Tag Archives: Adventure

Ben’s wee day out in Howth

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Ben’s wee day out in Howth

Wednesday, 29-July-2026


I really needed to get out of the city. I needed a wee day out.

I didn’t quite feel like hunting down a new hike. I didn’t quite feel like renting a car, or dealing with all the tomfoolery that comes with. And I sure didn’t quite feel like stressing or anxiety-ing, or just really any of all that… so instead of overthinking things, I went to Howth.

Now, let’s be clear. Howth isn’t the best hike. It’s not remotely bad, but it’s not world-class or anything. There’s a lot of tourists, it’s not particularly long, and the walk through the town is just kinda bleh.

But you know what?

That’s perfectly fine, because it fit every criteria I needed it to fit.

Specifically: I didn’t have to overthink it, and it made for a perfect wee day out. Just a few hours, but a few hours with the sea air, the salt spray, some good views, and a little bit of solitude once I escaped from the crowds and herds of tourists.

Yeah… and the views were on point today.

A walk up Ben Bulben – the main ascent

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Monday, 13-July-2026

The hike up to Ben Bulben itself took place on a perfect day – and the hike itself reflected that perfection beautifully.

Seriously – The landscape! The weather! The views! The sheep!

I mean, okay, the half-dozen “NO DOGS ALLOWED” signs were kind of aggressive. But… I mean, there’s sheep grazing, so I guess it makes sense? I mean, it’s a good reminder – this beautiful massif isn’t public land. We’re in Ireland, don’t forget, which means pretty much everything is privately owned… and this beauty is no exception. It’s split among a whole pile of private farmers and “landed families”, to the best of my understanding, so I guess we should just be thankful that we’re allowed to hike it at all.

Okay, okay. Rant over.

Now? Now, we talk beauty and enjoyment.

The trail itself was lovely – there was some minor routefinding, but overall it was smooth walking. Some steep sections flew by, and the views from the top were… well, they were views of farmland. Perfectly bucolic, with just the hint of sea in the distance.

Freaking. Awesome.

A walk near Ben Bulben – the AirBnB, and the sunset

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A walk near Ben Bulben – the AirBnB, and the sunset

Sunday, 12-July-2026

After the hike, our AirBnB turned out to be even nicer than we could have hoped: The place itself was lovely, calm, and picturesque… but the nearby seaside was the real highlight. We took a walk down just at sunset, and were treated to a singularly stunning lightshow as the sun dipped below the horizon. Beautiful low-tide, with none of the traditionally accompanying smells, and a whole TON of really cool fossils kept us curious as the evening cooled off.

I mean, seriously. The light! The coast!

It was nearly too much, but thankfully we survived and took these photos to bring back to you: