We said farewell to Scotland and mainland UK today, perhaps the last time for the UK as we know it, and flew to Dublin to commence the last stage of our epic holiday, Ireland – that’s both Northern Ireland and The Republic of Ireland (while the soft border still exists – you never know what will happen after the BREXIT deadline of 31 October 2019.)
We were picked up by our friendly cabbie from yesterday at 8:20am and out at the airport through emigration and security by 9:15am, sitting waiting for our 11:35am flight, airline lounges are so much more civilised.
And after a bit of a delay we got away at around 12:15pm. What is it with people who take “hand” luggage on board that is obviously way too big, they take up so much room.
We landed in Dublin at 1:30pm and were picked up by Maggie our tour operator as we came out of customs at around 2pm. She was/is a bright welcoming Irish soul.
She took us straight out to Howth to stretch our legs. Howth is an island on the north east coast side connected to the mainland by a sand spit. It is reasonably high and gives a great view over the area Dublin sits in, you can see the hills and Wicklow Mountain National Park to the south and the plains to the north, a great view. There is also a lighthouse on the seaward point of Howth, one of those classic white lighthouses with a small cottage next to it.
It started raining when we got to the top of Howth, but that never stops us, with an umbrella from Maggie we set off. Deb and I walked down from the top along a tight rocky track on the sea side to a carpark below where Maggie picked us up. The walk down was great, or stunning as Deb might say. ?
There were wild flowers everywhere on the slopes, and when set against the rocky sides of the headland they looked spectacular. We got great views out across the bay to Ireland’s Eye, a small island just off the coast. You can still see one of the many small fortresses deployed by the British in the 1800’s up and down the coast to protect against a backdoor attack by France or Spain on the island.
From there we went down to the fishing village/port of Howth, a very neat village full of restaurants and cafes, as well as a working seafood port area. Similar but different again to those we have seen on our travels.
We were then taken on an orientation drive around Dublin, well “South” Dublin, and then dropped off at our hotel.
I think we are going to like this tour company very much. Genuine people who love their country.
For dinner we went around to a local pub, great atmosphere and good pub food. A good way to finish up our first day in Ireland.
Tomorrow the adventures begin as we explore Dublin more deeply.
