During our recent weeklong Ireland adventure, we decided to bypass most of the traditional tourist-oriented sight-seeing of Dublin and instead concentrated two half-day cliff hikes (Greystones to Bray and Howth Head). Were we ever glad we did! Not that Dublin doesn’t have superb sights to see (it most certainly does), but these two cliff hikes were simply astounding for their scenic beauty, for the great vistas, for the wealth of historic sites, amazing railway engineering, and for the sheer enjoyment of the great weather we encountered along the Irish Sea coastline.

Few places on our lovely planet have as beautiful of hikes within a vibrant urban area. Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh, Scotland (climbed it in 2009) and the Presidio and/or the Marin Headlands bookending the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco (seen in 2012, but did not hike them) both come to mind as similar examples. Needless to say, these two cliff hikes are an absolute must if you are visiting Dublin and are equal to any other such hiking adventures worldwide.

Here are some of our many photos from these two astounding cliff hikes:

Greystones to Bray Cliff Hike

Howth Head Cliff Hike