Copper Coast – cliffs, coves and mines

Overview

The Copper Coast was declared a European Geopark in 2001, taken into the UNESCO Global Geoparks Network in 2004, and redesignated a UNESCO Global Geopark in 2015. It runs along the County Waterford coastline, described variously as Tramore to Dungarvan or, more strictly, Fenor to Stradbally, with the boundary reaching inland as far as Dunhill.

The rock tells a long story: volcanic activity in the Ordovician period, some 460 million years ago, laid down the felsic rocks, and later seas added the reddish sandstones and conglomerates you see in the cliffs. What gives the coast its name and its ruins, though, is the copper the Victorians pulled out of the ground here. If you have half a day, build it around the Tankardstown engine houses above Bunmahon.

The coast road and the geosites

Skip the inland N25 and take the R675, the winding coast road that threads the geosites together. Use the geopark’s visitor map to find the designated stops and parking. Highlights along the way:

• Kilfarrasy Beach: a broad bay backed by layered cliffs and rock stacks.
• Dunhill Castle and the Anne Valley Walk: the castle ruins sit on a rise above the River Anne. The Anne Valley route links Dunhill and Annestown through wetland and woodland, a flat, gravelled walk away from the cliffs.
• Annestown Beach: a sheltered horseshoe cove with a cliff path to quieter Benvoy Beach and its rock pools.
• Tankardstown engine houses: the emblem of the whole coast. These roofless stone shells housed the steam engines that pumped water from the copper mines below, worked until the 1870s. View the buildings from the designated public areas and keep out of old workings and roofless structures.
• Trá na mBó: ‘the strand of the cows’, a cove near Bunmahon with copper streaks in the rock. Follow beach notices, and stay clear of caves and tidal channels.
• Stradbally Cove: a calm inlet where a small river meets the sea below copper-tinged cliffs.

Look out too for the Pipes of Badbh at Knockmahon, a striking columnar rock feature, along with dolmens, promontory forts and ogham stones scattered inland.

Mining heritage and the visitor centre

The centre of the geopark is the Copper Coast Geopark Visitor Centre in Bunmahon, in the restored Knockmahon Church (also called Monksland Church). It carries a Geological and Mining Heritage Exhibition. The displays explain how 19th-century prospectors followed mineral veins to the surface and brought Cornish miners to the area in numbers before the last workings closed in the 1870s.

The visitor centre operates seasonally, so check its current opening before making it your first stop. Guided walks on the geology and industrial archaeology are listed on the geopark’s website.

Getting around

The R675 is narrow and slow, but it is the route that reaches the main geosites. Allow a full day if you want to combine the drive with walks. The coastal stops are spread out, so check current bus times if you are travelling to Bunmahon and plan how you will reach each stop.

For cyclists, the traffic-free Waterford Greenway runs inland from Dungarvan to Waterford City. It makes a fine ride, but it does not follow the coast road. Keep back from cliff edges at all times.

Practical information

Nearby attractions

• Ardmore cliff walk – a sea-cliff route with an early monastic site above the village. (Ardmore, Ardmore cliff walk)
• Dungarvan Castle – a 13th-century fortress over the harbour. (Dungarvan Castle)
• Ballyquin Strand – a beach near Dungarvan. (Ballyquin Strand)
• Brownstown Head – a low headland with wide Atlantic views. (Brownstown Head)

Pick up a visitor map before you set off, and follow the signs and notices at each stop.