Wicklow Mountain National Park, clifftop walking in Howth, live music in Dublin, and seafood and craft beer in the harbour at Skerries.
Most people would probably visit Dublin first, then head out to the surrounding countryside. I did the other way round because the real reason for my visit was to see my friend Lynne who lives in nearby Skerries. To save her having to take a day off, I planned to look around Dublin myself on the Monday, and keep Saturday and Sunday free for us to explore the countryside together.
Wicklow Mountains National Park
We started on Saturday with a 90 minute drive round to the south of Dublin to visit Wicklow Mountains National Park. We first knew it would be busy when the main car park was full, but for 5 euros we managed to get a space at a less official looking car park next door. When Lynne and the car parking attendant greeted each other, I assumed they must have met before. But no, that’s just how the Irish do friendly greetings…
We picked up a map for 50 cents at the visitor centre and then pushed and shoved our way a bit through all the Spanish/Italian/etc tour and school groups to the start of the 9km Spic and Glenealo Valley walk. The estimate of 3 hours was pretty accurate as there’s quite a bit of up and down, but nothing too technical (boardwalks, steps and clear paths). At the top we got some great views over the heather down to the lakes below. I even got a bit sunburnt.
At the 3.30pm end of our walk I thought we might have missed our lunch slot but Lynne reassured me that most places serve all day, so with the recommendation from the car parking attendant, we headed for the terrace at the Heather Wicklow Restaurant. Even at 4pm it was full but we managed to get a mini Guiness and enough food to keep us going.
Seafood in Skerries
A drive home and a quick shower and we were fighting fit again to walk down to the beach and along the harbour of Skerries. I really liked Skerries – it’s only a 40 minute (4.80 euro) train ride from Dublin but it’s a pretty fishing town with low pastel-coloured cottages and working fishing boats. There’s a good selection of pubs and restaurants too. Lynne (and the rest of the town it seemed) was very keen on going to Stoop Your Head. You can’t make reservations, and by the time we got there at about 7pm we were told they didn’t have any space.
So we decided to watch the sun set over the water with a pint in hand sat on the harbour wall, which started a conversation about how similar the area was to where I’m from. Skerries is the only place on the east coast of Ireland that you can watch the sun set over the sea, and my hometown Hunstanton is the only place on the east coast of England that you can do that…
After trying a couple of new Irish craft beers (Hop 13, Smithwick’s Red Ale) we decided to try our luck again at the seafood restaurant. And this time we got in – all be it on a little bar ledge in the corner but fine for our dinner of Dublin bay prawns, seabass, crab claws…and potatoes of course. On the way home we stopped at the Snug for that final beer that you always regret the next morning.
Walking the Howth Cliff Park
The next day we did a bit of a whistle stop tour, starting with another quick look at Skerries’ beach and coastline – including where the locals like to go swimming in the sea, even at Christmas. There’s a sign which proudly claims to be the first place St Patrick set foot in Ireland. We then went up to stately Ardgillan Castle, before driving onto Howth. When we arrived in the town it was pretty busy but we managed to navigate our way into a car parking space, and grabbed a bite to eat at a pub. Once refuelled we drove up to the start of our walk. Getting into that car park was even more of a challenge. We considered giving up a few times but we were locked into a loop and in the end found a space. The Irish tourist board must be doing something right.
We didn’t quite do the whole Cliff Path Loop, of which there are actually quite a few variations, but we walked along the cliff and back again, spending a good 3 hours taking in the sea views and crumbling cliffs edged by white pebbles and clear blue shallow water.
Live music in Dublin
We’d decided to try and find a (non touristy) pub in Dublin to listen to some live traditional music, and so came up with the Cobblestones via a friend of Lynne’s. The drive that was supposed to take only 30 minutes into Dublin ended up taking nearer to 90 thanks to a hurling match at Croke Park finishing just as we arrived. But the band were worth it – 3 violins, an old fashioned flute, and some uilleann pipes – accompanied by full pint of Guinness this time.
Kilmainham Gaol
I was surprised that there didn’t seem to be a ‘history of Ireland’ museum in Dublin, and given my sketchy knowledge, I was keen to at least try and grasp the main timeline. I’d read that the tour of Kilmainham Gaol was good, and so it was. It was an hour and cost 8 euros. I couldn’t walk in immediately (and this was on a Monday), so booking is probably a good idea, especially at the weekends. While I waited I looked around the museum, but I’m not good at looking at objects stuffed into glass cabinets, so I definitely thought the tour was the better part. The tour guide (although it took me a while to be able to understand his accent) was very engaging.
You wouldn’t really guess from looking at a map, but Kilmainham Gaol is a bit out of the centre of Dublin so I took the luas (tram) both ways as I don’t think walking it would have been sensible, especially with my increasingly useless ankle. A return same-day tram journey cost 4.80 euros, and the ride took me past the gigantic Guinness brewery so that was an extra bonus.
Irish ribeye and some Dublin sights
I’d been looking forward to my Irish ribeye from before I even set off, and I was not disappointed by my lunch at Beouf. Ok, maybe I was cheating to go to a French steak restaurant, but the beef was Irish, and hung for 28 days. I ordered a side of camembert and garlic gratin, tomato and pesto salad, and a glass of house red (which was huge). It all came to 30 euros. Unsurprisingly I didn’t need to eat the rest of the day.
After my lunch on the sun terrace the clouds came over a bit and I wandered around past the castle, Temple Bar, Trinity College and the main Grafton shopping street. By this stage my injured ankle was really starting to hurt and I was kind of ready to go and sit in an airport. I got the Airlink bus (7 euros) from Busaras bus station.
In summary, for me Dublin was a mini London. Happy I saw it, but nothing out of the ordinary (at least for me). It was the coastline, mountains, lakes, seafood and friendly Irish that left me far more interested in returning to this country. Seeing Lynne’s photos of Cork, this has to be the next place I’d visit in Ireland.