Wicklow County Council has spent more than €116,000 on barriers to restrict use of the closed Bray-to-Greystones cliff path – though walkers often ignore them. The money has also been used for signage along the route, which officially closed in February 2021 due to erosion concerns. The 7km cliff walk, some 100ft above the coastal Dart line, offers sweeping coastal views. At the height of its popularity before Covid, it attracted about 300,000 walkers a year, many of them from abroad.However, the walk closed officially in 2021 after a landslide on the Greystones side, and a rockfall closer to Bray. The council erected timber barriers on the Greystones side along with signage pointing to an alternative route. A locked metal gate with palisade fencing was installed near the Bray end. [ ‘A national treasure’: Traffic steady on Bray to Greystones cliff walk four years after closureOpens in new window ]Figures released under Freedom of Information show the council spent more than €116,000 putting up and repairing barriers as well as on signage, machinery and workers’ wages. Most of the work was done by contractors retained by the council, but some was done by council staff.The money was spent between the official closure in February 2021 and March of this year. The figures, which have been seen by The Irish Times, were released to a supporter of the Friends of the Cliff Walk – a group campaigning to have the walk reopened. However, the closure has not fully deterred visitors, according to the group. Friends of the Cliff Walk recently reported it had facilitated passage along part of the closed walk during a Wicklow Head to Bray Head charity event held on Sunday, July 19th. [ County Council pours cold water on promising Bray-Greystones coastal path reportOpens in new window ]“Friends of the Cliff Walk lent a hand by shepherding participants safely past the two soft clay slippages above Greystones’ North Beach, which we had fenced off and marked with red and white tape, as well as spray-painting yellow ‘keep left’ arrows on to the ground on the approach to both,” it said in a statement. Wicklow County Council said it was “aware the Head to Head Charity Event was scheduled to take place on Sunday 19th July and had agreed that same would take place on the alternative route, as the Cliff Walk remains closed due to significant safety concerns”. “On this basis, Wicklow Civil Defence provided first aid cover and welfare support at designated checkpoints throughout the event. Wicklow Civil Defence did not accompany participants on foot, along the walking route at any stage.”The council said reports of the participants using part of the closed cliff walk were “currently being examined”.