The weather was marvelous when I started my day trip to Howth. I have been there several times before, but I never did the cliff walk. Having been told that it is a wonderful walk and considering the fact that I am fed up with the city and the traffic, I took the Dart to Howth station and intended walking around the island and boarding the train back then.
I couldn't resist the smell of fresh fish, I loved the view of seagulls circling over some ships, so I took a left turn and walked into the harbour first. It was extremely windy, but the view to Ireland's Eye spectacular.
When returning to the inner harbor, I met a crowd of people watching the water. And seals watching us back, feeding time for them... The seemed very interested in us and some of them didn't really eat, but just watch as back with their big black eyes.
I finally started my walk and headed towards the hills. There are a lot of nice houses along the coast, some less monumental than others, but still... this view!
I climbed up the hill. The wind was chilly and strong, the paths were murky and wet and slippery, but the view...!
The path is close to the cliffs, the hills are covered with soft grass and broom bushes. A lot of walker were out there with me, some tourists, but mainly Irish who enjoyed their walk around the island.
In the far distance I spotted a lighthouse. I tried to keep to the paths, but every now and then I had to climb up the hill (that's probably why all my muscles are hurting...). When you arrive at the lighthouse, it is of course closed to the public and you can spot a very narrow path leading around the wall, but it was too narrow for me and the cliff too close, so that I didn't even attempt to pass...
Instead of choosing the cliff walk again, I followed the main route. But after a very short while I got so annoyed by all this noisy cars passing me and the smell of traffic, that I took the first opportunity to return into the woods and back to the cliffs.
What I didn't know at that time nor expect, was that the road conditions got worse. I even met some English women who confirmed that it only would get worse. They were right. It sometimes was even impossible to not jump into a water-filled hole in order to follow the pass. I had to walk along the path clinging to walls (if available) or bushes (thorny broom bushes or worse). So no wonder, that my hands look very interesting now. Needless to say that it was entirely worth the hassle!
And then I found it, the perfect house. A tiny cottage with sea view and access to the beach... The wall was done with shells!
Caves are nearby... and even a small river...
"The view" to Dublin Bay... and a nice place to hide directly on a nearby beach...
But for whom a small cottage might not be comfortable enough, there are other options available... For example this nice lighthouse shaped tower, currently under renovations, (not to mention the Georgion mansion nearby, but we won't get greedy, won't we?) and of course these other nice coloured beach front houses...
I had arrived in Sutton. After an almost 5 hours walk, I did not really feel like walking back to Howth (up the hill again), instead I returned to Sutton station and waited for my train back while the sun set.
