Bray Head Cliffwalk - County Wicklow, Ireland
Posted by: 
cldisme
N 53° 08.530 W 006° 03.553
29U E 696683 N 5892125
A short train ride from Dublin brings you to a picturesque hike.
Waymark Code: WM4ADX
Location: Ireland
Date Posted: 07/29/2008
Views: 142
I shall describe this hike as we took it - as tourists visiting Dublin without aid of a car. Those with a car will have different options available to them, and I encourage additional details in their logs.
Begin this 4+ mile hike by taking the local passenger train system (DART) from Dublin to Greystones - the end of the line.
As you depart from the train, follow the signs to the beach - which are the starting coordinates.
Start walking northward along beach if you can, but eventually you will need to be on the street level path since jutting rocks will block your way on the beach (Picture Location #1).
Continue along sidewalk until you reach the construction fencing, and then follow its perimeter. There will be a brief period where you will be walking in the street, so please be cautious of traffic, but it will be light.
Then path becomes a gravelled corridor with constuction fencing on both sides (at least most of the time). Occassionally, there will a separate path with a sign 'For Beach Access Only.' Feel free to explore this opportunity, but you will have to return since those paths dead end at beach with no other paths to continue the journey. Follow the main path until you reach an abondoned bridge (N53° 09.497' W06° 04.438'). There you will see a lovely stone arch bridge (Picture Location #2) once used for this hike and perhaps a train, but coastal erosion has endangered its safety.
The path turns west, away from the bridge, but follow it for only a few steps where you will find a smaller path on a cobblestone bridge on the north side. Take this way to Bray. If you continue on the wider graveled path, you will find a set of kissing gates guarding the railroad you rode on. Do not cross the tracks. Turn around and look for the small cobblestone foot bridge. The gates and graveled path are for the locals to get to the beach access you previously passed.
Now the hike becomes a little more interesting with cliffside views and hillier terrain. Occassionally you can see where the path once stood, but coastal erosion made it dangerous or even vanish.
Along this stretch you need to get you camera ready because you will be rewarded with stunning vistas over the Irish Channel or, if you can poke head over stone wall, idialic setting of sheep and cattle grazing.
Passing the abandoned house ruins will mark the beginning of the end of your hike. Soon you will come across a graffitied shelter (N53° 11.551' W06° 04.907') and shortly thereafter, the seaside town of Bray will come into view.
Wander along sidewalk, indulge in a well earned ice cream, or settle in at a pub for a meal and complement the locals for their wonderful trail. Eventually you will need to find the train station (N53° 12.275' W06° 06.024') to return to Dublin.
The tour books all describe the hike southbound from Bray to Greystones, but I recommend a northbound journey (at least for now) for two reasons.
First, the shoreline at Greystones is under redevelopment for the next couple of years. Since the view is obstructed with fencing and constrution equipment, it would be a very anti-climatic exprience after seeing the wonderful views previously. This may change since they are constructing a new harbor development.
The second reason to hike northward is a little more practical; more passenger trains pass through or originate in Bray than Greystones, which gives you more options to return to Dublin.
Other notes about this hike:
Since it is over 4 miles long, it is not recommended for children under 10 "just out for a stroll. " Children experienced in hiking will enjoy the views as much as adults.
Stay on the path! Any deviation off the path would be dangerous.
This path unsuitable for wheels, so no bicycles, rollerblades, strollers, pushchairs, or wagons.
Be prepared for the weather. You may not get a rainbow, but you might get rain at a moment's notice.
Picture location 1: N 53° 09.003 W 006° 03.802
Picture Location 2: N 53° 09.497 W 006° 04.438
Picture Location 3: N 53° 11.551 W 006° 04.907
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Visit Instructions:
To log a waymark you must post at least one original picture (preferably with yourself in it) showing the main feature or attraction of this walk/hike.
No picture means no proof which means No Post!