Howth, Dublin

If you want to get out of busy Dublin city, jump on a Dart and head to Howth. It is a small fishing town just north of the city, with lots of nice little pubs and restaurants. But the best thing has got to be the cliff walk on Howth Head. The view from the top is breathtaking, you can see for miles around.

This same bunch of kids and their lucky chaperones were on the DART ride out from Dublin with me. I wandered out along the Howth pier and they apparently went exploring for pirate treasure or other odd bits of flotsam and jetsam along the sandy and rocky beach. Good thing it *was* low tide! [[How DID this make its way to my Dublin page, it really ought to be over on my HOWTH page, duhhhh. Too late now. It stays. For more beautiful, rugged Howth, please check out its actual site here then, you will not be sorry. ;-)))]]

Howth is a great little fishing town with wonderful views like this one up at Howth Head. It gives the visitor a glimpse into what the west coast of Ireland might be like. You can catch the DART train and be there in under a half hour. Be sure to eat some seafood while you're there (I recommend King Sitric). See my Howth page for more details.

If you take the DART train as far north as it goes around Dublin Bay, you get to Howth. Howth is a working fishing town with a ruined abbey high atop a hill overlooking the bay and a small island just off shore called Ireland's Eye. We took the DART up to Howth and walked around the shore front and the seawall, had a bit of lunch in a crowded little cafe, and explored the Abbey grounds. Later we walked out of town for about a mile and came to a turn off that led to Howth Castle. Further down that road would have taken us to the National Transportation Museum. In fact, at the turn off from the main road, that's the sign you see, no indication that the castle is there as well. We figured it out from the map we had.

Howth has galleries and restaurants and lovely old houses and buildings as well and well worth an afternoon out of busy Dublin.

Howth is seaside village with winding streets a fishing harbour and a yacht club. A day trip will cover most of the area. Take a walk along the pier on a clear day you can see for miles around. Take a walk to Howth Summit with magnificent views of Dublin Bay. Buy fish and chips in the local chipper and sit in the park and enjoy. Howth has excellent restuarants and really lively pubs. On Thursday nights watch out for the herring boats bringing in their catch. You can also take a boat over to Ireland Eye, a tiny uninhabited island with ruins of a 6th monastic church. Take a picnic and stay for a couple of hours. The boat leaves from the harbour. I paid around €6 for return trip.

Take the Dart from the city centre.

Also out in Howth is St. Mary's church. It's hard to describe exactly where it is, but you ask anyone who is around how to get to that really old-looking church near the DART station, and they'll tell you how. One of the oldest in Ireland.

Take the DART north of Dublin to Howth. It takes about 25 minutes and will cost you about 4 euros there and back (you can get a Rambler pass which will get you as many rides as you like for 1, 5 or 7 days). Lot's of cool cliffs to look at and climb. From the top, you get a great view of Dublin. Also, there is supposedly a castle around there with lots of rhododendrons, but I couldn't find it, and they only bloom in the spring.

It's a nice fishing town and has some great restaurants.

The isthmus that connects dublin with the peninsual of Howth is called Sutton. Along the shore there's an area called Redrocks where very nice walks are to be had.

Give it a try if you want to get out of Dublin's hustle and bustle for a while.

Howth (rhymes with "oath" not "mouth") is a suburb of Dublin on a peninsula north of the bay. It's a lovely fishing village where you can have a peaceful stroll along the harbour or buy some of the best and cheapest fish you will find in Dublin.

There are walks up Howth Head which offers splendid views over Dublin. In fact, the top of Howth Head gives a view stretching from Bray Head in the south all the way to the Mountains of Mourne in Northern Ireland - the longest stretch of coastline that can be seen from any point in Ireland.

If you want to get out of the city centre for a while and enjoy a bit more scenery you can make a trip to Howth, a little fishing village with some nice restaurants and cafes. It is easily accessible by public transport with both bus and DART services, and you will get off near the harbour with its yachts and fishing boats.

From there you can go for a walk along the pier, or if you are feeling more energetic go on the cliffwalk around the peninsula, or up past the church to the summit of Howth Hill.

Howth also sports a 15th century castle which houses the National Transport Museum, and St. Mary’s Abbey, a ruined church in an old graveyard.

And every Saturday and Sunday there is a book sale on near the harbour.