Jake & Hadleigh Ireland Travels

Day 2 – Howth Are Ya!

About 30 minutes east of central Dublin is Howth, an Irish village on the Howth Peninsula.

From about 819 AD, Vikings ruled this peninsula, using it as a military base, trading post, and fishing port.

In 1177, the Norman St. Lawrence family would conquer the Howth peninsula, construct Howth Castle, and rule the land for the next 800 years.

The fourth and final Earl of Howth died in 1909, but female descendants of the Norman St. Lawrence family kept ownership of Howth Castle until 2019, when it was sold to an investment group.

Howth is now home to a few thousands residents and hosts nearly 1 million visitors each year. Thankfully, we didn’t encounter a million tourists— Monday was a good day to visit.

Lots of sailboats in this little village. And so many cute, colorful buildings!

Headed uphill for the main event.

Jake can’t get over how prevalent palm trees are here.

Curious Hadleigh!

Hads POV

Secret tunnel!

As the concrete ended, the real adventure began!

Daring Hadleigh got right to it!

Wicklow Mountains in the background. The largest continuous upland area in Ireland.

1.5 hrs later we made it to our destination: secret beach! On Google Maps it’s literally called “A Tiny Hidden Beach”.

The beginning of the descent was pretty sketchy – very steep dirt and rock path. Then we got to some stone steps that made it easier to get down.

First piece!

Cool stones feel good!

The beach is covered with smooth stones of all different colors, size, and patterns. We immediately took off our shoes and socks and sat by the water sifting through the rocks to find seaglass. We said walking around felt like getting a foot massage!

“That was the best nap I’ve ever had in my whole life” – Jake

After a serious trek back up 600ft of elevation (equivalent to about 60 flights of stairs) we had earned ourselves a reward! Built in the 1800s, originally as a simple thatched cottage, The Summit Inn had a lot of charm.

Jake’s first time trying the famous “Tayto” crisps.

Next we hopped on the bus to take us back to the center of Howth to get some fresh fish and chips at Beshoff Bros! Probably the best we have ever had.

We headed back to Dublin to explore the city with Keeva. We walked over the “Ha’penny Bridge”, where people used to have to pay a toll to cross over. A must go stop was the famous “Temple Bar” for a pint of Guinness and live music.