Ireland day 1230. Sunday 09 February 2025- Howth Leading

Today’s summary	Led a short DWC walk from Sutton station over Howth headland. Val was doing a shift at the Model Railway Museum. Picnic lunch at Red Rock then over to Howth via the flanks of Shielmartin Hill. The rest of the group finished at Howth station but I walked on to Sutton to catch the 102 back to Malahide. Once Val got back we finished off the fish finger curry for dinner, and watched some “Mad Men” on Netflix.
Today’s weather	Overcast but dry with a cold breeze. 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 via Red Rock leading DWC

Commentary

Both Val and I were busy today. Val started off our programme of activities first. She had been asked to put in a shift at the museum, so was up and away soon after 9am. I, meanwhile, had a slightly more relaxed morning. In a fit of enthusiasm a few weeks ago I had volunteered to lead a Club walk around Howth today. So by the time 10:30am came around, I was on the road, too.

The walk started from Sutton station at 11:15 and I had planned to catch the 102 bus to get there. But according to the indicator on the bus stop, it was running late so I made a hasty change of plan and went via the train instead, with a slick change at Howth Junction. I actually arrived earlier than I would have even if the bus had been on time.

By 11:15, twelve of us had turned up and after a brief pause to see if anyone else was going to arrive (they didn’t) we set off. I was pleased that so many had made the effort to come today, as it was cold and grey out. And there was the competing attraction of hurling and rugby on the TV this afternoon.

Our walk followed essentially the same route as the recce I did last Wednesday. An anticlockwise arc via Sutton Cross, Red Rock and the flanks of Shielmartin Hill, finishing at Howth DART station.

We stopped to enjoy our sandwiches above Red Rock (but not for long as it was cold). Then when we reached the Carrickbrack Road, a number of the group opted to take the easier option and walk back to Sutton Cross from there, seduced by the easy temptations of the Marine Hotel.

The rest of us pressed on through the Bog of Frogs (not as amphibian as it sounds) then down to Howth through the Golf Course. Once safely delivered to the station, the others raced off to catch the train so they could enjoy the sport on TV; meanwhile I “closed the loop” and returned to Sutton along the coast and Burrow beach.

There was just long enough of a wait at Sutton for me to get a coffee and croissant from the station café before the 102 arrived to whisk me back to Malahide.

I was back fairly early – well before 4pm – but Val had to stay at work until 5:30. Eventually, though, we were both back so enjoyed a cup of tea together and considered what to have for dinner. In the end, we decided to finish off yesterday’s fish finger curry, supplemented by some salad we had left over in the fridge. The final adornment was some Arctic Char – a Norwegian delicacy that I brought back from Oslo airport.

The rest of the evening was pretty quiet – a couple of episodes of “Mad Men”, then a relatively early night for us both.

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


Val’s home for the day. It’s amazing how much the thatch on the Casino Model Railway Museum has faded since we first arrived in Ireland	With friends outside the Howth Martello tower (now converted into flats which you can rent), overlooking Dublin Bay

Photo time!	Heading across Howth golf course – eyes in the back of the head required! But we all made it safely across

I learned today that this squelchy spot just below Shielmartin Hill is said to be the source of the Bloody Stream, after which the eponymous pub at Howth Station is named. I really do need to research the origin of this name (apparently – unsurprisingly – there was a battle involved)	Home straight – on Howth beach with the new block of flats slowly emerging from their scaffolding shrouds behind me. Sutton Station next stop!

The interesting thing about this image of the Howth Martello Tower is that there were two ugly wheelie bins outside the front of it when I took the photo. But I removed them using the “Magic Eraser” function on my Pixel phone – and you would never know that they were there. Slightly scary really