July, when they are feeding their chicks, they are in and out constantly.