Arch and Walling, The Gobbins Cliff Path, Gransha Townland, Islandmagee, Larne, Co Antrim

The Gobbins Cliff Path, developed between 1900 and 1919, was originally conceived as a tourist attraction and presented significant engineering challenges. The path itself is a partially rock-cut and concrete walkway that follows the base of the Gobbins cliffs. The entrance is marked by a rock-cut archway bearing the inscription ‘The Gobbins’, locally known as ‘Wise’s Eye’ after the engineer, Berkley D. Wise. Some fragments of the original ironwork safety railings remain, but most have been lost, and the path is now derelict and unsafe for extended exploration.

The initial 1.6-kilometre section was completed in 1902 for the visit of the British Association, with extensions added in 1908. The path closed in 1940 due to maintenance issues and reopened in 1951 before its definitive closure in 1961 following landslides that damaged much of the structure. Wise’s original plan was for the path to stretch 5.15 kilometres to Heddles Point, but it ultimately reached only 3.15 kilometres and functioned as a dead-end. The distinctive tubular metal bridges connecting the ‘Man O’War’s Stack’ to the main path, one measuring almost 21 metres in length, were fabricated in Belfast and transported to the site by barge before being laboriously lifted into place. The site is now recorded as derelict.