For our last day in Dublin, we took a day trip to the town of Howth, a small fishing village about 10 miles east of the city centre. We got their early in the morning, not long after the sun had risen; it was a gorgeous day, too, with clear blue skies.
The town was known for its quaint harbor and lighthouse, beautiful views of the Irish coastline, and best of all the cliffs of Howth.
Before attempting the cliffs, which were at least a couple miles uphill, we explored the rocks down on the shore and took a leisurely stroll along the seawall that led out to Howth Head lighthouse. Perhaps not too surprisingly, the area reminded me a lot of Maine, what with the rocky coast, cool climate, and adorable little town long the one main road.
Above, the large rock formation across the water on the lefthand side is called the Eye of Ireland, and was once a monk monastery of some sort. Interestingly enough, apparently the only way to get to the island nowadays is to bribe a local fisherman to ferry you over there. Not much in the mood for bribery though, we instead decided to journey up to the cliffs of Howth on our own side of the water.
To get to the cliffs, we had to follow a tiny, narrow road up along the rocky coast. I felt extremely out of place, like some sort of vagabond with my backpack in tow, and trudgin my way up past peoples' private homes. As we progressed though, it was clear that other hikers (many of them also foreign) were headed in the same direction.
About halfway up, there was a "Road Closed" sign, so we turned and climbed a narrow staircase decorated with all sorts of graffiti. To our great surprise, this led us to none other than a suburban neighborhood much like the kind you might find along the outskirts of Orlando, back in the states. This slightly tainted my impression of Howth, but we turned around and instead proceeded passed the "Road Closed" sign, as it seemed pedestrians were allowed to go through.
This turned out to be the correct choice, because we found ourselves about 15 minutes later at a trailhead that wound steeply up into the cliffs.
Feeling rather proud of ourselves for making it that far, we took a group picture at the top. There was still further to go however, each peak and rocky outcropping providing yet another jaw-dropping, breathtaking, awe-inspiring view of the majestic coastline.
One of my favorite parts about the cliffs were the nesting seabirds. I was super ecstatic about the Guillemots, a bird I haven't seen since my last trip to Maine, in fact. Taking this picture was a little exciting too -- I had a great time lying on my belly over the cliffs and trying not to think about the 300 foot drop below. I must say, it was a great adrenaline rush though.
And here I am on the cliffs!
The views from every direction were simply beyond description. It was like being in a postcard, only even more beautiful, with the sound of crashing wave below, the roar of the seabreeze, and the call of the seabirds getting tossed around in the wind.
As we were walking along this path, we actually got a glimpse of a dolphin, way down below. Also, although we didn't see any, apparently whales are occassionally sighted from the cliffs.
Had I been on my own or with just one or two of the other girls, I would have spent the entire day wandering the cliffs, but some people were very uncomfortable with the whole idea of hiking, so we had to compromise and head back around lunchtime.
It was one of my favorite days we'd had in Ireland yet. We ate lunch in a local cafe before riding the bus back to Dublin. If you ever find yourself out that way, I would highly suggest visiting Howth -- and I definitely will if I return to Ireland someday.
It was simply indescribable, one of those things you really have to experience for yourself.. Even the one member of our group who didn't care for trekking stopped at one point, marveling at the realization that it was completely silent in the cliffs. Something about Howth really touched everyone in a different way. I know it touched me, and will remain one of the best memories I have of Ireland.
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