A colleague of mine, Peter, gave me some good advice to head up to Howth on the train on a nice weekend. Fortunately for the one weekend I spent in Dublin, the Sunday was a perfectly sunny day – not a cloud in sight and I thought this was the perfect time to try. There is a fairly regular train that departs every half hour that is clearly labelled Howth so it is pretty easy to get to.

From the number of people on the train, I guess I wasn’t the only person who had the idea of heading out that way to take a short stroll up the cliffs and the walking track. On the Sunday that I went, there was a tiny little farmer’s market full of stalls and treats and very popular with the locals. The other noticeably popular thing is the fish and chips stores that had significant queues (at least ten people each) stretching out onto the pavement.

The first part you stumble across is the harbour area, full of nice looking sailing boats and very clear, blue water. You can walk down the lighthouse to get a closer view of the boats and their sailing area, or head towards the cliffs where there is a walking trail around the headlands. You walk past some very cosy and picturesque houses, as well as some stunning scenery.

Bring some water on your walk as there isn’t really much out there when you get going. On a super hot (if it ever is like that) or super clear day, it’s also worth bringing some cover if you’re sensitive to the light.