I was recently in Dublin for the college football kick-off game of Notre Dame vs. Navy (Go Irish!). The weather was lovely, the Guinness was smooth, and the company was pleasant. A friend suggested a coastal hike in Howth, a peninsula just to the East of center Dublin. I’d never heard of the area but sounded like a fun activity so we took the Dart Train to it’s end point in Howth.
The hike was an absolute stand-out of the trip and I’d highly recommend to anyone visiting Dublin. I really like having some physical activity each day when traveling, so it was a great pair with a night out in the pubs. There are a few different options for the Howth Coastal Walk and we did the longest, a full circle hike beginning and ending at the Howth Dart (Train) station in the main commercial area on the North side of the peninsula. There are a number of way-finding signs to get you started from the train station and once on the route it’s pretty apparent which way to go. The total was 7.5 miles, about 1,000 feet elevation gain, and took about 3.5 hours. The ocean was in view for the entire hike, as well as views of Dublin, some large sheep grazing, and a rolling golf course. There were a couple of spots to stop and jump in the ocean, which was about 60 degrees, but we didn’t take a dip – I wish we would have looking back now.
All in all a great half day activity in central Dublin. 5 stars.
