Exploring Ireland | Coastal Walks in Howth
As we flew over the lighthouse at Howth, I knew this would be one of those beautiful coastal places that we just has to visit.
If you're staying in Dublin city center, you can jump on the DART train (every 30 minutes) at Connolly station and take it direct to Howth. The tickets cost €12 euro return and the journey was only 25 minutes - with Howth being the last stop.
Before arriving, we used the free wifi on the train to check out the walking routes - which come in five colours routes of red, blue, green, purple. Each one tells you how long and how intensive the walk will be.
If you want to do the walk with a guide, then look out for a man named John (sounds a little bit weird I know) who will come around with maps on the train m, he runs the walks daily and will take you on the purple (longest route) to explore all of the cliffs, castles and lighthouses.
We decided to talk the red routine, which was around a 7k walk and lasted for 2 hours. This was a mixture of steep inclines, different paths and walks that cost pretty close to the cliff edges - but worth it non the less.
When taking any of these walks, I would highly recommend shoes with grips (I had my converse on), a warm jacket and a hat for the wind. Seriously, the wind is something else.
Please, if you do take this walk, be careful and focussed. There are warning signs all around - lots of people walk this routine, so it's safe, but you just need to be cautious.
But despite the constant blast of cold air hitting your face, the views and scenery definitely made up for it. Along the way, we also spotted the coloured (route) arrow checkpoints, along with a host of band stickers of famous people who had also done this walk.
Looking out onto the sea, I could help but feel a sense of calm and happiness. As me and Gaz chatted about life and silly things, we powered on through, until we reached the light house.
For us, we decided to cut back through in land and make our way back down into the harbour for some good old fish and chips.