Although this is a three day weekend, and I do need to get a lot of work done, I figured its only Saturday! I still have two more days where I can read to my heart's content. Rather than sit around the house I thought it'd be productive, and worth it, to hike around the Howth cliffs. So after a quick breakfast, I set out up Balkill Road towards the Summit Inn at the top of the Hill. Just beyond the inn, which was only a quick walk, was the car park for the cliff walk. I started to walk down this paved path when I ran into an elderly couple. I asked, just to be sure, that I was on the trail that wrapped around the peninsula down into Howth village. The man confirmed that I was on the right path, but an even better hike goes a bit further down and is fairly close to the face of the cliff. I took his advice and doubled back up to the trail head where I got on a steep path that, as he said, led towards the edge of the cliffs. As soon as it began to level out, I looked to my right and this really cool lighthouse, the Baily Lighthouse, just chillin' on the end of a point jutting out into the sea, rightfully called the Great Baily. Looking back on the pictures I took from today, I have so many pictures of Baily that it may seem like I'm walking towards it, when in reality every time I'd round a corner, it would somehow just pop out for a really cool shot! Truthfully, the hike around Howth head reminded me of Bodega. A lot. It was just a really nice hike and I'm sure I'll be doing it again.
After I had been hiking for about an hour or so, the trail started to go downhill again as I made my way down towards the village. Before completely getting down on to a paved road, I passed through a row of metal bars that were about a foot apart from each other. They were easy to walk through, probably just as easy to bike, so were they trying to prevent people from driving on the cliffs? Who knows... So I walked down the road to the village and along the way I passed by a Martello Tower. These were built across the British in the nineteenth century to protect her Empire from Napoleon and the French. While they were primarily military fortifications, they were known for their use of fire to communicate. Set up around the whole perimeter of Ireland, any sign of invasion would cause the first tower to light a fire; the next tower, always within sight, would light there's and this chain reaction could send messages across the island pretty quickly! From there I walked the length of Howth pier which provides an amazing view of the whole village. From the walkway there were stairs down into the water. Now I think these may be for rescue purposes, but I gotta say, I was tempted to go for a swim. Granted the water was probably, no definitely, freezing. So I resisted. I started my walk back up Howth hill and stopped for lunch in village at the country kitchen. With a cajun chicken sandwich in hand I continued my trek back home. I paused on a bench overlooking the harbor to eat and just as I sat down...it started to rain. Considering that I was under a tree, I thought it best not to make a run for it. Having finished my sandwich, I waited for the rain to stop (which happens all the time) and concluded my walk back home.
Well thats all for now! I'll be in town tomorrow being a tourist...so more on that soon!
FMS
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