Ireland day 1552. Sunday 28 December 2025- Howth Winter

Today’s summary	Back out with the Walking Club for a short wintry walk on Howth headland. Fourteen of us in total and the highlight was of course the chat. Got a lift back to Malahide with a friend afterwards then Val went up to the Castle to meet up with a colleague from Wonderlights. Reheated turkey for dinner which was still delicious. A very good post-Christmas get together
Today’s weather	Overcast and cold but dry. Moderate easterly wind. Appx 7c

Today’s overview location (The blue mark shows the location of our route)		Close-up location (The blue line shows where we walked) (Click button below to download GPX of today’s walk as recorded, or see interactive map at bottom with elevations corrected): Howth Winter DWC

Commentary

We’ve been back in Malahide for 24 hours now and already Connemara seems like a distant memory. Especially as today we pitched ourselves straight back into Walking Club activities.

Fortunately today’s Howth walk wasn’t scheduled to start until 12 noon, so that gave Val and me plenty of time to enjoy breakfast and make packed lunches. In passing I should note that over-catering for Christmas means that we will no longer have to worry about what to get for breakfast, lunch or dinner for at least a month! So today’s lunch was roast ham in focaccia sandwiches, with a mince pie to follow.

We took a DART at around 11 to Howth Junction then connected to a Howth train after a chilly 20 minute wait. The rest of the group was convening in Howth “Insomnia” café for pre-walk refreshments, so we joined them there and enjoyed coffee, croissant and chat before setting off.

It was nearly 12:30 by the time we eventually got going, but fortunately we only had a short stroll scheduled, so there was no danger of running out of daylight. Fourteen of us set out to walk up to Howth Summit, passing by the “Eire 6” sign marked out with white painted rocks.

At the top, we paused briefly for lunch. It was cold and windy so we didn’t stop for long – just long enough to enjoy some Bailey’s which one of the walkers had brought with them. I’d also brought some leftover Christmas cake (yes another byproduct of our overcatering) which went nicely with the alcohol.

From the top we completed the loop by walking down the old tramway route to Howth village. I’d walked the lower section of this path before, but not the upper, so it made an enjoyable change.

Once back at the coast, we all dispersed to our various winter retreats. Some headed to the Bloody Stream pub, others caught the train, and we were fortunate to be able to get a lift to Malahide from a friend who lives in Portmarnock.

Val had a quick turnaround once we got back to the flat – just time for a sandwich and a cup of coffee – before heading out again to go up to the castle to meet up with one of her former colleagues from Wonderlights.

Eventually we were both back on terra firma so we had a cup of tea then moved on to something stronger and Malbec-shaped. Then for dinner we had reheated turkey (no surprises there – but still tasting good) and watched a bit of Netflix.

Today’s walk was really enjoyable return to the east coast – and a nice finale to the 2025 Club walks season. Looking forward now to seeing what 2026 will bring!

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


Setting out. Howth was busy today. But then again it almost always is	“Eire 6” marker on close to Howth Summit. Created during world war 2 (“The Emergency” here in Ireland) to help safeguard Ireland’s neutrality

Jolly lunch on Howth Summit – lubricated by Bailey’s Irish Cream and Christmas cake	Galloping Heliotropes! They are spreading everywhere – there are visibly more now than there were even five winters ago when we first arrived in Ireland. They fill the air with a welcome winter perfume of vanilla – but are on the cusp of becoming an invasive weed

Coming down from the Summit on the old Howth Tramline route. In all the years I have been walking in Howth, I don’t think I have ever followed this particular route before. I enjoyed it	The “Bloody Stream”. The curiously-named pub which also doubles as Howth’s DART station.

Looking down on the ruins of St Mary’s Abbey, Howth. Viking King Sitric (Silkenbeard) of Dublin founded the original church here in 1042. It slowly fell into disrepair after the 16th century Reformation. The tri-fenestrated bellcote housed three large 15th century bronze bells which are currently located in the National Museum of Ireland, Kildare Street. Prior to 2022, they were situated on the forecourt of Howth Castle.