The Cliffs of Insanity: where The Princess Bride (and Harry Potter) filmed in Ireland

The Cliffs of Insanity are one of the best-remembered places in The Princess Bride: a sheer wall of rock above the sea, a rope, a giant hauling three people up it, and a man in black climbing after them. The real cliffs are in Ireland. They’re the Cliffs of Moher, on the Atlantic coast of County Clare. Below: where the Cliffs of Insanity are, what was actually filmed there, how the Harry Potter connection really works, and how to see the cliffs yourself. Along the way we’ll sort out a few claims that get repeated online and aren’t right. (Inconceivable, we know.)

Where are the Cliffs of Insanity?

The Cliffs of Insanity come from William Goldman’s 1973 novel and Rob Reiner’s 1987 film, which Goldman wrote. On screen, they’re the Cliffs of Moher in County Clare, on the west coast of Ireland, between Liscannor and Doolin. The official Cliffs of Moher site lists The Princess Bride among the films shot there, “where they were depicted as the Cliffs of Insanity.”

The real cliffs run for about 14 km and reach 214 meters (702 feet) at their highest point, just north of O’Brien’s Tower. Taller than they look on screen, if anything.

What happens at the Cliffs of Insanity

In the story, the hired kidnappers Vizzini, Inigo Montoya and Fezzik have taken Princess Buttercup by boat. To shake off the ship following them, they reach the Cliffs of Insanity, and Fezzik, the giant, climbs a rope up the cliff with Buttercup, Vizzini and Inigo hanging on to him. The Man in Black climbs the rope behind them and gains on them. At the top, Vizzini cuts the rope, and the Man in Black keeps climbing by hand. Inigo waits for him at the top, and their sword fight on the cliff top follows.

Vizzini’s word in the scene, “inconceivable,” is its best-known line.

Character	Actor
Westley (the Man in Black)	Cary Elwes
Buttercup	Robin Wright
Inigo Montoya	Mandy Patinkin
Fezzik	André the Giant
Vizzini	Wallace Shawn

Where were the Cliffs of Insanity filmed?

Here’s what the sources actually support, and where the common claims go wrong.

Claim you’ll see online	What the sources say
”The Cliffs of Insanity were filmed at the Cliffs of Moher.”	True for the establishing shot. Wikipedia’s article on the film says: “The establishing shot of the Cliffs of Insanity was the Cliffs of Moher."
"The cast climbed the Cliffs of Moher.”	Not supported. No source we found says the actors climbed or performed on the Cliffs of Moher.
”The ruins at the top of the cliff are at the Cliffs of Moher.”	No. Movie Locations says the ruins at the top of the cliffs were built in the studio.
”The Princess Bride was filmed in Ireland.”	Only partly. The film was shot in England and Ireland in summer and autumn 1986, and most locations are in England.

So the honest answer: the cliffs you see in the wide shot are the Cliffs of Moher in County Clare, and other parts of the sequence, including the ruins at the top, were made in the studio. Don’t go looking for the ruins. They were never there.

The rest of The Princess Bride: English locations

According to Wikipedia, most of the film was shot in England:

Location	Scene
Lathkill Dale, Derbyshire	The battle of wits
Cave Dale, Castleton, Derbyshire	Listed as a location
Bradley Rocks and Robin Hood’s Stride, Birchover, Derbyshire	Listed as locations
Haddon Hall, Bakewell, Derbyshire	Listed as a location
Shepperton Studios, Surrey	The framing story, the last scenes filmed

The Cliffs of Moher in Harry Potter

The Cliffs of Moher are also in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009). The official Cliffs of Moher site says they were “featured in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince when Harry and Dumbledore ventured into the cave.”

This is the other place where claims get muddled. What the sources say:

• The cliffs are real. The towering cliffs behind Harry and Dumbledore are the Cliffs of Moher, according to the official site and The Irish Road Trip.
• The rock they stand on isn’t at Moher. The Irish Road Trip and Third Eye Traveller both say it was Lemon Rock, a small island near the Skellig Islands off County Kerry, combined digitally with the cliffs. The Skelligs themselves weren’t used.
• The actors weren’t on the rock. Third Eye Traveller says Daniel Radcliffe and Michael Gambon were added digitally, for safety, and their scene was most likely filmed on a set.
• The cave interior was a set.

And the rock isn’t the Branaunmore sea stack, the 67-meter stack below O’Brien’s Tower, whatever the boat-trip chatter says. We found no reliable source linking Branaunmore to the film, and the sources above identify the rock as Lemon Rock.

Other films shot at the Cliffs of Moher

The official site also lists Ryan’s Daughter, Leap Year, Into the West (1992), Hear My Song and The Mackintosh Man among the films that used the cliffs. Our main Cliffs of Moher guide has the full list, plus tickets and walks.

The Cliffs of Insanity and romance readers

The Princess Bride is a fairy-tale romance: true love, a kidnapped princess, a masked hero and a sword fight on a cliff top. The Cliffs of Moher have their own, much older stories. The official myths page tells of a mermaid who married a fisherman after he hid her magic cloak, and of the witch Mal, who chased the hero Cú Chulainn down this coast and fell to her death on the rocks; the rocks at Hag’s Head are said to show her profile. If you like your romance with a fairy-tale edge, our guides to the best romantasy books and fae romance books are the next stop.

How to see the Cliffs of Insanity

From the cliff top. The Cliffs of Moher Experience is open year-round (8am–9pm from May to August, as of November 2026). Book online; the adult gate rate is €15 in 2026, and 2027 online rates start at €9 off-peak. The ticket includes parking, the exhibition and O’Brien’s Tower. Check the official admission page for current prices.

From the sea. Doolin Ferry Co runs cruises of about an hour from Doolin Pier under the cliffs and past the Branaunmore sea stack, according to Discover Ireland. This is the closest you’ll get to Fezzik’s view, looking up from a boat.

On foot. Parts of the coastal path are closed as of August 2026. Check our Cliffs of Moher guide for what’s open before you plan a walk.

The Cliffs of Insanity on our trip

On our Midsummer in the Burren trip in June 2028, the trip page describes a 3-hour walk with a local farmer from Doolin up to the Cliffs of Moher from the quiet end, with the cliffs’ legends of the mermaid of Moher and Hag’s Head along the way. And yes, these are the Cliffs of Insanity. Before the trip, from January to May 2028, the group reads fae romance and Irish myth and watches films together online.