Forty Shades of Green on Google Street View
Not only the number of meeting variants is constantly growing, their degree of creativity increases as well. Ranging from the regular office get-together to the classical congress, popular in-between solutions like BarCamps, Open Spaces, casual World Cafés, Brownbag Sessions and whatnot, have been sprouting in mushroom-like fashion, only to be accompanied – or replaced – by the next unconventional novelty at the wink of an eye. But what if there isn’t time for an exchange face-to-face and/or the cost for it is unwarranted? In that case, one might want to opt for a virtual meeting instead. And, for the sake of the concept’s purity: Why not enhance it with a stressless, equally virtual „fringe programme“? An „excursion“ to the Cliffs of Moher on Ireland’s west coast could be a rewarding experience.
Latitude: 52.9714578 - Longitude: -9.4247540
Rising 702 ft above the wild Atlantic Ocean, The Cliffs of Moher offer a breathtaking view to the Aran Islands and beyond. Not only those afraid of heights oftentimes choose to scan the area flat on their bellies. More than 30,000 pairs of seabirds are nesting here between April and July and the sea mammals stomping in the rough waters below include whales, sharks, seals and – if the sea is calm – dolphins. And do watch out for those goats when strolling to Hags Head on high grounds!
Nature’s top model: a Puffin.
An Irish collection of scenic images by Google Street View
Google’s Street View Trekker Loan is a pilot programme that invites organisations across the globe to help capture imagery of places hard to reach. Lay trekkers may borrow the equipment to document some of the world’s most scenic locations during their travels.
The Co Clare Local Development Company has become the first organisation to partner with this programme in Ireland. Now the picturesque scenery can be explored conveniently via phone, tablet or computer. The Cliffs of Moher trail is a 12 kilometre coastal walk linking the towns of Liscannor and Doolin – partly following spectacular cliff-top pathways.
Dating back at least two thousand years, many myths and legends were concocted around the Cliffs, whereas in real life, they served as a congenial lookout, an exploitable quarry, as abundant fishing grounds and for collecting eggs and feathers and, in the course of the years, have become a magnetic tourist attraction plus a sought-after filming location for a series of popular movies. The international trailer for Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince, for instance, features sequences shot at the Cliffs.
21 hours of footage in total was collected from six key trails covering 46 kilometres. The project was made possible by Clare County Council, National Parks and Wildlife Service, Failte Ireland, Shannon Development supported by local farmers providing access to their land.
The Lahinch Golf Club was founded in 1893.
Realtime preferred?
Now that you have been inspired by Ireland’s beauty virtually, no less than the real thing seems adequate? Here’s how to get to the cliffs:
The closest airport is Shannon International approximately 50 minutes by road. It has direct connections from USA (New York, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia) and mainland Europe (London, Edinburgh, Manchester, Liverpool, Paris, Berlin, Munich, Nice, Poitiers, Warsaw, Faro, Krakow and more). Airlines serving Shannon Airport include Ryanair, Aer Lingus, Delta Airlines, United Airlines, US Airways and Air Transat. To/from Galway or Limerick it takes 1.5 hours by road. Dublin is 3,5 hours away.
www.ireland.com
Meeting planners may want to roam this site: www.meetinireland.com
A wealth of visual appetisers showing Irish destinations and venues is to be had on
All photos courtesy of ©Tourism Ireland Imagery.