Howth

The train back to Dublin was fairly full, possibly Dubliners returning after a weekend. I would continue to Belfast the next morning. I didn't want to do both journeys the same day in case a delay or cancellation threw a spanner into the works. I would spend a night in a hotel near Dublin Connolly station. In the afternoon I would visit Howth. The DART station for this is also conveniently Connolly. It was an expensive overnight, but my last days in Dublin would be in cheaper student accommodation.

After reaching Dublin Heuston and catching the Luas to Connolly, I grabbed a Thai lunch nearby. It was alright but not as good as Thai food in Australia. A sign of cutting corners is when they bulk it out with onion or cabbage.

I rested until the afternoon, then went to Connolly to catch the DART to Howth. I wasted time looking for it. It actually departed from a spur platform.

You may recall that Howth was the first piece of Ireland I laid eyes on from the plane when arriving. Now I was seeing it from ground level. The island you see in the distance is Ireland's Eye, an uninhabited island and bird conservation area.

A zoom shot of Ireland's Eye.

Looking towards the lighthouse on the longer curved east pier. We are on the west pier. The piers enclose the harbour like pincers.

The enclosed harbour.

A panorama:

The hill that backs the harbour and the houses of the affluent on it.

A somewhat bulgy panorama of the hill:

The west pier is lined with seafood restaurants.

You can also buy fresh seafood.

People enjoying their meal.

Beshoff's is one of the well-known establishments.

The shots are against the light, so a bit hazy.

Now the main street of Howth, the Howth Market, opposite the station. It's a weekend market so not open on Monday when I was there. Anyway it sells local food, artisan products and souvenirs, which were of little interest to me.

Moving east, a watering hole.

Now we are on the long east pier.

And looking back we can see Howth Head Peak. It's possible to get there for a great view but I didn't.

Zooming in on the peak.

Where Balscadden Road takes a corner to follow the coast.

Panoramas:

I walked on the wall of the east pier. You can see people enjoying the setting sun at the base.

Panoramas taken from the end of the pier:

Time for a refreshment break. I took the cone to a nearby park and enjoyed the fine evening for this outing. There's a large time gap to the next picture so I must have just watched the world pass by during that time.

Howth is the end of this DART line naturally. There were quite a lot of young people on the train, being the summer holidays. I couldn't help thinking that it's like an excursion to Manly for Sydneysiders.

This is Claremont Beach, to the west of the Howth terminus station. It's not terribly attractive, but there were bathers.

I got the idea in my head that I could walk along the beach back to the penultimate station, Sutton. But when I saw that the beach turns into rocks that I would have to clamber over in some stretches. i.e. not continuous, I gave up that hare-brained idea.

Back in Dublin, on my way to have dinner, I passed the Dublin GPO. This has played a part in Irish history, but I didn't visit it then or later.

I had buffalo wings for dinner. It was actually in an Asian eatery, and I could see that they were prepared in a wok rather than in a deep fryer. Nonetheless, it was a fairly good rendition of this dish which originated in upstate New York state.