Dublin Day 2: Walking the Irish coast

December 3, 2018

On my second (and last) full day in Dublin, I wanted to get out of the city.

After breakfast I hopped on the DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transit) train south, and off we went. Most people got off at one of the Dublin city stops, I stayed on all the way to the end of the line.

We went along the coast, which gave some spectacular views, and not so spectacular photos through the train window.

Looking back at Dublin harbor

Coming around this bend was particularly nice.

I got off in Bray, a little seaside town. It was getting sunnier as the clouds burned off, but was still chilly.

A nice rocky beach that reminded me of home

I walked along the beach, headed for the south end, and the hill of Bray Head.

That's where the cliff walk started. 6km would put me in the town of Greystones.

Destination: giant hill

It had a nice paved walkway to follow.

20 minutes along the path there was the ruins of some old walkway, and a path going up to the top of the hill to the cross.

Starting my ascent

I took it and found myself hiking up a super steep hillside with wet rocks and ferns.

The view off the side of the town or ocean was worth it though.

And at the top was the cross, and Irish countryside.

A path went south towards Greystones. I couldn't quite decide if it was a public path or if I had climbed my way into private property and was now walking along someone's farm road. Either way, it was really pretty.

There were hills.

And cows.

And I could see the cliff side path way down below me. Since I now had Irish hill views and was still going the right way, I wasn't very motivated to climb back down the path.

Presently I came to a little gate with a handwritten sign for Graystones.

It was basically just at the top of another cliff, so I had a little climbing down to do. That brought me to the lower path once again.

Before I did so, I added a cairn to the collection at the top.

The rest of the walk felt more like a stroll through the woods. 

Still going the right way I guess

Looking back from whence I came

In Greystones I had a crepe at a small cafe, got mistaken for being French, then found the DART station to head back north.

I hopped off again halfway there to walk around the harbor at Dun Laoghaire. Give that your best attempt to pronounce. (It's actually Dun Leary)

They have a pretty marina with lighthouses at the end of both jettys. I walked out to the close one.

The marina

Very windy, but very pretty.

I headed back to Dublin and spent my last little bit of daylight looking at some of the famous Georgian doors, a specific style of architecture and usually painted fun colors.

For dinner I found beef and Guinness stew, and a ginger beer that was delightful.

I was a bit worried since I dislike Guinness. Luckily the stew tasted like good stew, not beer.

I had an early morning flight and tired feet, so I skipped the crazy bars. I'll go once more on my way back home.

Verdict for Day 2: Success