There are a myriad of things that endear my native Dublin to me, including that it hugs the coast and that as it’s small nowhere in the city or county is very far distant from the sea.
I love the sea it in its many incarnations: from tumultuous, atmospheric, wildness when giant waves somersault against the rocks spouting spray in their wake, to serene scenes when the waves are white lace-edged and lap as softly as gently falling snow against the shoreline.
But when it comes to walking by the sea I tend to tread certain familiar routes so I was glad of a nudge, to change my habit-laden ways, from virtual friend and fellow blogger Team Gloria who mentioned she had a yen, because her biological father lived there in the 1950’s, to see some pictures of Howth. So, off I went the Sunday before last to the fishing and yatching village which is at the northern limit of Dublin Bay.
I don’t know Howth well, I doubt that I have visited it more than half a dozen times so its history, geography and topography are a bit of a mystery to me. However it does strike me that it has three distinct parts: the residential hill, the bustling commercial harbour and the thriving village with its winding streets.
I had never walked the cliff path skirting Howth Head before so that seemed like a good thing to do when I arrived. And very rewarding said walk was. The views across the bay are spectacular – despite it being a grey day, I could see the distant misty Wicklow mountains. Other parts of the cliff walk weren’t so picturesque as sections looked like an ideal setting for a post-apocalypse dystopian movie – obviously due to the gorse fires which raged on Howth Head this summer. But there were lots of compensatory mounds of pretty heathers.
Walk over, I headed to the village in search of a late lunch, there are a plethora of restaurants and cafes in Howth and not knowing which might be best I picked the tapas bar at Ivan’s as it looked interesting being set at the back of a shop and adjacent to the main restaurant. It wasn’t absolute culinary magnificence but I had a decent enough tapas-sized plate of fish and chips followed by crème brûlée
After lunch I spent some time exploring the harbour, it’s very much a working harbour evidenced by the large number of seriously kitted out fishing boats moored there.
I walked to the end of the pier to get a closer view of the lighthouse.
On the way back I saw a trawler unload its catch.
There were birds everywhere …
Apologies for any typos I missed, I am tired and need to get some sleep as I am up at four thirty to catch a flight. On that note I won’t be accessing the blog for the next ten days so if you are kind enough to leave a comment it won’t be approved until I return.
Just Add Attitude 
Lovely tour around Howth. Have a good trip 🙂
Thanks Suzanne, Howth is a great spot. I am back home now and the trip was good. 😉
Lovely to be introduced to some of the Dublin area. Safe and happy travels wherever you are 🙂
Thanks for your good wishes for my trip, I am back now and after a few days it already seems a distant memory. 😉
This sounds like a lovely town! Being landlocked in the Midwest I always enjoy a trip to the coast where I can eat some fresh seafood. The shrimp in your picture look like they are ready to jump into my skillet!
I am not sure where those shrimps were heading – for export maybe? I would love to have scooped up a few handfuls of them – fresh from the boat to the pan. Yummy.
Oh!oh!oh! Thank you! Felt like we were walking with you all wrapped up in wool coats and scarves and hats and irish eyes. Delicious.
You’re welcome. I was glad of the nudge to visit Howth as it is such a lovely spot. 😉
Lovely. We went to Ireland’s Eye in July, and I’m a bit sad that we didn’t have much time to explore Howth itself.
July must have been a lovely time to visit Ireland’s Eye as the weather was so glorious this summer. I hope you enjoyed your Irish trip.
Very nice post, B: I liked reading about Howth and looking at your very nice photographs – I particularly liked the opening shot, as well as those depicting the lighthouse and the shrimp.
And, as you know, I definitely share your fascination for the sea! 🙂
Hope you had an enjoyable trip.
All the very best 🙂
Stefano
Thanks Stefano for your compliment on the pictures. Yes, I had a good time on my trip – it was a ‘holiday’ of a very different kind, no wine with ‘dinner’ for example. ;)! I will be writing about it on the blog soon.
There’s something about the sea that once it seeps into your soul is hard nay impossible to shake off.
All the best B
What a lovely post, B.!!! I love the pictures (especially the one with the two boats) and Howth seems such a nice and peaceful place. The perfect location to spend the winter in a sort of hibernation and get ready for a very active spring and summer … totally my kind of place! 🙂
Thanks Francesca, Howth is a lovely place and despite lots of people walking around the cliff path on the Sunday I was there it felt peaceful. 😉
It must be so nice to know that you’re never far from the water – beautiful pictures!
Thank Meg and yes being close to the sea is one of the beauties of living in Dublin.
Waht a beautiful post, B.! I especially love the first photo, a beautiful eyecatcher. We stayed in gorgeous Dublin fpr “only” 2 weeks last year and didn’t find time to see Howth. I’m really sorry about this, but then again … we’ll have to come back! 🙂
Glad to see you had a nice vacation. 🙂
Enjoy your weekend, B.
Dina
Thank you Dina for your nice comment. I hope you get back to Dublin someday …
I had a good, but different type, of holiday.
With good wishes and I hope you all enjoy the rest of the weekend. 😉 😉